Ok so this one is for all you nasally challenged people out there. Just came down with the cold from hell, one of those ones that hurts your nose ears and throat. Being a dedicated traddy, I of course, will endeavour to play through this minor set back. Being a flute player can have its diadvantages at a time like this, I`ve tried all the usual concoctions that you can buy over the counter, but they all have the same effect in upsetting my rather delicate stomach.
Here is the question: does any one know of any herbal remedies that are effective in these circumstances?
The copious amounts of hot whiskey [ as recommended by an aged member of family ] are starting to leave me a bit blurred around the edges, and at this rate I`ll be in rehab before the saturday night session
This one only helps you to feel better, it doesn't actually heal you or anything. It's also pretty disgusting, so if you're easily nauseated, don't read any further on this post.
I highly recommend warm saline baths for your nasal passages and sinuses. When I came down with a very bad cold, a doctor at the clinic told me to try it once every couple of hours, and it really helped a lot. It sounds weird and difficult, but couldn't be simpler once you actually do it, Maria, so just try it.
Take about 8 oz of warm water, a little warmer than body temperature. Mix some salt into it, and stir it thoroughly. Taste it. It shouldn't taste any saltier than tears. If it's too salty, add more warm water. you'll know immediately if you got the mix right, because when you use it, it'll feel natural, not stingy or anything.
You can use a spoon to pour the solution into one nostril at a time or get one of those bulb thingies for earwax baths and use that instead. Turn your head and upper body so that the solution gets everywhere you can get the solution before letting it drain back out your nostril. (I recommend doing this in front of a sink, of course.) Don't worry, it won't get down into your lungs, you'll see what I mean when you try it. The best is if you can get it into any of your blocked sinuses. Use the entire 8 oz of solution (I generally gargle with the last bit of it). Don't swallow any of it, or you'll soon feel sick from too much salt.
I have lots of friends who sing who swear by this, I found out after I tried it.
[Insert medical disclaimer here] I’ve had very good results from echinacea. I get the standardized extract and take three or four capsules maybe three times a day.
I know you said you have a delicate stomach. If hot whiskey doesn't seem to bother your stomach, try getting something called Mucinex from the local drug store. It is basically something called guanefesin. It's a natural that thins the mucus in the nose and throat and causes it to drain better. Add to that Claritin D 24 hour OTC, which is both an antihistamine plus a decongestant. That should take care of the stuffy nose and drainage at the back of the throat. Yes, Claritin D is not a natural, but it is the only cold drug I have found that has the least amount of side effects to almost none. It works quickly too. Also drink large amounts of water, at least 7 to 8 glasses a day.
Add to that regimen a good steam over a hot bowl of water to which you have added a couple of drops of eucalyptus oil. That will also clear the nasal and broncial passages.
I`ll start with the saline bath thingy first, only cause I wont have to leave the house and follow it with the steaming water which I`d already started. Let you know what the results are. If that fails I`ll work my way through the other suggestions. Only joking about the hot whiskey by the way, its all I can do to keep straight water down.
Thanx Zina, bob and June
Echinacea is good for when your first symptoms start. It allegedly builds up the immune system. Garlique is a tablet form of garlic (you don't have to smell it or taste it). Garlic is allegedly a good purifier.
I have the same cold right now Rea, so I can sympathize. I use an Echinacea and sh*take mushroom extract, but I was out of it when the symptoms first raised their ugly head after dinner on Saturday last. By the time I got some more -- it was too late. I'll have a hot whiskey please. *cough cough*
Is this an epidemic? Or pandemic, maybe? I was outside most of the weekend working at a festival and the pollen was irritating. Yesterday, the irritation became a cold.
Hmmm, can you folks relate to serious pollen? I don't know how it is in the rest of the world, but here in North Georgia the pollen count is a running joke. A count of 200 is considered very high. Our count lately has been around 4000!
Hey, nobody mentioned the really important one - sleep! Your immune system is hugely assisted by it. That's why one of our responses to infection is to feel sleepy - to make us go to bed, so our immune system can just get on with it without us wasting lots of energy and nutrients and generally getting in the way. Lack of sleep has the opposite effect, and causes your immune response to dip quite dramatically. (I got all this from the sleep researcher J. Allan Hobson, if anybody wants to check it out...)
So, Maria, once you've had your sinus baths and steam inhalations and whisky and echinacea, GO TO BED! (You might need a few pillows though... I had to sleep sitting up for a week, when I had a nasty cold a while back... the snottiest cold in the history of Christendom, I swear to God.)
Sweet dreams!
Right, Nell. Most of us are sleep-deprived anyway.
So Allan Hobson is still kicking around. I was slightly acquainted with him mumblety years ago when I worked in sleep research.
One of the other big guys in sleep research, Bill Dement, makes a strong argument that sleep loss and sleep disorders are the root cause of a tremendous number of deaths attributed to other things. You could make a defensible argument that sleep loss is one of the main causes of death.
I've hypothesized that sleep apnea alone can account for most of the difference in life span between men and women.
Blimey - sleep research, Bob? That's interesting! What else did you work in?
"...mumblety years ago..." - haha!
I've enjoyed J.Allan Hobson's books a lot, I have to say. As for sleep-deprivation, I agree with you - most people don't get nearly enough sleep. I certainly don't. If you've got any theories on curing chronic insomnia, please spill 'em - I'd be most grateful!
Speaking of which, I'm off to bed. Night!
Hmmm...hypothesis about loss of sleep causing early death...well, any Mom with kids will tell you we are the supreme champions of the "3-Hour-Nap-A-Night-Survivalists" for years on end. I don't think that supports the data of why women seem to outlive men...
Of course, playing music and laughing during sessions seems to definitely prolong life, or at least raise the quality substantially!
For colds: Sage tea with honey will soothe the throat. Sudafed or Alka-Seltzer Plus will drain the sinuses some (used to play oboe and I know all about the imploding pressure thereof!). Also, if you take your hand and sqeeze the two muscles that run down your neck from below the ear to your collarbone (it is not very fun, mind you, since you are already stuffy and sore) and hold at the top, middle and bottom for a count of 10 each place, it will help drain sinuses too. Really. The massage/chiro lady I use told me and it worked!
Just recovered from over 3 weeks of bronchitis. A cold would have been a relief!! Three days at a festival in the middle of it probably didn't help. Luckily one of the band had some very medicinal damson gin with him!
Some really good suggestions here already. I have a facial sauna that I use with a few menthol crystals to inhale steam when I get a cold - it's excellent.
Also, if your stomach can take it - a hot chilli or curry will clear your head. And anything with plenty of onions and garlic. (Just don't sit next to me after.)
I remember once at a session in Donegal I was really struggling with a cold - sneezing and flute playing just don't mix - and the landlord kept bringing me over hot whiskies. Well, my sneezing soon stopped and they definitely got me through the night!
Took nell and zina`s advice thats why I missed all the answers on the thread, I was asleep!
Hey Zina when you said the saline bath was disgusting you were`nt kidding.
Mistress of the understated!
So I`m cleared out and ready to go. Had A great day and nights sleep, the antibiotics are kicking in the saline bath has helped I think, and I should still be on for saturday night Patrick, so dont panic!
By the way, told a little white lie, its not the cold but a recurrent bout of bronchitis that I get at least once a year. Thought I`d got away with it this year since we are almost into May now. Ah well.......
Oh good, glad to hear it helped, Maria. If you're desperate to get cleared up before a performance, having a saline wash once every other hour or so really does help, or at least it does me. If you get chronic bronchitis or sinusitis, it's a really good preventative, too, from what my singer friends tell me -- but I only do it when I'm developing a cold or trying to get rid of one.
If you got a good sleep, you're on your way to recovery, then! Yay!
Nell, I don't know of any cures for insomnia. The sleeping pills are a dead end. Exercise, regular schedule, sunlight during the day (especially morning), avoiding caffeine and excess alcohol can all help. Melatonin helps some people, but the long-term effects are unknown.
Years ago, we inadvertently cured some insomniacs who were participating in a study of REM sleep deprivation. As far as I know, no one ever followed up on the accidental finding. I don't know any practical application anyway. The anti-depressant drugs suppress REM sleep and tend to help with insomnia, but carry their own risks and manual REM deprivation is very expensive.
Okay, here's the thing about sleep apnea: Essentially, it's a failure to breathe adequately while sleeping. Blood oxygen saturation can dip to dangerous levels and the heart can be overstressed. It occurs more frequently and more severely among men and statistics from a few years back indicated that these men tended to die years earlier than average.
I haven't seen any really rigorous analysis of the statistics, but I think it's got to be a major contributor to the longevity difference between men and women.
Cannabis would be prescribed for several things, including insomnia, if we could ever get past the prohibitionist mentality. There was a company years ago that tried to get sleep labs to study its synthetic cannabis as a hypnoitic (sleep inducing) drug. My lab director wouldn't touch it and I don't remember if anyone else ever did.
It keeps me awake and takes away my appetite. Besides that I can never remember how the B-part goes when I smoke it. Needless to say -- I had to give it up.
Tried all the above for insomnia a couple of years ago. Found that the homeopathic remedy Valerian was the best thing in the world. If you can get past the fact that it smells worse than the most hideous case of athletes feet you`ve ever smelt, believe me it works, and you can take other things like alcohol without it affecting you.
Insomnia --- try tincture of skullcap herb, works on me when nothing else will. Calms or Calms forte (homeopathic remedies) are also good.
For the cold --- yeesh. I an recovering from same, and it was truly from Hades. Nasty-tasting herb teas got me through it in 2 days, to the 10 my procrastinating husband has suffered. (He got bronchitis, which I so far have avoided. Knock wood.) Try elecampane root tea; honey makes it possible to gag down, and it really has helped himself.
Valerian, skullcap, hops, Sleepytime Tea, melatonin, cannabis...lots of things will get you through one or a few nights. But if you've got chronic insomnia, you have to be careful about long-term use. Most of 'em will have a rebound effect when you quit.
I like Zina's treatment. Reminds me of the Irish cure for seasickness (sit under a tree).
It sounds like your saline baths are like a practice that comes from India (I think) called Neti. Do you just put it in one nostril and let it come back out the same one? The way I do it is by letting it go through and drain out of the opposite nostril. I grew up seeing my mom using neti pots and it always seemed so weird! But it really is great! Definately a sensation you would never feel otherwise. Any way, there are actually pots (sort of like small teapots) that you can use that might work better than a spoon.
Ahem, after trying the saline baths [ courtesy of Zina ], yes I will agree that it`s certainly something that no sane person would do unless compelled by either severe sickness, or a distinct liking for the sado-masochistic. Not sure which catagory I fit into now.......................
Away to have another salt bath. Can`t seem to help myself..............
Maria, how does it feel ? - I am having my traditional annual bronchitis trip as well. It usually doesn't happen until after the May bank holiday weekend when my immune system is completely F**ked after the marathon sessions in Girvan. So maybe this year I will have it over me before next weekend.
I'm not sure I like the sound of 8 fluid ounces of brine up my neb
Not wanting to contradict, here, but the valerian stuff (and skullcap and so forth) would generally be a *herbal* remedy, rather than a homeopathic one. Certainly if you can smell the ingredients! (Homeopathic ingredients being only microscopically present, if at all). Weirdly, I actually like the smell of valerian, I find it quite spicy and woody. I know most people think it's revolting. Cats go mad for it, by the way, or at least some of them (like with catnip). Very amusing...
Yeh, I guess excercise is the thing to try, really! Exhaustion definitely is good, but it has to be physical exhaustion. Mental exhaustion does NOT help at all.
Bob, I didn't follow your inadvertent cure - do you mean that you woke people when they entered REM? And this cured insomnia?
... isn't it great how the bronchitis season segues neatly into the hayfever season, by the way? *sniff*.
Here's a really nice comforting drink, for colds and bronchitis, by the way - ginger tea.
You get a good chunk of ginger, at least thumb-sized would be good, depending on how big your thumb is and how strong you want your tea. Peel it and slice it. Add some cloves, and a clove or two of roughly sliced garlic, unless you recoil from the idea. Bring it to the boil in a small or medium saucepan of water (again, depending on taste) and simmer it gently for about 15mins. The water should take on some yellow colour. Strain it and drink it with honey and lemon. Yum.
You can add other things to it, of course. I usually put a black cardamom pod in it.
It's kind of like hot whisky, without the whisky. But hot whisky is good, too!
"Bob, I didn't follow your inadvertent cure - do you mean that you woke people when they entered REM? And this cured insomnia?"
We sat watching their squiggly lines on the charts all night and woke them every time they went into REM, keeping them awake for a few minutes to break the cycle. This builds up a "REM pressure" after a night or two. When the awakenings reached thirty(!) per night, we let them have a night or two of uninterrupted sleep. This procedure, over weeks or months, cures depression about as effectively as the drugs. Just one cycle of it apparently cured several insomniacs.
The study tested (and supports) the theory that the anti-depressant drugs work by suppressing REM sleep.
I'm still fighting my cold. So far, the saline irrigations are keeping it from turning into bronchitis, which was the usual progression for me before I learned about the treatment. It really does help a lot.
Bob, how ironic that sleep researchers are probably best advised to cultivate insomnia. Danielle, I don't know where the doc at the clinic got the saline wash thingy! Lars showed me the little pots once after we'd been talking about them, but I'd forgotten all about it! Nell, love that ginger tea -- my sister in law swears by it for colds! Maria, hope you're feeling better now in time for Patrick's show! I think I've used up all my allotment of exclamation marks now! I'm going back to work!
I scanned all the replies, and excuse me if I missed it, but the only thing worth doing to specifically clear the nasal passages is to use a good nasal spray. The effect is immediate.
The other suggestions may help you get past a cold, but if you can't breathe, only a nasal spray give you the relief you're looking for right now.
Hey Nell, do you want to start a special club with me?
You could do your swallowing `valerian with out gagging` routine and I`ll do the `salty bath thingy ma jig` with out emptying the contents of my nasal passages on all and sundry.
People would come from far and wide to see us, well......at least Breandan would, and I know of a few others who are curious in that direction as well.
By the way thanks for all of your sound advice everyone. Unfortunately for Bodhran Bliss I will [ almost ] be able to play on saturday. Bronchitis? thats childs play, no, what you really want is a good `oul dose of pneumonia.
ITM Olympics - there's an idea. How about the discuss throw using the bodhran. A relay race handing off tinwhistles instead of batons. Badmitten using fiddles as rackets. Uilliene Bagpipe race with each contestant with one strappe on each leg. (^:
My Dad said the best cure for a cold is a bottle of whiskey and a hat. You sit comfortably and put the hat on your foot, then drink the whiskey until you can't see the hat any more - then your cold will be gone.
Don't try this at home, kids.
What works for me is drinking lots of hot water with lemon/ginger/honey; putting drops of Olbas oil on a hanky and inhaling it (the aroma, not the hanky); echinachea and vitamin C. A hot water bottle against my back is also good - and plenty of sleeeeeeeep.
Hope you recovered in time to enjoy your session anyway
clear the air ways!!
clear the air ways!!
Ok so this one is for all you nasally challenged people out there. Just came down with the cold from hell, one of those ones that hurts your nose ears and throat. Being a dedicated traddy, I of course, will endeavour to play through this minor set back. Being a flute player can have its diadvantages at a time like this, I`ve tried all the usual concoctions that you can buy over the counter, but they all have the same effect in upsetting my rather delicate stomach.
Here is the question: does any one know of any herbal remedies that are effective in these circumstances?
The copious amounts of hot whiskey [ as recommended by an aged member of family ] are starting to leave me a bit blurred around the edges, and at this rate I`ll be in rehab before the saturday night session
# Posted on April 20th 2005 by wreckin` rea
Re: clear the air ways!!
This one only helps you to feel better, it doesn't actually heal you or anything. It's also pretty disgusting, so if you're easily nauseated, don't read any further on this post.
I highly recommend warm saline baths for your nasal passages and sinuses. When I came down with a very bad cold, a doctor at the clinic told me to try it once every couple of hours, and it really helped a lot. It sounds weird and difficult, but couldn't be simpler once you actually do it, Maria, so just try it.
Take about 8 oz of warm water, a little warmer than body temperature. Mix some salt into it, and stir it thoroughly. Taste it. It shouldn't taste any saltier than tears. If it's too salty, add more warm water. you'll know immediately if you got the mix right, because when you use it, it'll feel natural, not stingy or anything.
You can use a spoon to pour the solution into one nostril at a time or get one of those bulb thingies for earwax baths and use that instead. Turn your head and upper body so that the solution gets everywhere you can get the solution before letting it drain back out your nostril. (I recommend doing this in front of a sink, of course.) Don't worry, it won't get down into your lungs, you'll see what I mean when you try it. The best is if you can get it into any of your blocked sinuses. Use the entire 8 oz of solution (I generally gargle with the last bit of it). Don't swallow any of it, or you'll soon feel sick from too much salt.
I have lots of friends who sing who swear by this, I found out after I tried it.
Good luck, and I hope you feel better soon!
# Posted on April 20th 2005 by Zina Lee
Re: clear the air ways!!
[Insert medical disclaimer here] I’ve had very good results from echinacea. I get the standardized extract and take three or four capsules maybe three times a day.
# Posted on April 20th 2005 by Bob himself
Re: clear the air ways!!
Oh, sorry, that made it sound like you use all 8 oz all at once -- just a spoonful or so at a time, I mean!
# Posted on April 20th 2005 by Zina Lee
Re: clear the air ways!!
Oh, yes! Zina's right! I forgot to mention that.
# Posted on April 20th 2005 by Bob himself
Re: clear the air ways!!
I know you said you have a delicate stomach. If hot whiskey doesn't seem to bother your stomach, try getting something called Mucinex from the local drug store. It is basically something called guanefesin. It's a natural that thins the mucus in the nose and throat and causes it to drain better. Add to that Claritin D 24 hour OTC, which is both an antihistamine plus a decongestant. That should take care of the stuffy nose and drainage at the back of the throat. Yes, Claritin D is not a natural, but it is the only cold drug I have found that has the least amount of side effects to almost none. It works quickly too. Also drink large amounts of water, at least 7 to 8 glasses a day.
Add to that regimen a good steam over a hot bowl of water to which you have added a couple of drops of eucalyptus oil. That will also clear the nasal and broncial passages.
That should take care of it.
# Posted on April 20th 2005 by June5th
Re: clear the air ways!!
I`ll start with the saline bath thingy first, only cause I wont have to leave the house and follow it with the steaming water which I`d already started. Let you know what the results are. If that fails I`ll work my way through the other suggestions. Only joking about the hot whiskey by the way, its all I can do to keep straight water down.
Thanx Zina, bob and June
# Posted on April 20th 2005 by wreckin` rea
Re: clear the air ways!!
Echinacea is good for when your first symptoms start. It allegedly builds up the immune system. Garlique is a tablet form of garlic (you don't have to smell it or taste it). Garlic is allegedly a good purifier.
# Posted on April 20th 2005 by CeolCairdeas
Re: clear the air ways!!
I have the same cold right now Rea, so I can sympathize. I use an Echinacea and sh*take mushroom extract, but I was out of it when the symptoms first raised their ugly head after dinner on Saturday last. By the time I got some more -- it was too late. I'll have a hot whiskey please. *cough cough*
# Posted on April 20th 2005 by Phantom Button
Re: clear the air ways!!
I`ll stick the kettle on and we can all feel lousy together...........
# Posted on April 20th 2005 by wreckin` rea
Re: clear the air ways!!
Now, that sounds like a good time. *smirk* Ooo. Tea. Actually, that does sound like a good idea...
# Posted on April 20th 2005 by Zina Lee
Re: clear the air ways!!
Is this an epidemic? Or pandemic, maybe? I was outside most of the weekend working at a festival and the pollen was irritating. Yesterday, the irritation became a cold.
Hmmm, can you folks relate to serious pollen? I don't know how it is in the rest of the world, but here in North Georgia the pollen count is a running joke. A count of 200 is considered very high. Our count lately has been around 4000!
# Posted on April 20th 2005 by Bob himself
Re: clear the air ways!!
Hey, nobody mentioned the really important one - sleep! Your immune system is hugely assisted by it. That's why one of our responses to infection is to feel sleepy - to make us go to bed, so our immune system can just get on with it without us wasting lots of energy and nutrients and generally getting in the way. Lack of sleep has the opposite effect, and causes your immune response to dip quite dramatically. (I got all this from the sleep researcher J. Allan Hobson, if anybody wants to check it out...)
So, Maria, once you've had your sinus baths and steam inhalations and whisky and echinacea, GO TO BED! (You might need a few pillows though... I had to sleep sitting up for a week, when I had a nasty cold a while back... the snottiest cold in the history of Christendom, I swear to God.)
Sweet dreams!
# Posted on April 20th 2005 by Nell
Re: clear the air ways!!
zzzZZZzzzzzZZZZzzzzZZZZzzzzzZZZZzzzzzZZZZzzzzzZZZzzzz
# Posted on April 20th 2005 by Phantom Button
Re: clear the air ways!!
Right, Nell. Most of us are sleep-deprived anyway.
So Allan Hobson is still kicking around. I was slightly acquainted with him mumblety years ago when I worked in sleep research.
One of the other big guys in sleep research, Bill Dement, makes a strong argument that sleep loss and sleep disorders are the root cause of a tremendous number of deaths attributed to other things. You could make a defensible argument that sleep loss is one of the main causes of death.
I've hypothesized that sleep apnea alone can account for most of the difference in life span between men and women.
# Posted on April 20th 2005 by Bob himself
Re: clear the air ways!!
Blimey - sleep research, Bob? That's interesting! What else did you work in?
"...mumblety years ago..." - haha!
I've enjoyed J.Allan Hobson's books a lot, I have to say. As for sleep-deprivation, I agree with you - most people don't get nearly enough sleep. I certainly don't. If you've got any theories on curing chronic insomnia, please spill 'em - I'd be most grateful!
Speaking of which, I'm off to bed. Night!
# Posted on April 20th 2005 by Nell
Re: clear the air ways!!
Olbas oil, or Oblas oil, whatever it's called, that's the stuff.
It's not that I am paranoid but everyone coming down with the cold hasn't anything to do with my intention to attend on Saturday?
People used to just say that they were washing their hair.
# Posted on April 21st 2005 by bodhran bliss
Re: clear the air ways!!
Hmmm...hypothesis about loss of sleep causing early death...well, any Mom with kids will tell you we are the supreme champions of the "3-Hour-Nap-A-Night-Survivalists" for years on end. I don't think that supports the data of why women seem to outlive men...
Of course, playing music and laughing during sessions seems to definitely prolong life, or at least raise the quality substantially!
For colds: Sage tea with honey will soothe the throat. Sudafed or Alka-Seltzer Plus will drain the sinuses some (used to play oboe and I know all about the imploding pressure thereof!). Also, if you take your hand and sqeeze the two muscles that run down your neck from below the ear to your collarbone (it is not very fun, mind you, since you are already stuffy and sore) and hold at the top, middle and bottom for a count of 10 each place, it will help drain sinuses too. Really. The massage/chiro lady I use told me and it worked!
10 days rest will cure it all
Feel better,
Sarah
# Posted on April 21st 2005 by dragonfiddle
Re: clear the air ways!!
Just recovered from over 3 weeks of bronchitis. A cold would have been a relief!! Three days at a festival in the middle of it probably didn't help. Luckily one of the band had some very medicinal damson gin with him!
# Posted on April 21st 2005 by Tarrantella
Re: clear the air ways!!
Some really good suggestions here already. I have a facial sauna that I use with a few menthol crystals to inhale steam when I get a cold - it's excellent.
Also, if your stomach can take it - a hot chilli or curry will clear your head. And anything with plenty of onions and garlic. (Just don't sit next to me after.)
I remember once at a session in Donegal I was really struggling with a cold - sneezing and flute playing just don't mix - and the landlord kept bringing me over hot whiskies. Well, my sneezing soon stopped and they definitely got me through the night!
Get well soon!
# Posted on April 21st 2005 by Biddy
Re: clear the air ways!!
Took nell and zina`s advice thats why I missed all the answers on the thread, I was asleep!
Hey Zina when you said the saline bath was disgusting you were`nt kidding.
Mistress of the understated!
So I`m cleared out and ready to go. Had A great day and nights sleep, the antibiotics are kicking in the saline bath has helped I think, and I should still be on for saturday night Patrick, so dont panic!
By the way, told a little white lie, its not the cold but a recurrent bout of bronchitis that I get at least once a year. Thought I`d got away with it this year since we are almost into May now. Ah well.......
# Posted on April 21st 2005 by wreckin` rea
Re: clear the air ways!!
So know EXACTLY how you feel Tarrentella, the night sweats are the best part, dont you think? O
# Posted on April 21st 2005 by wreckin` rea
Re: clear the air ways!!
Oh good, glad to hear it helped, Maria. If you're desperate to get cleared up before a performance, having a saline wash once every other hour or so really does help, or at least it does me. If you get chronic bronchitis or sinusitis, it's a really good preventative, too, from what my singer friends tell me -- but I only do it when I'm developing a cold or trying to get rid of one.
If you got a good sleep, you're on your way to recovery, then! Yay!
# Posted on April 21st 2005 by Zina Lee
Re: clear the air ways!!
Nell, I don't know of any cures for insomnia. The sleeping pills are a dead end. Exercise, regular schedule, sunlight during the day (especially morning), avoiding caffeine and excess alcohol can all help. Melatonin helps some people, but the long-term effects are unknown.
Years ago, we inadvertently cured some insomniacs who were participating in a study of REM sleep deprivation. As far as I know, no one ever followed up on the accidental finding. I don't know any practical application anyway. The anti-depressant drugs suppress REM sleep and tend to help with insomnia, but carry their own risks and manual REM deprivation is very expensive.
Okay, here's the thing about sleep apnea: Essentially, it's a failure to breathe adequately while sleeping. Blood oxygen saturation can dip to dangerous levels and the heart can be overstressed. It occurs more frequently and more severely among men and statistics from a few years back indicated that these men tended to die years earlier than average.
I haven't seen any really rigorous analysis of the statistics, but I think it's got to be a major contributor to the longevity difference between men and women.
# Posted on April 21st 2005 by Bob himself
Re: clear the air ways!!
PS - If your bed partner says you snore a lot, you probably have some degree of sleep apnea.
# Posted on April 21st 2005 by Bob himself
Re: clear the air ways!!
I think this could be my last post having read the above.
Cannabis is good for insomnia.
# Posted on April 21st 2005 by bodhran bliss
Re: clear the air ways!!
Cannabis would be prescribed for several things, including insomnia, if we could ever get past the prohibitionist mentality. There was a company years ago that tried to get sleep labs to study its synthetic cannabis as a hypnoitic (sleep inducing) drug. My lab director wouldn't touch it and I don't remember if anyone else ever did.
# Posted on April 21st 2005 by Bob himself
Re: clear the air ways!!
It keeps me awake and takes away my appetite. Besides that I can never remember how the B-part goes when I smoke it. Needless to say -- I had to give it up.
# Posted on April 21st 2005 by Phantom Button
Re: clear the air ways!!
My own cure for insomnia is exhaustion. Works like a charm.
# Posted on April 21st 2005 by Zina Lee
Re: clear the air ways!!
Tried all the above for insomnia a couple of years ago. Found that the homeopathic remedy Valerian was the best thing in the world. If you can get past the fact that it smells worse than the most hideous case of athletes feet you`ve ever smelt, believe me it works, and you can take other things like alcohol without it affecting you.
# Posted on April 21st 2005 by wreckin` rea
Re: clear the air ways!!
Insomnia --- try tincture of skullcap herb, works on me when nothing else will. Calms or Calms forte (homeopathic remedies) are also good.
For the cold --- yeesh. I an recovering from same, and it was truly from Hades. Nasty-tasting herb teas got me through it in 2 days, to the 10 my procrastinating husband has suffered. (He got bronchitis, which I so far have avoided. Knock wood.) Try elecampane root tea; honey makes it possible to gag down, and it really has helped himself.
# Posted on April 21st 2005 by sara g
Re: clear the air ways!!
There will be a dating service here soon the way this is going.
# Posted on April 22nd 2005 by bodhran bliss
Re: clear the air ways!!
(puts teeth in so as to speak clearly) *ahem* I beg your pardon!
# Posted on April 22nd 2005 by Phantom Button
Re: clear the air ways!!
Valerian, skullcap, hops, Sleepytime Tea, melatonin, cannabis...lots of things will get you through one or a few nights. But if you've got chronic insomnia, you have to be careful about long-term use. Most of 'em will have a rebound effect when you quit.
I like Zina's treatment. Reminds me of the Irish cure for seasickness (sit under a tree).
# Posted on April 22nd 2005 by Bob himself
Re: clear the air ways!!
Hey Zina,
It sounds like your saline baths are like a practice that comes from India (I think) called Neti. Do you just put it in one nostril and let it come back out the same one? The way I do it is by letting it go through and drain out of the opposite nostril. I grew up seeing my mom using neti pots and it always seemed so weird! But it really is great! Definately a sensation you would never feel otherwise. Any way, there are actually pots (sort of like small teapots) that you can use that might work better than a spoon.
# Posted on April 22nd 2005 by DTE
Re: clear the air ways!!
Neti Potts? Is she related to Tommy?
Sorry -- just trying to get this thread back on some sort track.
# Posted on April 22nd 2005 by John Culhane
Re: clear the air ways!!
Ahem, after trying the saline baths [ courtesy of Zina ], yes I will agree that it`s certainly something that no sane person would do unless compelled by either severe sickness, or a distinct liking for the sado-masochistic. Not sure which catagory I fit into now.......................
Away to have another salt bath. Can`t seem to help myself..............
# Posted on April 22nd 2005 by wreckin` rea
Re: clear the air ways!!
Maria, how does it feel ? - I am having my traditional annual bronchitis trip as well. It usually doesn't happen until after the May bank holiday weekend when my immune system is completely F**ked after the marathon sessions in Girvan. So maybe this year I will have it over me before next weekend.
I'm not sure I like the sound of 8 fluid ounces of brine up my neb
# Posted on April 22nd 2005 by breandan
Re: clear the air ways!!
Not wanting to contradict, here, but the valerian stuff (and skullcap and so forth) would generally be a *herbal* remedy, rather than a homeopathic one. Certainly if you can smell the ingredients! (Homeopathic ingredients being only microscopically present, if at all). Weirdly, I actually like the smell of valerian, I find it quite spicy and woody. I know most people think it's revolting. Cats go mad for it, by the way, or at least some of them (like with catnip). Very amusing...
Yeh, I guess excercise is the thing to try, really! Exhaustion definitely is good, but it has to be physical exhaustion. Mental exhaustion does NOT help at all.
Bob, I didn't follow your inadvertent cure - do you mean that you woke people when they entered REM? And this cured insomnia?
# Posted on April 22nd 2005 by Nell
Re: clear the air ways!!
... isn't it great how the bronchitis season segues neatly into the hayfever season, by the way? *sniff*.
Here's a really nice comforting drink, for colds and bronchitis, by the way - ginger tea.
You get a good chunk of ginger, at least thumb-sized would be good, depending on how big your thumb is and how strong you want your tea. Peel it and slice it. Add some cloves, and a clove or two of roughly sliced garlic, unless you recoil from the idea. Bring it to the boil in a small or medium saucepan of water (again, depending on taste) and simmer it gently for about 15mins. The water should take on some yellow colour. Strain it and drink it with honey and lemon. Yum.
You can add other things to it, of course. I usually put a black cardamom pod in it.
It's kind of like hot whisky, without the whisky. But hot whisky is good, too!
# Posted on April 22nd 2005 by Nell
Re: clear the air ways!!
"Bob, I didn't follow your inadvertent cure - do you mean that you woke people when they entered REM? And this cured insomnia?"
We sat watching their squiggly lines on the charts all night and woke them every time they went into REM, keeping them awake for a few minutes to break the cycle. This builds up a "REM pressure" after a night or two. When the awakenings reached thirty(!) per night, we let them have a night or two of uninterrupted sleep. This procedure, over weeks or months, cures depression about as effectively as the drugs. Just one cycle of it apparently cured several insomniacs.
The study tested (and supports) the theory that the anti-depressant drugs work by suppressing REM sleep.
I'm still fighting my cold. So far, the saline irrigations are keeping it from turning into bronchitis, which was the usual progression for me before I learned about the treatment. It really does help a lot.
# Posted on April 22nd 2005 by Bob himself
Re: clear the air ways!!
I posted on this topic the other day, and now I have come down with a cold. Is this what's called a computer virus? I'm sterilizing my computer.
# Posted on April 22nd 2005 by CeolCairdeas
Re: clear the air ways!!
Bob, how ironic that sleep researchers are probably best advised to cultivate insomnia.
Danielle, I don't know where the doc at the clinic got the saline wash thingy! Lars showed me the little pots once after we'd been talking about them, but I'd forgotten all about it! Nell, love that ginger tea -- my sister in law swears by it for colds! Maria, hope you're feeling better now in time for Patrick's show! I think I've used up all my allotment of exclamation marks now! I'm going back to work!
# Posted on April 22nd 2005 by Zina Lee
Re: clear the air ways!!
I scanned all the replies, and excuse me if I missed it, but the only thing worth doing to specifically clear the nasal passages is to use a good nasal spray. The effect is immediate.
The other suggestions may help you get past a cold, but if you can't breathe, only a nasal spray give you the relief you're looking for right now.
# Posted on April 22nd 2005 by Ailin
Re: clear the air ways!!
Hey Nell, do you want to start a special club with me?
You could do your swallowing `valerian with out gagging` routine and I`ll do the `salty bath thingy ma jig` with out emptying the contents of my nasal passages on all and sundry.
People would come from far and wide to see us, well......at least Breandan would, and I know of a few others who are curious in that direction as well.
By the way thanks for all of your sound advice everyone. Unfortunately for Bodhran Bliss I will [ almost ] be able to play on saturday. Bronchitis? thats childs play, no, what you really want is a good `oul dose of pneumonia.
# Posted on April 22nd 2005 by wreckin` rea
Re: clear the air ways!!
Just as well there is no ITM Olympics.
# Posted on April 23rd 2005 by bodhran bliss
Re: clear the air ways!!
ITM Olympics - there's an idea. How about the discuss throw using the bodhran. A relay race handing off tinwhistles instead of batons. Badmitten using fiddles as rackets. Uilliene Bagpipe race with each contestant with one strappe on each leg. (^:
# Posted on April 23rd 2005 by CeolCairdeas
Re: clear the air ways!!
My Dad said the best cure for a cold is a bottle of whiskey and a hat. You sit comfortably and put the hat on your foot, then drink the whiskey until you can't see the hat any more - then your cold will be gone.
Don't try this at home, kids.
What works for me is drinking lots of hot water with lemon/ginger/honey; putting drops of Olbas oil on a hanky and inhaling it (the aroma, not the hanky); echinachea and vitamin C. A hot water bottle against my back is also good - and plenty of sleeeeeeeep.
Hope you recovered in time to enjoy your session anyway
# Posted on April 24th 2005 by flying tigerpig
Re: clear the air ways!!
LOL, I liked the last entry, think I`ll try that one out just for the craic.
# Posted on April 25th 2005 by wreckin` rea