2/11/08

Head Cold Hell!

Well I always thought having a head cold was horrible, then I got a Thyroid Disease and having a cold took on whole new proportions! On the upside, my appetite has vanished, so this will be a great Weightwatchers week....LOL!

I already knew after a dire warning from my Dr that I must never ingest any Pseudoephedrine again, thereby nixing most of the common cold remedies. Last night when my head felt solid as a rock with congestion and I had resorted to mouth breathing, I found out the decongestant in most things, Oxymetazoline Hydrochloride, is another banned substance for me.

So in desperation I kept up the Acetaminophen, sprinkled a kids Karvol capsule over my pillow (not that I ever smelt it!) and fell back on that good old remedy Vicks VapoRub. I even rubbed it on the soles of my feet and put socks on, after reading in an email it is absorbed through the feet and will stop a cough. Well it did last night for me, although breathing was actually more the issue at the time!
We also have a Vicks Waterless Vaporizer, which is a wonderful gadget that warms an impregnated pad and blows out Vicks across the area, hubby said he could smell it in the kitchen! The upshot was sometime after 3am I became unplugged and managed to sleep finally. I called my local friendly Walgreens pharmacist this morning and confirmed I can at least take my cough medicine. He also suggested I run one of those new saline mixtures through my sinuses, the one where you pour it up one nostril, tilt your head and let it out the other....I always thought that was disgusting but I am desperate enough to try anything today!
But having a cold without access to modern day remedies and decongestants stinks people, it's like being thrown back into the dark ages! So thank you Proctor & Gamble for continuing to develop and sell the old fashioned, yet utterly reliable Vicks, without it I'd have had no sleep.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Sarah, I hope that you'll feel better soon. Good old Vicks! My mother used it whenever I had a cold. I haven't thought of that in years.

Mary (Bookfan) said...

Sarah, my mom used to rub it on our chests when we had a cold. Hadn't thought about the soles of my feet! I hope it does the trick for you fast.

Sherri said...

Sarah-get well soon! I hate head colds. Vicks is wonderful!! Feel better!