I can send positive thoughts, Janie! Probably works better than take two aspirin and call me in the morning. I am very sorry you are under the weather, and especially at this time of the year. Take care of yourself.

Honey, you have a cold. Try Nyquil, although I think I saw a commercial that says it's missing something now (due to all the meth lab stuff where they took whatever out of drugs or put them behind the counter). Go to Target and ask their very nice pharmacy people what to do. I'm so sorry you are sick! :(

P.S. Unless you have the flu! Do you want to die? If you want to die, you have the flu. If that's the case, call your doctor for a prescription.

sniff/snort warm salt water--rinse out your sinus.

Its gross but I swear it helps.

You'll be better soon!

Sounds like the bug going around Austin.
I am so sorry you are sick
get well soon

Janie, my DH had that and some more friends too. It lasted a long time. I don't know if it's something going round or something in the air but he had to take antibiotics and mucinex.

I hope you get better.

"sniff/snort warm salt water--rinse out your sinus."

OMGosh! How do I do that without drowning? I know it would go down the wrong pipe and I would be on the floor when DH got home, with my straw still in my hand!

Terrible picture in my mind. LOL, but Thank you all for all your warm fuzzies. I feel better.

Janie

Yucky stuff Janie! Hope you're all better soon. (I rarely have sinus problems but this year has been awful; every time I bend over to pull a week I'd better have a tissue handy & I cough so much it's embarassing.)

Allery specialist on our local channel last night said everyone thinks it's the pine pollen but instead it's from Oak trees...their pollen, unlike the pine, is too small to see.

Suzi (whose dark blue car is yellowish green)

Glad your better. And really glad you didn't have to snort salt water. OUCH!
Head felt like a rock yesterday, horrible headache could barely move around. Today sneezing, itchy eyes and sore throat. Does claritin make you feel tired like other allergy meds? Too much to do today, rather not have to drag around doing errands but don't want to go sneezing all over everyone either.

Janie, it as the thought of snorting salt water that did it, wasn't it? AHAHAHA

here's what I have saved. Its been saved so long I can't remember where I got it from! I don't do it this way. I just cup my hand and snort. I use plain old table salt in warm water.
************************
OK: here's the run down on Doc Watson's sinus irrigation technique
1) Get an "ear syringe", should be available at any drug store. If you have an old one kicking about, you can use that, but clean and sterilize with mild bleach/water solution first. I bought a full size one, I'm thinking the infant size one might have been a better choice for sinuses, but the big one works.
2) Mix 1/2 cup baking soda and 1/2 cup salt together, store it in something that'll keep it dry.
3) Mix 1/4 to 1/2 tsp of the above with 1 cup warm water. This basically mimics the bodies own saline, you can use as much and as often as you want, unlike commercial decongestants.
4) Standing over sink, and with lots of kleenex at hand, suck up some saline in the bulb, squirt up nose, allowing to run out into sink, Gently blow nose to clean out outer part of nostrils. Repeat until clean (took me a couple three repetition the first couple times)
5) Now comes the snorting. Refill bulb, and more forcefully squirt bursts up nose while snorting and snuffling. The idea to get saline up in the sinuses. If you get it all the way through and into throat, spit. If you're using the large ear syringe, be careful not to drown yourself ;-)
6) Blow nose *gently*
7) Repeat 5 & 6 until ejecta is clean.
8) Clean/sterilize bulb once per week with bleach/water solution.
*************

Like I said, its gross and you don't want to do in front of anyone.
One of the bridesmaids at my son's wedding was sick sick sick. At the rehearsal dinner he and his bride told her to do this. Finally towards the end of the night she came over to me and asked for detailed instructions. She felt so bad she was willing to try anything! Because they swore by it she was willing to give it a try.
I handed her the salt shaker and she ordered a cup of hot water for tea. After the water had cooled a bit she headed to the ladies' room with it and a table napkin.

It worked! She felt much better. Had to do it several more times through out the next day, but she was feeling good through the rest of the wedding.

Yeah.. family and friends think I'm weird... but who do they come to when they need help??

I'm glad you're better today!

Local news, last night, said the oak pollen count is the highest it has ever been, since they started checking it, and nearly a month early.
Jim

I'm fighting it too. I went running day before yesterday( 5 miles whoo hoo!) anyway I started wheezing!!! I've NEVER wheezed in my whole life! I couldn't believe it. I had even taken a Sudafed. Now I'm waking up with sinus headaches that turn into migraines. So by my bed I have (for right when I wake up) Sudafed,Excedrine and something to raise my blood sugar usually candy and Gatorade. For some wierd reason headaches lower my blood sugar to where I feel like I'm going to faint before I can get out of bed. I have no idea why or how that works.It seems to be working so far. PJ

Pj, my son has low blood sugar and it hit's him hard sometimes. There have been times when he's had to eat in the middle of the night to kept from going into seizures.
Now he keeps it in check with a good diet and exercise.
I hope that you have seen a dr. about this and take care of yourself.

Thanks Barb. I've never had a seizure just get real woozy like I'm going to pass out/nausea at the very worst. From what I've read and people I've talked to a Dr is going to tell me to watch how I feel and modify my diet accordingly. Not much medical folks can do. I just wonder why a headache lowers my sugar. Maybe I have that backwards? PJ

Does your local news post an allergy report along with the weather? They do it in Austin, but we've got tons of crap in the air here. The oak has been high, but last Tuesday the MOLD was really high too. I know I'm allergic to mold and I was miserable Tuesday and part of Wednesday. I feel better, but now am coughing and feel like there is stuff to come up, but so thick it won't. These are allergy symptoms, not a cold. I have my HEPA filters running full blast right now.

The rain will help wash the pollen from the trees, but if you're allergic to mold it could make that worse for a short time. (Though curiously enough, there is some kind of mold that gets going in mid-July every year that affects me even more. And there's no rain then! Go figure!)

My grandmother had bad asthma for awhile and her doctor had her irrigate her sinuses too. Only she uses a water pik somehow. I've never tried it, but my brother and his wife do it and they say it makes them feel tons better. You basically just rinse all the pollen and junk out of your sinuses that builds up over the years. I felt so bad this week I wished I had the setup!

I'm glad you're better Janie. :) Using salt water to wash your sinuses really does help. They make little cup like things just for that purpose.

Here is a link that might be useful: one of many nasal washing links