Single hen

[Egluntyne]

A dollop of whisky in a cup of tea is very therapeutic!!

[Guest]

Today I found an article I tore from the Sunday Telegraph magazine. Nish Joshi is an holistic health practitioner.

 

A reader wrote that she had an upper respiratory problem, took antibiotics but the cough persisted. Her throat was still sore and her tongue swollen and coated in the mornings. She had a big mucus problem.

 

Joshi replied that she shouldn't suppress the cough but to use steam and warm chest compresses to loosen the mucus, then deep breathing to eliminate it.

He says that the amount of mucus can be exacerbated by overeating or eating before the previous food has been digested. Also food not being chewed properly can cause excess mucus.

He suggests sticking to alkaline foods such as fresh organic fruit, vegetables, millet, buckwheat and sprouted grains.

Avoiding bread and milk he says eliminates the problem in many of his patients. He also suggests initially avoiding white flour, red meat, potatoes, eggs beans, white rice, grains, wheat, barley, peanuts and fatty or fried foods. Oh, and fish too!

 

Then you should start adding the foods in again but still steering clear of dairy, white flour, fatty foods, sweets, sugar, alcohol and nuts.

 

To help clear the phlegm, he suggests boiling a pint of water with half a cup of fresh ginger and a teaspoon of turmeric. Allow it to simmer for 10 minutes. You can sweeten it with honey and drink it as a tea throughout the day. (I like Twinings Lemon and Ginger tea, sweetened with honey)

 

Extreme stuff!

 

How are you feeling today Ali?

[ali-s]

I'm feeling a bit better Ginette Thank you for asking

 

I went back to the doctors yesterday and I have been pescribed a nasal spray My GP said I probably will not see the effect of this for 2 or 3 weeks Off to the nurse this morning for a blood test

 

My GP thinks I am getting infected with different virusus one after the other.

 

I have been sleeping a lot, not doing any housework, cooking or even walking my dogs. I have watched daytime TV and browsed through seed catalogues

[Guest]

The resting sounds good Ali. Well done!

 

What is the nasal spray and what is it supposed to do?

[ali-s]

I wasn't actually sure what it was meant to do, so I have just read the leaflet. It is a steroid and is prescribed for hayfever sufferers and people with allergies to cats and dogs The spray should stop me sneezing.

 

I'm not sure how this will help the chesty cough, sore throat and earache though

 

While I was at the chemist I bought some Echinacea tablets. There is a warning on the bottle not to take whilst using prescribed medicines

 

I think I will just carry on eating chocolate

[Guest]

The steroid inhaler should help clear the mucus from your chest too. You don't need to worry that it is a steroid because an inhaler goes straight into your lungs which is where the problem is. It will not travel anywhere else.

[Charlottechicken]

If I get a cold or worse I immediately reduce my intake of dairy (I drink a pint of milk a day and love cheese!) to virtually nil, and switch to hot blackcurrant or elderberry cordial drinks, add a little salt to this if you don't feel like eating. If it is just a cold I just sub tea and coffee for the cordial and eat non stodgy food as well. Stay away from cakes, biscuits and sweets/chocolates, as digesting these is harder work for your body, I have read. Having a good supply of elderberry cordial in the freezer and elderberry jam in the cupboard is a start!

 

Hope you feel a lot better soon though, good to hear you are getting plenty of rest.

Edited November 15, 2006 by Guest

[Martin B]

Have a cup of my warm lemonade if you have a cold it's delicious!