Monday, December 1, 2008

GETTING THE FLU

Good morning to you all! It is snowing like crazy outside and I feel good about it. That ought to be a sign of my mental incompetence!

My wife announced to me last night that I had the early stages of the flu. And she is probably correct. I was feeling a little out of sorts and knew that things were not quite right. She got out her tinctures of mass destruction and started dosing me. My God in heaven! It was tincture of Elderberry, tincture of Golden Seal, and tincture of Cayenne and they were the bitterest damn things I ever allowed to be put in my mouth. It was assault with a ghastly herb! Yuck.

I had told her that I could not feel the heat from our little space heater here in the kitchen. This was her clue as to my condition and the point at which she struck with her herbal daggers. Then I went to bed. We keep plenty of quilts on the bed because neither of us likes a heated room to sleep in. I pulled the quilts up to my head and I was out like a light. I slept a full eight hours and woke up with a clear head and nicely open nasal passages. Naturally the wife had to dose me again right before breakfast. Man. You talk about something that will take your appetite away quickly! But it is working. I know I have something. It is hard for me to explain that but I do know it. But it can't get it's hooks in me. It is held back from stomping my ass. I think this stuff is a stomach flu. But I can eat and my stomach feels okay. I just happen to be passing gas like crazy. If you have been following what the Handmaiden has been writing about making tinctures and stuff like that you will have a use for it if the old flu bug comes around.

Flu is a social disease. You won't get much of it in your life if you don't go out and meet the public very much. Generally, taking multivitamins and drinking plenty of water will keep you pretty healthy. If you take Blueberries and other superfoods, so much the better. You can't kill a flu virus with any medicine. Your body's immune system has to wipe it out for you. Whatever you add to your diet to boost your immune system will do you the most good. Whatever you eat that weakens your immune system you can do without. If you feel something coming on then get with the tinctures. Natures pharmacy is still the best. Be respectful of it and study it. Your health may be improved for the effort. This new stuff they have in the world made by big pharmaceutical companies has not had the hundreds or thousands of years of testing that the herbs have had. And the herbs will help you stay alive!

Michael

mboone@rtccom.net

6 comments:

Grumpyunk said...

Technically speaking, Flu is a respiratory illness only. What we always referred to as "Stomach Flu" isn't really a flu.

But you're correct that as a virus, not much is going to kill it except time and the bodies immune system.

Most anything that's stomach or GI (Gastrointestinal tract) based is now labeled as, Gastroenteritis. Pretty much a generic term the includes both virus or bacterial infections. Most of the time Docs never know which it is and treat the symptoms till your body gets you better.

You're correct again on the Flu being "A social illness". Staying away from others is probably the best preventative there is. WASH YOUR HANDS!!! Can't emphasize it enough. Don't rub your eyes or any other mucus membranes (that means no picking boogers) when your out at WalMart.
Keeping a small bottle of hand sanitizer handy will help when you're out at the store, etc.

I have a pretty good case of the common cold going because some Zombie coughed right in my face last week in the ER. Not much you can do when they spew infected crap right in your eyes from 3 feet away.

I made a point of thanking him for sharing his illness with me and also asked him to thank his momma for him having the manners of a feral hog. Probably not gonna get a Christmas card from that one.

Having The Handmaiden working on you and with you is a good thing, Michael. Take her medicine and get better.

The Urban Survivalist said...

I started to feel it coming on a week or so ago. I was miserable all day. Luckily it was a Saturday so I didn't have to call in to work. After half a gallon of OJ, a few shots of Nyquil, a few naps and a good night's sleep I woke up feeling fine. I also had a bowl of homemade chili with a few dried cayennes mixed in right before bed. I think that's what really cleared me up. I've been following the handmaiden's blog and have found it educational. I need to get more into the herbal/home remedies. If the crisis that we're currently dealing with has taught us anything it's that it doesn't matter how many facts and smart people back up what the "experts" have to say. As far as I'm concerned that spills right over into healthcare. Sure there are things that modern medicine can do that old school remedies will never be able to accomplish but there are a lot of maladies out there that people have been getting over for generations that modern medicine is still puzzled by.

Mayberry said...

Stay well Michael!

scoutinlife said...

Get well soon my friend!

Patricia said...

Assault with a ghastly herb? I love it! I'm stealing that line!
HM

Anonymous said...

Bought some elderberry plants last Spring for this reason, from a company in your neck of the woods, Indiana Berry Company I believe (can't find the link, and too lazy to google at the moment :-) Got about 7 (small) clusters of berries from our 6 plants - but hey, least they grew. Assuming they survive the winter, hoping for a better crop next year. We grew cayenne indoors last year, never knew they had anti-viral properties (good to know), but did notice they got rid of our aphids (sp?). Also have mullein that grows wild around here, dried some of that to try as tea when my yearly flu/cold hits.

Hope you're feeling better, take care.