<<Disclaimer: Verify this information before applying it to your situation.>>
Many thanks to all who responded, I received about 15 suggestions with many
wishes for a speedy recovery.
As we are entering the cold season and I am sure other celiacs will get the
occasional cold, I am reprinting the suggestions. Sounds as if there is
enough here to get us all through the winter.
1. "This may be coming a little late, but I found the most help with a tea
base of chamomile and add dried,powdered ginger, cayenne, and fennel seeds.
It clears the sinus and feels good for the belly."
2. "This isn't a cough "remedy", but it is a virus remedy. Have you tried
out "BioPro Thymic Protein A" to actually boost your immune system to get rid
of the bug itself? It is sold by the NEEDS catalog, I know. I haven't had a
cold or flu for the past 2 years since I went gluten-free, so don't know for
sure if this works. But I do take a dose whenever I get a sore throat, just
in case. But maybe that is the reason why I'm not getting sick. I don't
know. The research looks sound. It's an enzyme researchers have shown to be
reduced as we get older, that is supposed to program the T4 cells to do their
job. Their phone # is 1-800-295-6333. Or web-site, www.needs.com"
3. Two people suggested Tylenol cold remedies. "I'm using the Tylenol
products Tylenol Cold and Tylenol Flu. You can get them in non-drowsy,
regular or nighttime. They even list their inactive ingredients. I plan to
let them know how grateful I am. Note: I did not check with them directly -
someone else did, though, and posted it on this list."
4. "Why not give the Alka Seltzer Gold a shot. To be honest I'm not sure
the brandy is okay, I forget what it's made from, however the honey and lemon
warmed up would also do a good job, and safe too.
5. "Sorry to hear you are ill. We found that slicing ginger root into a pot
of boiling water, adding lemon juice to neutralize the strong flavour and
honey to sweeten it - REALLY DOES WORK. Sip this tea (as hot as you can
stand it) for a couple of days and your throat will feel much better and your
cold should start taking a turn for the better. My husband usually comes
down with Pneumonia when he gets a cold - not since he has been drinking this
"tea"."
6. "Best home remedy I have found for congestion is white pine needle tea.
Need to gather needles from white pine tree (needles are grouped 5 in a
bunch). I heat in micro till very hot. Can be drunk plain but tastes bad so
I add honey. (This was in a field guide to natural medicine. Used by
Indians and is a natural expectorant.) I'm sensitive to a lot of drugs &
this works best w/ no side effects."
7. "I use Drixoral. But I haven't needed it for quite awhile (touch wood)
so it would be wise to double check it before using it. The pharmacist
should be able to look it up for you.
Hope you feel better soon."
8. "I read on the list recently that Celestial Seasonings makes a gf and
corn-free cough drop available in the US; don't know about Canada but it's
worth a try. Also regular Claritin (not Claritin D) is gf and great for
congestion. This is by prescription, however. If your cold turn out to be
flu, Biaxin is very effective as an antibiotic, also Cipro (both by
prescription). Hope you recover soon....."
9. "Sorry to hear you've caught a cold. Here are some non-drug
suggestions:
a. No Sugar! It depresses your immune system.
b. No dairy and no orange juice - they help create congestion.
c. Try putting some eucalyptus oil in a mug of boiling water - sniff (or
breathe in through mouth) - this will help clear congestion and give you your
voice back.
d. Vitamin C - my doctor says 4 grams for a few days doesn't hurt
anything, just don't continue it for long. Much less than that doesn't do
much for you.
e. You could consider eating raw garlic - up to 9 cloves a day, spread
out. Mix in honey, or mash into a banana and slug it back (my personal
favourite!). It will kill the cold (and maybe anything else living in near
proximity to you, unless you take a clove (spice) and put one in each cheek
and suck on them for a while to reduce the odor).
Other than that, the Tylenol sinus and allergy formulation is okay. A cold
is a sign your body needs a rest - make sure you give it a good one!
10. "This recipe, minus my changes, is from Laurel's Kitchen, a very fine
cook book. It's great for colds.
1 cup cooked (that's about half a cup raw, sorted, rinsed, and simmered
for 45 - 60 minutes) split peas - if you're like my mother and hate peas,
lentils will work fine.
lots of cumin seed, ground cumin, black mustard seed (I'm thinking seeds,
after a quick rinse, should be gf - if you have doubts you can skip it
without getting something inedible), turmeric, black pepper
4 cloves of garlic
2-4 tomatoes (optional)
juice of one generous lemon (if your lemon is stingy, take two)
You should saute the garlic and spices to pop the seeds, but since I
don't handle fats well, I never do. I just boil the cumin and mustard in
with the split peas and add the rest (yes, raw garlic - it's fine) at the
end.
Hope you feel better!"
11. "Just recovering from that scene after a trip to Italy etc- I used to do
the brandy routine, but alcohol is dehydrating and probably you got dried out
from the recycled plane air(did you drink on the plane??) this is a no no
for me- I now hydrate as much as possible. use saline nose drops, make a hot
drink of 1/8 th teas of cayenne pepper in cup of hot water with some maple
syrup and drink instead of the brandy. If throat is dry and itchy a teas of
apple cider vinegar in a half glass of water (warm) gargle and spit out - I
try to do vegetables and no carbs and of course no diary- trying to
alkalinise myself- try it. I think the less drugs you can take the faster
the body can come into balance ( and I used to be a pharmacist that would
load up on drugs for the slightest thing!! hope you feel better"
12. "It is my understanding that Fisherman's friend cough drops are GF.
They aren't bad."
13. "Stokes Pharmacy - http://www.stokesrx.com
I worked on #5 plus Echinacea (sp?) and vitamins. Getting better slowly.
Thanks.
Jessie in BC
|
