A few tricks I have to combat sickness

Stomach flu- Drinking 2+ liters of Coca Cola per day with the flu will get rid of the stomach pain, $h1d's and fever, at least in my experience. My theory is that coke is so acidic that the flu can't survive. Thats a trick my family has used for generations.

Sore throat- I dump dave's insanity sauce all over a saltine, and slam it down. Obviously not everyone can do that, but it works for me.

First sign of cold- If you go run like crazy for a while, you will spike your t cell count and defeat the cold. It will only drive it in further if you try this after you are already sick, but if you catch it at the fist sign, 85% or of colds can be eradicated in my experience.

I have two questions, does anybody know how well that "Airborn" stuff works, and does anybody else know any neat and useful wivestale cures?

drink 2+ liters of coca cola??? ewwww... i'd rather get over my flu naturally than treat my body in such a manner... so acidic that the virus can't survive??? where are you getting this from, daytime hospital soap operas?

what i like to do for sore throats, is boil up some ginger root, add lemon and honey and lots of cayenne pepper... kind of the same idea, the spiciness helps.

Hehe... acid in coke to kill germs... I kill 'em with alcohol. :)

Sore throat: Squeeze a lemon into a mug. Add a teaspoon or so of sugar or honey. Fill about 3/4 to the top with water and heat it up. Once its hot, then fill the rest of the way with Jack Daniels and stir. If you did it right, its like really sour spiked lemonade. Not much water. :)

Stomach aches or upset stomachs I drink 7-up or sprite.

You can put a banana peel on your forehead for a headache.

A shot of tabasco sauce is a really good decongestant. Also breathing steam from a steamy shower.

Also for a sore throat you can try rinsing with saltwater. That is also very helpful for coldsores.

Your mileage may vary on this one... but to stop shaving cuts from bleeding I will cover them in table-salt. Stings like hell but seems to work.

Yeah, a couple shots of JD or GL takes are of most stuff.... In a pinch, vodka and tequila works too. :)

Do you know why the coca-cola trick works ... and why it works better than the more traditional ginger-ale?

It is because coca-cola contains potassium, one of the electrolytes. When your electrolytes are out of balance, you'll feel sick to your stomach. You would get the same effect from drinking iced tea brewed with real tea, such as the Nestea brand. If you could stomach solid food things like potatoes, apricots, and bananas would be good choices.

You might have also heard that chicken soup is traditionally given to people suffering from flu/colds. Well, another one of the electrolytes is salt, and chicken soup is usually quite salty.

Drinking coca-cola (or iced tea) and chicken soup would bring your electrolytes back into balance again and you would feel better.

Another reason drinking lots of coca-cola works, especially to bring down fever, is because it is a liquid. Drinking a lot of just about any cool/cold liquid would do the same thing. Whether you choose to go with coca-cola or not, it is a good idea to make an effort to consume more liquid than usual when you are suffering from a stomach flu. However you want to be careful about consuming fruit juice or milk which can both cause digestive upsets on their own even when you're feeling well.

And there is some evidence that the carbonation in "pop" drinks also helps to settle the stomach a bit.

A few tricks I have to combat sickness

First sign of cold- If you go run like crazy for a while, you will spike your t cell count and defeat the cold. It will only drive it in further if you try this after you are already sick, but if you catch it at the fist sign, 85% or of colds can be eradicated in my experience.

I find that this works. Where in Michigan are you from?

You can put a banana peel on your forehead for a headache.

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If you have corns on your feet, put half a watermelon on your crotch.
It's true.

A good source of 'wive's tale remedies' is at the People's Pharmacy:

http://www.healthcentral.com/peoplespharmacy/408/more_index_1_12_41.html

It's a locally-produced radio talk show: http://www.wunc.org/tpp/

If you have corns on your feet, put half a watermelon on your crotch.
It's true.

:roflmao::roflmao::roflmao:
Thats gotta be the best one yet, I guess that might work. It'll will get you off of your feet.

If you have a bad headache, get someone to break your arm, or punch you in the stomach when you are not expecting it.

Hiccups: Gently but firmly (shouldn't be uncomfortable) press your eyeballs in for 10 seconds. I swear! :D

Acid reflux: Add 1 tablespoon of apple cider vinegar to 1 glass of water. Drink. You'd be surprised how well this works.

I too will quaff a bourbon, lemon, and honey potion when I have a sore throat. :)

whenever I have a sore throat, I chug hot salsa (3 or 4 large mouthfuls.), so I'll back up the insanity sauce cure.

got a bad headache? soak your hands in hot water. Also, find the pulse point on your wrist, and press it down for a minute or so.

Do you know why the coca-cola trick works ... and why it works better than the more traditional ginger-ale?

It is because coca-cola contains potassium, one of the electrolytes. When your electrolytes are out of balance, you'll feel sick to your stomach. You would get the same effect from drinking iced tea brewed with real tea, such as the Nestea brand. If you could stomach solid food things like potatoes, apricots, and bananas would be good choices.

You might have also heard that chicken soup is traditionally given to people suffering from flu/colds. Well, another one of the electrolytes is salt, and chicken soup is usually quite salty.

Drinking coca-cola (or iced tea) and chicken soup would bring your electrolytes back into balance again and you would feel better.

Another reason drinking lots of coca-cola works, especially to bring down fever, is because it is a liquid. Drinking a lot of just about any cool/cold liquid would do the same thing. Whether you choose to go with coca-cola or not, it is a good idea to make an effort to consume more liquid than usual when you are suffering from a stomach flu. However you want to be careful about consuming fruit juice or milk which can both cause digestive upsets on their own even when you're feeling well.

And there is some evidence that the carbonation in "pop" drinks also helps to settle the stomach a bit.

I tried coke as a cure for a cold once, and it seemed to drive in the cold further. Sugar weekens your immune system, and I doubt that pop in general is a good cure for anything. My uncle who is an md told me the thing about carbonation curing the stomach flu. I tried drinking pepsi once when coke was unavailable and I got the flu. It didn't do much besides make its way back up.

got a bad headache? soak your hands in hot water. Also, find the pulse point on your wrist, and press it down for a minute or so.

Interesting thread. What is the theory behind soaking your hands?

I can add L-Lysine for cold sores.

Interesting thread. What is the theory behind soaking your hands?



Heck if I know, but I had a friend in high school who had chronic migraines and swore by that method.

I tried coke as a cure for a cold once, and it seemed to drive in the cold further. Sugar weekens your immune system, and I doubt that pop in general is a good cure for anything. My uncle who is an md told me the thing about carbonation curing the stomach flu. I tried drinking pepsi once when coke was unavailable and I got the flu. It didn't do much besides make its way back up.


You're NOT supposed to use coke as a cure for a COLD ... it helps ease the discomfort of a FLU. There's a difference.

Incidentally, in FLU situations, where you've been throwing up, the sugar in the coke also provides your body with a bit of extra energy. Sometimes those are all the calories your system can handle at that time. And if you can't stomach coke, I've found the next best thing to be Nestea Iced Tea. It sits a bit easier on my stomach.


For a COLD the following things seem to work for me:
- gargling with listerine
- gargling with salt water
- drinking tea with honey (especially lemon tea)
- drinking lots of orange juice
- taking Vitamin C, Vitamin E, and Zinc
- using Zinc lozenges

Over the weekend, I was listening to "The People's Pharmacy" on NPR. They were talking about the wonders of Vick's Vapor rub as a cure for warts among other things. One of the interesting uses was to put it on your feet and cover with socks at bedtime. It's supposed to cure chronic coughs . . . from smoking, asthma, allergies, etc.

Sandy

A slice of bread on a cut stops bleeding.
If I hadn't tried it, I would have never believed it.

Hiccups.... Drink a glass of water with a paper towel over the glass

(ie... drink the water through the Paper Towel)

Hiccups: Gently but firmly (shouldn't be uncomfortable) press your eyeballs in for 10 seconds. I swear! :D

Sounds like you are somehow stimulating that nerver that is supposed to be involved with hiccups--the Vagus nerve (is that right?)?


Acid reflux: Add 1 tablespoon of apple cider vinegar to 1 glass of water. Drink. You'd be surprised how well this works.

Did you see the article in the Wall Street Journal that all those acid inhibitors (Proton Pump Inhibitors, "PPI"s) may cause alkaline reflux, which may be just as bad or worse for your throat than Acid Reflux?

I too will quaff a bourbon, lemon, and honey potion when I have a sore throat. :)

Mmmmm, Whisky sours, I love 'em! ;)

For hiccups, swallow a teaspoon of white granulated sugar, then drink a glass of water. Your hiccups will be gone.

For a headache, I recommend drinking 36oz of water quickly. Most of the time I have a headache because I am dehydrated and the water helps within minutes. And hey, there's no real downside to drinking extra water other than a trip to the bathroom

ginger ale for flu or nausea
candied ginger for motion sickness
cayenne pepper, chili powder, salsa - for fever

For a bad cold, drink several bourbon and 7's - stiff ones.

It doesn't cure the cold, but you won't care anymore and you'll be able to get some sleep...... :D

When I have a bad cold, my grandma gave me this one:

Take a hot shower
Spread Vic's Salve over your chest, neck and under your nose.
Then make this concoction:

1 cup of Old Grandad's Whiskey
1 teaspoon of honey
1 teaspoon of lemon juice

Mix all together, zap in the microwave for 30 seconds. Drink as fast as you can. Get under big covers and blankets, and sleep (all this will make you sweat hard, but stay under the blankets!). Make sure you can get 8- 10 hours, or it won't work. It also must be OLD GRANDAD'S.

I do it, and by the next morning, I'm fine. A bit weaker, but fine. If you want to make sure the cold is all gone, do it again the next night.

Koffee

Interesting thread. What is the theory behind soaking your hands?

I can add L-Lysine for cold sores.


My take on headaches is you either have too much blood going to the brain or not enough. In the case of too much, soaking the hands in hot water pulls blood away from the head toward the hands. Similar results can be achieved by icing your head.

If one is dehydrated, blood doesn't flow too well. Drinking fluids establishes proper flow.

Note, I am a bazillion units shy of my medical degree. I just provide personal empircal results and a lot of guessing.

Don't know if it helped, but, when my 18 year old daughter got the stomach flu a couple days ago, I got her a bunch of coke (the drink). As I usually refuse keeping any in the house, she was more than happy to accept. Besides, she got to have daddy serve her the coke all day.

I think I'll have one myself. Now, see what you've done!!! I'm a coke head...I'm a coke head. Truth be told, it's my favorite soft drink, much better in my opinion, than the syrupy sweet flavor of Pepsi.

For cuts, just lick them.
Your saliva contains an anticoagulant. Which is why animals always lick their wounds. Try it for shaving cuts.
Des.

For cuts, just lick them.
Your saliva contains an anticoagulant. Which is why animals always lick their wounds. Try it for shaving cuts.
Des.Shaving cuts? What kind of tongue you got, this kind (http://news.bbc.co.uk/cbbcnews/hi/world/newsid_1646000/1646912.stm)? Or maybe one like this (http://www.strangecosmos.com/images/content/109091.jpg)?

Another way to get rid of hiccups:

hold your nose, plug your ears, and drink a glass of water (all at once, don't stop). It works.

Problem with this method is you need two people.

Oh, yeah. Vicks is good for what ails ya. The funny thing is that I actually read the label one time and it said something about not contacting the mucus membranes. Wha??? Are you kidding? That's the way it works best!

All of this makes me wonder: is the cure worse for the body than the sickness?

for a cold, nothing works better than homemade chicken soup. I literally remember sitting and eating two big bowls of it and feeling better. The next day I was almost back to normal. It really works!

Also, sore throat: Gargle with warm water mixed with a bit of whisky, then swallow. It won't cure strep of course, but it does relieve the pain. ALso, sore throat pain is like any other pain, so tylenol works.

Hiccups: Hold your breath and say the alphabet in your head.

feeling nauseous: Breathe through your mouth until it passes.

Also, ginger is very good for the immune system.

I used Zinc lozenges for a cold and they do work, but they can upset your stomach, so be careful!

To help quit smoking: eat baby carrots.