Whew! So, if you haven't been assaulted by the hacking cough virus that has been plaguing so many this year, consider yourself lucky and consider putting yourself inside of a bubble until the brunt of it passes. It really does suck! It sucks the life out of you. I had it for nearly the entire month of October and, I caught it again just a few days ago, on December 3rd. Technically, I caught it on November 29th, the day after Thanksgiving. There is about a 5 day incubation period, based on what my hubby and I have discovered by knowing exactly who he caught it from and counting back to when he was with the person he caught it from until the day he started feeling it, then how many days it was until I started feeling it. And, indeed, it was 5 days. It starts with a weird sensation in your sinuses. I wish I could explain the feeling but, I have been unsuccessful doing so both times I caught this crap. And, it is such a minor feeling that most people might not even notice it. But, being a crafty veteran of getting colds, sinus, bacterial and viral infections, I know when I am getting sick and, this is always one of the first symptoms I feel when I am. So, just pay close attention to your sinuses and, if they feel at all odd, start to take the precautions that I will explain to you in a bit. But first, that weird sinus weirdness lasts for about 2 days. At the end of the second day, you will start feeling a scratchiness in your throat and will probably have a lot of congestion both in your throat and in your sinuses. You may have the scratchy throat for 2 days before you really get stuffy in your sinuses but, it may only be one day. Either way, you'll really have issues breathing. Shorty after all this starts, you'll start the cough. Oh what joy! My cough kept on and on for nearly 72 straight hours before I finally started getting short 2 or 3 minute breaks. During those 72 hours, I lost a lot of sleep because, as you can imagine....I coughed straight through the nights. Nothing helped. Not cough syrup. Not cough drops. NOTHING! And, before you ask, why didn't you go to the doctor, I'll just tell you. I don't take antibiotics because, I already have a fragile immune system. I don't need an antibiotic to deplete it to zero for the next 6 months, leaving me susceptible to EVERY virus and bacteria out there. I take probiotics to help build my immune system and to shorten my illnesses. And, it turns out, this crap that has plagued so many people, is a virus. I can't go into details because I'm not entirely sure I understand it but, as my doc explained to my hubby at his visit to end this crap, a virus can not be cured or helped by antibiotics so, it would just be something to take that would cost us money and be useless.
So, what did the doc say to do? Exactly what I did as soon as I felt that weirdness in my sinuses. Now, I should tell you all, I am not a doctor so, take what I suggest with a grain of salt. I am telling you what worked for me. I don't know that it will work for you. I can only wish you the luck that I have had. So, as soon as I started feeling it, I continued to take my probiotic once a day and started taking Airborne a few times a day. I also took the Daytime Mucinex cough syrup once or twice a day, and the Nighttime stuff before I went to bed. But, what I think REALLY made the difference was using the Neti Bottle by NeilMed. Now, don't get the Neti Bottle confused with the Neti Pot. The Neti Pot is the blue thing that looks a lot like a tea kettle or tea pot. The Neti Bottle is an actual bottle. It is a cloudy clear bottle with black writing all over it and a black cap with a hole in the top. You mix your bottle like you would the pot...a packet of the solution, lukewarm water, shake and go. But, the difference is the force with which the water flows through your nasal passages. While the water from the pot trickles, the water from the bottle is more like a faucet. And, it is AMAZING! I know...what a gross topic. But, we're also talking about a disgusting virus that has actually infected my Facebook feed with at least one of my friends EVERY DAY, posting a status update about wanting the cough to end, wishing the cough would end, being so tired of the cough, asking when the cough will ever stop...and so on. I have fallen victim to this nasty virus and, I haven't gone a day without seeing a status update about it from one friend or another. So, here's what my doc suggested we do with the Neti Bottle. He suggested using it a total of 4 times every 3 or 4 hours. He said he did it when he caught this thing and he was well within 4 days. He did also say his nose really hurt during and afterward but, he was well very quickly. What he suggested was filling up 1 bottle at a time with one packet of solution at a time and using 2 bottles of the solution per nostril. But, I didn't want to feel pain so, I just used one packet of solution per nostril, every 3 or 4 hours. So, I would make up a bottle of the solution and run it through one nostril, and then fill the bottle up again with another packet of solution and run it through my other nostril. It seems that it has worked. I am nowhere near as sick as I would have been by now. I do still have a bit of sinus and throat congestion, and I have a bit of a cough. But, compared to my hubby and even compared to what I was like by day 5 of this thing when I had it in October, I am nearly healthy. I haven't had a fever. I haven't lost sleep from hacking a lung up all night long. I don't need to keep a tissue box near, nor do I need to carry one around with me. I haven't needed 2 days of sleep like I did in October...I couldn't get out of bed for 2 straight days when I had this thing then. I'm able to function!
Now, I'm not saying I am the picture of health. And, because I don't want to be the reason someone else gets this thing, I keep myself in my home where I won't infect anyone else. On the very few occasions that I have gone out, I wash my hands before I leave the house, keep my hands away from my face, and I keep my hands to myself when I am in whatever public area I am in. Including when I went grocery shopping today. My hands were clean when I left the house, I grabbed an antibacterial wipe before I grabbed the cart, wiped the cart down with the wipe and then used a wipe on my hands before I ever touched the cart with my bare hands. If I coughed, I did it into the inside of my elbow. I beg those of you who have caught this thing...be cautious of other people. You don't want this thing. Why would you want to be the person who gave it to someone else? If you're like me, you're pissed at the inconsiderate butt who gave it to you. Don't be an inconsiderate butt by spreading it to others.
So, I hope what I suggested helps you. I know the Neti Pot and Bottle seem terrifying, if you haven't already used it. But, I am weird about a lot of things and, if I can use it, you can. Just read the instructions, watch a YouTube video on how to do it and, you won't feel pain. Unless you use hot water or breath through your nose while using it, instead of using luke warm water and breathing through your mouth. Also, don't confuse the plastic Neti Bottle with the metal can bottle. NeilMed does suggest you replace the Neti Bottle every 3 months but, the metal can is a single use and can't be refilled. Both of them have a picture on the front. The metal bottle is grey and the plastic one is a cloudy white with black writing all over it.
Good luck and stay healthy!
