Remedies for a cold

Friday 3/8/2013 ... I have a cold! maybe the flu...
I am pretty sure it came from Alden, who probably caught it at prison or school; he had it a week ago, it lasted about 7 days, he was very sleepy, meditative and fortunately didn't have to go to school during the  worst days.
I mentioned to Alden that perhaps we got a cold this year because we have been sleeping indoors since December; for the last 3 years we had been sleeping in the sun room except on nights when the temperature was below freezing. Now I know this is true because dry nostrils are a breeding ground for bacteria, and having the wood stove burning logs really dries the air in the house.
My cold started Monday night, I felt my right nostril was plugged; Tuesday morning it was a full blown cold, stuffed-up right nostril, pressure on temples, droopy eyes, thirsty, and a shivering cold - I did not dare open a door, go to the basement and much less to the cold room! I started taking hepar sulphur a homeopathic remedy, every 3 hours. I slept well Tuesday night,  and woke up with the same symptoms Wednesday. Lots of nose blowing, waste basket full of tissues! Rubbing calendula cream on nostrils helped the skin not get irritated. Hot ginger tea was smoothing. Not very hungry. Both days I took naps but I was active in a slow way. Good night sleep. When I went to bed I had to get up 3 times to spit, I had thick saliva building up in my mouth, something was different.
Thursday morning I had totally different symptoms, in general I felt worst, both nostrils were runny, when I blew my nose the mucous had a tinge of blood, my head felt more pressure, I wasn't so cold anymore, I was constantly thirsty, craving cold water. I called Rosalba and she suggested taking bryonia or belladona as a second choice. I did have bryonia started at 4 pm every 3 hours. My symptoms got worst; I had a difficult night, waking up several times, sometimes hot other times cold, lots of nose blowing during the night; I started coughing and my throat felt raw.
Friday morning I didn't want to take homeopathic remedies anymore I felt I was not getting the appropriate one and my symptoms kept getting worst. I took an aspirin and went back to sleep after Alden left for school, that made me feel much better. Then I called Rocio, her suggestions plus others from the Internet are:

• As soon as you feel the first symptoms mix the juice of 2-3 lemons/limes a pinch of salt and a pinch of baking soda, stir and drink as soon as the foam settles. This remedy is a barrier against disease, it raises the PH and helps the stomach feel satisfied. 
• In the blender mix 1/4 inch fresh ginger root, 1 tsp honey, 1 lemon or lime with skin, and 1 cup of water. Drink immediately with a drop of Thieves oil. It is delicious!
• Rub tiger balm and a drop of Thieves oil on chest and soles of feet, put on socks. 
• Onion smoothie. Chop an onion, add a 1/3 inch slice of ginger, 2 garlic cloves, 3 Tbsp lime/lemon juice, 1 tsp honey; then blend and drink. I remembered Yogi Bhajan gave me this remedy many years ago when I had laryngitis during a book fair. .
• Do chiqong visualizations to heal the throat, lungs and sinuses.
• Drink lots of liquid - hot and room temperature, mainly herbal teas and water.
• Rinse nostrils with saline solution - 1/4 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp baking soda and 1 cup warm water. This helps break nasal congestion while also removing virus particles and bacteria from nose. Make sure to use distilled or boiled water to avoid getting bacteria into your brain. 
• If  throat hurts gargle with warm salt water, 4 times a day. This will moisten a sore scratchy throat and bring temporary relief. To reduce the tickle in the throat gargle with an astringent tea that contains tannin to tighten the membranes; or use a thick, viscous gargle made by steeping 1 Tbsp of raspberry leaves or lemon juice in two cups of hot water, plus 1 tsp of honey.
• Stay warm and rest - give your body a chance to direct its energy to the immune system.
• Sleep with an extra pillow under head to relieve congestion;
• Vaporize and Moisturize. Steam can loosen mucus; a humidifier will add moisture to the environment, which will keep the nasal tissues moist. Dry nasal passages are prime breeding grounds for the cold virus. A study found that people who used sesame oil had an 80 percent improvement in their nasal dryness while the people who used traditional saline drops had a 30 percent improvement. While it may not be a good idea to shoot sesame oil up your nose (it could get into the lungs), try rubbing a drop around the inside of your nostrils.
• Rosalba suggests: gargle several times a day with 1 part of salt and 2 of turmeric in warm water.

Except for the onion smoothie or a humidifier I've done all the things on the list and I am feeling much better by noon. Lisa came by to drop some carrot soup and fresh sliced papaya, she said "we have to take care of each other"; Ana called to say she made fish broth and will bring it over by 2. What sweet friends! They were delicious.

In the afternoon I felt like going outside to pick weeds from the moss garden and to walk slowly to the mailbox to get the fish broth. What a pleasant slow walk, listening to song birds all along and enjoying Ringo's company.

Interesting to notice how a cold can invite feelings of not being good enough, or why me? I can greet these feelings laughing at the door; I move slower and pay attention to small details, the birds enjoying the feeder, the one hundred lady bugs crawling up the window over and over again; the beauty of the sky; the tenderness in my heart. The symptoms and how they change. Everything is constantly changing. Gratitude for Alden, friends, a comfortable home and all the situations that allow me to heal.

General information about upper respiratory infections: By the time you feel like you are coming down with a cold, you've already been infected for a day and a half.
How are colds spread? most people are contagious a day before and two to four days after their symptoms start. A cold virus is spread by:

• Touching someone who has the virus (shaking hands) or something that contains the virus (a doorknob or grocery cart). The virus can live for 3 hours on skin and objects. Once the virus is passed to your skin it is a simple matter for it to travel to your mucus membranes (rubbing your eye, eating finger food, touching your nose). That is why it is important to wash your hands frequently.
• Inhaling the virus through airborne transmission. If someone sitting next to you sneezes while you are inhaling, it is likely you'll get a cold.
• More information Home remedies for colds

Saturday 3/9, I worked all morning with Federico pruning grapes and pomegranates. In the afternoon I took a 20 minute nap. Sunday I cleaned house, did laundry, planted onions, cooked meals while Alden and Federico dug the posts for the shed. In the evening friends came over for Awareness Conversation. 

Monday 3/11 I am still blowing my nose but I feel alive and well. I did not develop a cough and my throat didn't hurt except  Friday early morning; I believe the gargles with salt water really helped. In general doing the things on the list made the cold less cumbersome. I never drank the onion smoothie. I change the date from 3/11 to 3/18 to give massages in Guntersville.
I continued to feel a stuffy nose several times during the day for almost three weeks, blowing my nose regularly and rinsing it with salt water and very diluted Thieves oil. Then rubbing oil around nostrils to keep them moist.
March weather was interesting, there were 8 days below 45 degrees and 15 night below 32 degrees.
By end of March the weather is fluctuating between 60 during the day and 40 at night... we started sleeping in the sunroom snugged under the down comforter... what a delight!