Getting sick really stinks, but getting sick in a foreign country and not knowing the health system is even worse. This fact kept us from wanting to go to the doctor. So we didn’t. Two weeks ago, Scott and I got sick, probably with the same germs, but they manifested themselves differently. I had bronchitis (self-diagnosed, with a little help from my Dad), and Scott had sinusitis. The illnesses progressed pretty regularly the first week. We were a little under-the-weather, but could basically carry on with our normal daily tasks. However, just when we thought we were getting better, I got really sick. I was already taking antibiotics, and was waiting for them to start working. (You can actually get antibiotics from the pharmacy without a prescription.)
Of course, my friends have all sorts of advice and remedies.
You really shouldn’t have gotten cold. You’re just not used to the germs here. Boil a lemon with mint, and drink it.
And my personal favorite: When you are finishing your hot shower, turn the water to cold and stand there for 30 seconds, so you aren't cold when you get out of the shower. OK. Please let me know if you have tried this one, and if it's worked for you!
But even after trying some of their remedies, popping plenty of vitamins, spraying echinacea in the back of my throat, and eating as much garlic and onion as one can handle, today still marks the beginning of week three with these illnesses. Unfortunately, illnesses just seem to hang on here. I’m open to advice. I'll try almost anything. And if I decide to go to the doctor, I'm sure I'll have something interesting to post about the experience.
5 comments:
We'll be praying that you get healthy really soon! I don't have any suggestions, besides rest. Love you!!
I can understand how you might possibly feel a warm(er) sensation when you are done standing under the cold shower for 30 seconds. :P
This advice may not be all that whacked though since research has shown (Cliff Clavin here)that cycling hot to cold in the shower stimulates the immune system. You get the same effect from doing the Sauna/dip in a hole in a frozen lake routine.
Bruce - That is interesting! I *read* that spending time in a sauna is useful at the onset of an illness, because it raises your internal body temperature, killing off some of the microbes (which is the same reason the body runs a fever as an immune response). The interesting thing with this illness is that I didn't run a fever. I don't know what that means. Any thoughts?
FYI - The deleted comment was my own. I was experimenting. :-)
Post a Comment