My husband and I traded colds; what's your remedy?

I caught a cold too! I'm taking Claritin D and just drank some Emergen-c Vitamin C. BLAH!!

I over medicate

And those little red Sudafed pills help with nasal congestion.

Unfortunately we can only treat our annoying symptoms. I have had sinus issues for months.

My husband used to swear by Zicam until he developed "overdose" symptoms from it that included nerve tingling and numbness. He had only taken it for a day or so that time, so I don't 'know if it was some kind of overaccumulation of the zinc in his system or what. It took a couple of weeks for the symptoms of that to clear. If it works for you, great, I just wanted to share that info.

after about 7 days make sure you both get a new tooth brush! It can harbor germs and re-infect you.

Sambucol, emergen-c, lots of fluids, sleep.

This year has just been awful for cold symptoms. I had two almost back to back. SO is now on his second one. They are taking the full amount of time to get over, and then there's some post-infection response that is keeping the cough around.

SO will use a nasal spray (like Dristan) to help with congestion. I also take an NSAID (advil, naproxen, but NOT tylenol): I'd read that sometimes, you're not feeling congestion, you're actually feeling swelling of your nasal passages, so an NSAID can help to cut down on that. I suppose if you don't want to medicate more than needed, an ice pack on your face for a few minutes every hour might be a good alternative.

I will try to increase my orange juice intake when I'm ill-- I don't drink it usually, but it feels like magic tonic when I'm sick. LOL. I have a sore throat, I will normally also drink hot tea and hot cocoa-- anything warm to soothe it-- but the first cold I had this season was SO PAINFUL that I had to keep with cold drinks because the numbing of the cold was better.

If coughing is keeping you up, the only thing that has ever helped me get to sleep with that symptom is vaporub on my chest. Then I curl up and tuck my nose and mouth down so I'm inhaling the vapors (I prefer to sleep on my side or stomach-- if you sleep on your back, pull your covers up over your nose and kind of make a tent for the vapors). SO sometimes takes nyquil cough, but it did nothing for me.

Also useless to me: honey, delsym, mucinex, and whatever my last prescription was for a cough suppressant pill. None of it works.

Feel better soon!

When my hubby or I are sick, I do not sleep in bed with him. Other than that, I wash my hands all the freaking time. If someone is sick I sanitize all the door handles and clean the bathrooms real good. Hadn't thought about cleaning the dishwasher, but that sounds like a good idea.

And I don't share drinks or utensils.

I never had it, but I have friends who swear by the "Medicine Bomb" drink from Starbucks. It's obviously not a cure, but makes them feel better.


ETA:  It's called the "Medicine Ball" and it was just added to the official menu.  Medicine Ball  

Gargle incessantly with the yellow Listerine -- the other colors don't seem to be as strong. I've found that if I use it at the first sign of a cold, I can sometimes stop it in its tracks.

Do you have a good Vietnamese restaurant nearby? I swear by a big bowl of pho with several slices of jalapeño in it. I feel like that broth could cure anything!

I started noticing a scratchy throat on Christmas morning, and I really hoped it was just from pushing myself too hard making last minute gift ideas. Unfortunately, by the following morning, I realized it was a full-blown cold. I've been sleeping a ridiculous number of hours each day and drinking plenty of fluids, and I think I am finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. With my fibromyalgia, every illness or injury is magnified and seems to either take longer or hurt more than it should. I've done a lot of movie watching this week as a result.