Why me........??

Yay! Am up, showered and dressed today and starting to feel more like myself. Oxygen sats are up and temp is down which is just where I need them to be.

Thanks for all the kind wishes, flowers, helpful hints and suggestions. All very much appreciated. I hope those of you who have this bug recover soon and that those of you who don’t have it stay healthy.

ajanela-give it a rest. I’ve already said waaay upthread that I didn’t go - had been prepared to push myself so that I didn’t let my grandchildren down.

Oh and thanks for your excellent suggestion re a musical-already have tickets for Miss Saigon later this month which I’m sure I’ll enjoy.

You can't keep your germs to yourself even sat in front rows with scarves.

And being so ill the only place is home in warmth and comfort resting not sitting in restaurants and theatres.

Hope you are better soon and maybe you could try a musical.

Well, now I'm scared! So far all I have is a headache which responds to paracetamol - as I can't take any of the other popular painkillers. I am trying to avoid crowds. Living alone, it's no picnic being ill.

Commiserations Katek. In the week leading up to Christmas I developed a sore throat and dry mouth that felt like sandpaper. Couldn't sleep at night because throat so painful. Then on 23 Dec the cold came out, couldn't go to church over Christmas, felt hot, cold shivery. Cough, sneeze, cough - must do more pelvic floor exercises (!). Now full of catarrh and sinusitis. Also left knee playing up, painful to walk, leg aches in bed. I'm falling apart but on the bright side I can't remember the last time I had a cold, I'm usually pretty immune.

haporthrosie
Thank you, we are both on the mend now and I hope all the other sufferers are too.
I nearly cried when you wrote about your father putting a flannel over the lamp - my Mum did exactly the same thing! I still use Vick Vapour rub - it is so good and the smell takes me right back to childhood.

Katek sorry to hear you are poorly, my husband has this nasty illness too. My advice is to stay in the warm and take Honey and Lemon. My husband got over it and two weeks later he got it again, he went to see the doctor and she more or less said there was not much wrong with him but he has been really ill. Hope you feel better soon.

anneb, I hope you gave yourself a nice pat on the back for keeping the wonderful grip you clearly don't possess.

It's very sad about your niece and her son. Unfortunately, trying to 'top' other people's problems with one's own is usually a losing game. There's nearly always someone who has it worse. It's pointless and immature anyway. Kicking can be done if need be, but I think reaching out a hand or giving a hug is more graceful. It's certainly more helpful.

I do hope you're feeling better, katek. This is quite a vicious little lurgy. It's rotten enough for those with good lungs so you've got to take care of yourself. Loads of good advice here. I've learnt lots but am sorry it means that you're poorly!

Zinc tablets can help with congestion a bit. Not miraculously but enough to notice. They make me feel quite sick if the tum's empty so you might want to eat some macaroni cheese before taking!

My Nana always said 'goose fat and brown paper' though I never saw her use them; she just said it! My father used to put a flannel over the lamp by my bed to get it all nice and warm so it could go on top of the Vicks. It was lovely.

Nettle tea, and/or dandelion and burdock tea ... unless you really hate the taste ... they can rinse out some of the germs. Lots of vitamins A and C - they won't make anything go away but are really important for anyone with poor lungs.

Minnie'sMum how dreadful about your sister. You're quite right, people with asthma do have a rotten go of it. A really lovely lady I used to work with struggled with it and it was staggering how dismissive people could be. 'Oh just calm down, take a deep breath!' A bit difficult when you can't breathe.

Hope the New Year gets better for you soon.

Katek - I have also been a lifelong asthmatic - since I had measles at the age of 9 to be precise. My sister had the virus at the same time and she is now registered partially sighted as the virus got her eyesight. I think she is marginally worse off though - at least I can see even if my breathing is rubbish. We were both in the same hospital - she was in a dark room and I was in an oxygen tent.
It is amazing how many people think that asthma is just an insignificant "ailment" - but there again, we know differently don't we! I hate taking steroids as the side effects and the "come down" are so awful. It does wonders for my arthritis though, I was skipping around like a spring lamb but back to my hobbling normal now but at least without the cough. Hope you are soon feeling better - I walked around town with the grandchildren today and I didn't run out of puff at all so I must be better.

I think you’ll find anneb that most of us on this forum do get out there and “kick ass” (as you so elegantly phrased it) when we are well. By definition ‘kicking ass’ requires us to be on two feet and that’s been difficult for a lot of us recently! We are allowed to be unwell - half the country is down with some bug or another and all will be passing on helpful info to each other. It’s what we Brits do......that or the weather! I hope you remain well and that your words don’t come back to haunt you.

Have had a rotten cough etc. for weeks, but would like to recommend Unicough . I hadn't heard of it but DD brought me some, not available everywhere but Boots have it, not on fixtures but behind pharmacy counter. A bit more expensive than other cough remedies but worth it, it really helps with the coughing at night as it contains a mild sedative. And it tastes of cocoa ?

Anneb are you always this insensitive and unkind to others ? We are sharing useful medical/health information with each other and having the opportunity to unload our health concerns. This is what GN is all about, being supportive and helpful.

Of course it is very sad for your niece, but using emotional blackmail to try and make us feel bad is uncalled for IMO.

Are you for real? Thought about getting involved in this group. Age ain't on our side here so stop griping all...get out there..kick asss.. . Tomorrow we could be gone. Got 42 yr old niece who has terminal cancer with 5 year old. She moans less than the lot on here. Bye ALL.

There really are some awful bugs around at the moment. I had pneumonia a few weeks before Christmas despite having had the jab. (Different sort apparently!) Then over the holidays, some kind soul gave me the cough bug. Ended up going to the doctors and discovered that as well as the cough, I hadn’t got rid of the pneumonia. Huge antibiotics for another week, leaving me feeling like my batteries need renewing.
Every sympathy with you Katek. Not much fun at all. Get well soon.

I saw recommended in the DM Difflam Sore Throat rinse, it came out top in some tests. I too have had the lurgy, well this really helped me. I always get a sore throat when I am under par, wish I had known about it before. Bought it at Boots about £8.00. I also find Bronch Stop cough remedy works for me. It tastes revolting a bit like stuffing as it has thyme in it and is thick and glutenous but well worth a try. I use the Bronco pastilles too. Hope these help someome.

When I feel like you, I live on Tesco own brand lemsip powders- blackcurrant flavour, Pholodene cough mixture, Hacks sugar free cough sweets and a honey and ginger/lemon home made hot drink. I'm usually much better after a couple of days.

I think you were poorly this time last year as well, Katek. Perhaps you should join me in hibernating for the whole of the winter period or just do the fashionable Scandinavian hugge [sp]thing.

I find supermarket own brand whitening powder works a treat.

Oh poor you, sounds like a virus I had about a month ago, my ears stayed blocked for nearly 2 weeks, just as I got used to it they gradually cleared. The sinus problem was horrible, I had vertigo with it, the pharmacist recommended travel sick prevention tablets, they are antihistamine and stopped the dizziness, I swear by Obas oil to help relieve the pressure headache.

From now on I will keep some First Defence in the house, to use at the first sign of a cold.

It does go eventually, but it’s blooming horrible while it lasts.

Thankyou Day6. I didn’t see that programme and have bought Manuka honey when I’ve had sore throats etc - never again! I’ll stick to Tesco’s honey in future and not break the bank!

Sorry to hear how bad it's been for you Katek and indeed for others who have suffered with the cough and cold thing that has been doing the rounds lately.

I fear getting these bugs/flu as I have so many auto-immune diseases and become very ill, very quickly. I am too late with my remedy no but can I add that I swear by Boots own antiseptic liquid. It's much cheaper than TCP and smells milder. I got a very sore throat one evening just after Christmas and gargled with the antiseptic -neat, as advised on bottle - and in the morning my sore throat had gone. I felt it coming back the next day, so gargled again and the antiseptic saw it off, and any other cold symptoms too.

I do this whenever sneezes warn me I am getting a bit snuffly. I also take a good multi-vitamins and minerals tablet plus fish oil every day too. It works for me!

BTW, did others see the programme a while ago about so called super foods like Manuka honey? That very expensive honey was tested and proved to be no more beneficial than other, cheaper honeys.

Get well soon, all of you who are suffering. Make the most of inactivity by watching lots of good old films. I noticed this morning there are a few on catch up TV if you go to the drama section of 'genres'.

I’m so sorry Katek, we’ve had it or are having it too but not with all your underlying health problems. Lots of good and helpful advice and remedies to try on here. Scroll past the rest! Take care.

I would say get out in the air. When I had a football season ticket a few years ago I went to matches in all weathers and used to find that if I had a cold it virtually cleared after spending a couple of hours watching football. Now I either go for a walk or sit out in the garden for a while.
Hope you feel better soon and can enjoy the panto.

Have you any camomile tea in the house, or dried rosemary? If so put a tablespoonful of either or of both into about a quarter pint of boiling water in a bowl, and breathe the steam in through your mouth with your head draped in a towel to stop the steam dispersing all over the kitchen.

You can re-heat the infusion and repeat the treatment again later.

It should help both the sinus headache and the nasal congestion.

Hope you feel better soon.

There are some nasty illnesses about at the moment. If anyone’s into natural remedies and has flu like symptoms, the homeopathic remedy Gelsemium may help. You can buy it in Health food shops and Boots sometimes.