I’m so sorry this post is late, but I have a very good excuse – I’m sick. Totally and utterly sick. Not the new flu (thankfully), but the whole nine yards nevertheless: katar (runny nose), kaszel (cough), ból gardła (sore throat) and everything else that comes with it. In other words – przeziębienie (a common cold) at its finest.
I can’t eat much, can’t drink much (which is bad, I know, because the first treatment option for a cold is to hydrate the body as much as possible) and I am generally miserable.
But what can I do? This is the cold and flu season and we just need to get through it.
I’ve tried various remedies and nothing seems to work. And as my dad is fond of saying: katar leczony trwa siedem dni, nieleczony – tydzień (runny nose lasts 7 days if treated, and a week if not). And since I’m almost at the seven day mark, I hope I will get better soon.
And in the meantime, I can honestly say I did what I could. I tried czosnek (garlic), probably the most vile food I’ve ever met. I drank syrop z cebuli (onion juice), which along with garlic is something I don’t wish upon my worst enemies. I consumed copious amounts of sok pomarańczowy (orange juice), which did nothing but gave me acid reflux, and took more vitamins (witaminy) that has been clinically proven safe. And nothing.
I drank ziółka (herbal teas), ate rosół (chicken soup), snacked on grejpfrut (grapefruit), and felt like I was single handedly keeping the company that makes Fervex in business.
And I wasn’t a nice person to be around. But still, the doc said – nie ma gorączki, nie ma grypy (no fever, no flu) and I was felt to suffer all by myself.
I know it’s irrational to demand antybiotyki (antibiotics) for a common cold, but I just wanted to get something. Anything. Even if it technically shouldn’t work, because the placebo effect alone can do wonders for a tortured patient. But no such luck, unfortunately.
So now, if you excuse me, I have więcej ziółek (more herbal tea) to drink.
Comments:
russ:
Ale czosnek jest super!
Polecam napój z:
wodą,
czoznkiem,
miodem,
cytryną
… to smakuje lepiej niż tylko czosnek i często pomaga mi jak jestem przeziębiony. 🙂
Mary:
If you want nicer and more comforting remedies,
(i have never heard of garlic or onion being useful – it’s just a quick route to no friends!)
Try hot water with lemon juice and a spoonful of honey. To help sleep, try adding
some whiskey! (Hot Toddy)
My mother-in-law insists on making me drink water with honey in it every morning
apparently it’s a traditional polish remedy.
Next – use it as an excuse to stay in bed! 🙂
kuba:
Lots of fluids then mask the symptoms and live through it.
Trzymaj sie bedzie liepiej na druge dzien
Lucie:
I still remember fondly my father heating up beer in a pot (you had to watch it carefully because when it starts foaming, IT STARTS FOAMING!) and then adding honey to it.
I drank it all up and it was a wonderful sedative that put me to sleep almost immediately. I still remember it fondly.
Karen:
I can’t believe how some people still live in the dark ages taking old remedies that don’t really work. Garlic is good for the digestive system, but not particularly good for colds, other than a slight warming effect if you have a cold home. There truly is no cure for the common cold – we all have to suffer, but it can be made a lot less uncomfortable with some basic paracetamol!! It is now the first thing I go for in the medicine cabinet when I get a cough and cold now. Just eases all the symptoms enough to take the edge off! Lemsip is great as it also contains decongestant and has that lemony taste to make it feel like it is doing something! (Subconscious thoughts to vitamin C). Zinc is supposed to be the best thing to take to boost the immune system – vit C actually does nothing! (It’s only good for preventing scurvy – the sickness people used to get on boats when without vit C, fresh fruit and veg, for months.) Best way to avoid a cold is to never have human contact again, but then life would be so dull! 😉
barsorro:
I wish you a quick convalscence, Anna!
Myself being just freshly out a similar predictament — although it didn’t go without a fever and 10 days on an antibiotic for me — I know how you feel.
The advertised Cholisept loozenges seem to do a fairly decent, if not lasting, job as a remedy for the sore throat: additionaly, they somehow seem to stimulate the moistening in the throat and trachea.
As for the fluids, I tend to get a big aversion to drink when I get down with the cold as well. I can feel nauseous after drinking half of a regular glass. On top of that, I get deprived of the sensitivity to some of the tastes and flavours, which makes many foods and drinks become very unappetizing. The drinks I found palatable are: milk (especially milk with honey), orange juice with water (when you dilute it, it’s not so acidy), and watered sweet red wine.
But the first thing, I believe, is to relax as much as you can, so as to let the body use all the energy on the battle with the viruses.
Lori:
Oh antibiotic for a cold is a very bad idea, since a cold is caused by a virus and an antibiotic deals only with bacteria. All that happens when antibiotics are used incorrectly is that the bacteria learn how to live with them, and then voila! the antibiotic no longer does anything. Katar – almost like the fancy Latin word for that condition.
And after this for that draggy feeling — it’s a potassium loss problem. Bananas are a good source of potassium as is orange juice when you can tolerate it.