Hello:

Boy Ive been ill since Sunday, Im finally starting to get over it to the point where In not having fevers and cold chills. The runny nose, and cough are still there though.

I was just wondering, what is the best way to get over a common cold without going to a doctor. Any successful home remedies. I feel Im about over this now, but I woult have been nice to have this licked on Monday.

It just seems like every October I get a horrible cold. One year I had no insurance and didn't go to the doctor, that was the time I ran a 104.9 degree temp. Boy did that stink.
Just doctored it on the sofa, took about a week to clear up.

Next October, same thing, I did go to the doctor, he said I had an ear infection and perscripbed antibiotics. The cold still took a week to clear up though. It would have cleared up in a week anyway. And my ears didn't even hurt. See my point?

If this is going to be an annual thing for me, Id like to explore ways to at least shave days off this misery. I don't care what the tough guys say, when you have to work in a walk in freezer sick, you are just plain MISERABLE!

Ideas? Thought? I seem to get these colds about 4 times per year. One in each season. I'll have another in February, then June, then August, then October, you can set your watch to it.

BTW Ive been told that taking a fever reducer can actually prolong a cold because the immune system works better at high body temps, and this is why you go into fever, because your body is fighting an infection. But boy, knocking the fever sure helps a body feel better temporarilly.

Alkaseltzer works really well for a cold and if you don't like the taste they just came out with the liquid pill form. It allways works for me.

Getting a little extra vitamin C and zinc in your diet will probably be beneficial as well. Echinacea could help, but is generally considered more of a preventative measure.

Take 1000mg (2 tablets) of vitamin C every hour until u get diarrhea then your cold will be gone and the diarrhea will be gone short;y after... believe me it works:)

Please forgive me Imation, but that is ridiculous! Do you know how bad that is for your body? Too much of anything can have serious negative effects on your body, hense giving you diarrhea. Of course you want to get addition vitamin C, but damn! That's crazy! The best way to get over it is to get a lot of nutrients through the way of food and beverage, drink tons of fluids (mainly water because that's what your body is mostly made of) and stay your *** in bed! I have also found things like zicam to be effective.