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I've caught some annoying bug-- much hacking, sore throat, congestion, aches, low fever. I was curious if people here do okay with decongestants, such as pseudoephedrine. I'm a little nervous, since it pushes my bp up on the high side, but I'm really uncomfortable, and want to avoid my usual post-viral sinus infection. Curious about people's experiences...

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I'd avoid pseudoephedrine - I accidentally took some (didn't realise an anti-histamine tablet contained it) and had a really horrid time.

I also wouldn't waste money on branded cold/flu cures. You can make your own at home much more cheeply. Make sure you take regular paracetamol (acetaminophen) 1g 4 times a day. You can take ibuprofen as well if you need more pain relief or still have a temperature.

To soothe make up this hot drink - several teaspoons of honey, slices of fresh lemon, teaspoon of lemon juice, peeled and finely chopped fresh root ginger, add hot water and stir well. Mum makes it with crushed garlick in it as well - doesn't taste as nice but good if you don't mind smelling of garlick.

If you are really congested there are a few tricks to try. The first is the best but please be careful - don't try it if you are very sensitive to heat. Pour some hot water (not quite boiling) into a mixing bowl, add a couple of drops of olbas oil to the water, carefully place your face above the bowl and put a towel over your head and the bowl to trap the steam. Gently inhale the steam through your nose and have a box of tissues handy.

I really can't tolerate the above anymore, I modify it by making the mixture in a cup and holding it under my nose and sniffing the steam.

For those that are really heat intolerant you can use an oil burner to heat water with olbas oil above a tealight candle in the room.

(I don't know if Olbas oil is available elsewhere in the world - it is basically a strong smelling herbal oil to relieve congestion, most chemists or health shops sould have something similar).

Hope this helps and you are feeling better soon!

Flop

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Aw, man... I hear you. The same stuff got me, too. Since colds have a tendency to degrade into asthmatic bronchitis in my world, I just went to the doctor after a couple of days and am now taking Zithromax and Nasonex. Over the counter Claritin D (available in drugstore generic, too), has always worked well for decongestion and Robitussin for cough. I have no idea about interactions with other medications though, and would definitely check with the pharmacist as lthomas advised.

I'm not sure if they make POTS worse, since I'm feeling pretty crummy anyway. ha ha <_<

Also, if the cough is dry and unproductive, a speech therapy trick to stop a cough jag is to cough once, then immediately inhale to full capacity through tight, pursed lips (breathing through a pin hole), and then immediately exhaling all the way through the same. That really helped me reduce asthma attacks, because once you start coughing you trigger more coughing, and that would make my asthma worse.

Hope you feel better soon!

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I took sudafed a couple of times early on when I didn't know that tachycardia was a side effect. I experienced mild tachy when I took it, but nothing too bad. I've stuck with saline nasal spray and inhaling steam ever since then just to be safe. I do remember reading somewhere that pseudophedrine is sometimes used as a treatment for dysautonomia, I think to raise BP.

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I have fought off a cold bug recently, and swear by Zicam, which is a homeopathic med. proven to get rid of colds faster. I've used it a few times. For best results you're supposed to start taking it within the first 48 hours of symptoms. Everyone in my family has used it, and swears by the results. The active ingredient is Zincum Gluconicum. Inactive ingredients: benzalkonium chloride, glycerin, hydroxyethylcellulose, purified water, sodium chloride, sodium hydroxide. I've never had a problem while taking it, and I can NOT even touch Benadryl, Nyquil, or any other cold med. because I get very symptomatic from them with tachy. You can go to their website for more info. and last time I checked you could download a coupon for $1 off. Hope you get to feeling better.

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I can only use Benadryl. Everything else makes me tachy. Most times I even skip the benadryl and just rub vicks on my chest and throat and put on a warm shirt <_<

I actually love the smell and my chest gets soooooooooo warm.

Good Luck

Dawn

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