Oh, Pesky! Poor you. I have no suggestions for your current situation but be sure to get a flu shot for later. I'd do something citrus if it were me. Citrus or extremely spicy clear food ( as hot as you can stand it!). Wish I were your neighbor now. I'd come up with something good!

Alka Selzer Cold & Flu. I had an old boyfriend who swore it would cure cancer for a half hour. I can't say it will make you better, but it will make you feel better and allow you to get some sleep.

Zyrtec (sp) which is an antihistimine is good. I never use those cold remedies because I like taking my Tylenol/Ibuprophen and anti-histimines on my own so I won't overdose. That's what's in the cold remedies.

Benadryl is in some of the cold remedies which will make you sleepy. I'd rather take a Benadryl on my own.

Lots of liquid and Kleenex. lol. As we get older, colds get worse, have you noticed that? Good luck!

If you get stopped up, take a nasal decongestant.

Staying away from the medicine cabinet. I believe it's best to just let things run their course naturally with the body's defense system. I believe cold meds have been clinically shown to slow down and interfere with the natural process and course of recovery.

I do arm myself with vitamins and a good amount of Vitamin C, along with zinc and echinacea. I also drink lots of fluids and try to drink juices and soup. For achiness, I'll take pain relievers like aspirin and use the heating pad. A sip of liqueur works wonders for that too and helps in getting some rest.

Big box of kleenex!

Hope you feel better soon.

I like Tylenol Cold.

Zicam is the best stuff, but yes, you have to use it at the first sign of trouble. It will nip it in the bud. If the ickiness is in full swing, I like Alka-Seltzer Cold.

I'm with Jakabedy, the Alkaseltzer Cold & Flu is the best. Actually, it used to be even better in the 90's, but they changed the formula. Your cold would just about go away for 3 hours, it was miraculous!

I don't recall how they changed the formula, probably took out the pseudofedrine (sp?) to make it less attractive to the meth-chefs, but you can get Sudafed at the drug store, too, you just have to ask for it from behind the counter.

Hope you're feeling better soon!

Oh, I feel for you Pesky! I'm finishing up the same thing. It's never fun.

I do what Spring does.
"I do arm myself with vitamins and a good amount of Vitamin C, along with zinc and echinacea. I also drink lots of fluids"
I take tylenol for a fever or pain. I'm a fan of organic hot teas (echinacea and some other cold care ones I have) when I get like that. I also eat more stuff with garlic and ginger.

Feel better soon!

Ditto on the garlic. I actually chop cloves up and take them like pills. It's supposed to be a good preventative measure when you've been exposed to something or start to feel symptoms. I include that with the other supplements if I feel funny or have been around any ill people. Not sure if it helps after the fact but sometimes do it anyway. Ginger sounds like a good idea too. Those things really do seem to work.

Lots of garlic and pepper in my chicken soup helps me breathe easier when I have a cold. Extra wasabi is good, too. (Dh usually picks up sushi for supper at least one night whenever I'm under the weather.) Old-style Sudafed (as Folkvictorian mentioned, from behind the pharmacy counter)is the only OTC drug that does any good for me.

Sunkist tangerine or orange Jelly Bellies (25% RDA of vitamin C in one serving) is always a welcome treat here.

For comfort, a flannel sack filled with long grain rice that's heated in the microwave feels soothing. A long soak in the tub with one of the baby bath potions that has eucalyptus, menthol, etc., helps me to sleep. I love the smell of Vicks when I have a cold, but can't stand the feel of the original rub so I use the non-greasy cream instead.

Hope you feel better soon.

Try gargling with salt water. A favorite column of mine, "Really?" in the New York Times, had an article about it saying it really is effective in easing cold symptoms.

That, and a good biography to curl up with :)

I've had good luck warding off colds by using saline nasal spray at the first sign of a cold coming on.

Here is a link that might be useful: Salt water gargles help

But if you all are sneezing a lot and have a bothersome runny nose, why won't you take an antihistimine instead of suffering?

I hate when I have a cold (or allergy attack) and I'm trying to sleep but I can't because of blowing my nose all the time. lol.

DH has been a family practice doc for many (many!) years, and before that, he was a pharmacist. So I trust him completely when it comes to the best thing to take for a cold, as this guy knows his meds, Rx and OTC.
We take the same things he recommends to all his patients. For a cold, Sudafed. The plain version, not the 12-hour or the kind with extra meds added. With a cough, we add Mucinex, the regular version. To counteract a stuffy head and/or nose he always recommends trying a NetiPot and/or Ayr nose spray. For serious nasal congestion we use Afrin Nasal Spray at night so that we can sleep better. And last, he always has us drink a lot more than usual fluids, such as water and tea; rest; fresh air, such as short walks if the weather permits. Chicken soup and OJ are also great.
Lynn

Homemade chicken soup, hot tea, a good book, naps, and extra-soft tissues.

My main focus with a cold is getting a good night's sleep and the generic version of Nyquil does just that.

Sleep sleep sleep. Chinese hot & sour soup. Super hot baths. Tissues with lotion, and moisturize your poor nose before it gets too sore.

My favorite mediation is Advil Cold & Sinus, or Mucinex if I'm super congested.

Hope you feel better soon!

Thanks everyone! Last night I had another hot glass of theraflu then went to bed in the guest room with the window open a crack. I slept really well, but had weird dreams. I woke up feeling like an elephant was sitting on my chest. Seems the nasal congestion migrated to my lungs.

So this morning I had another dose of theraflu (it's what we had on hand) and went back to sleep for another 90 minutes or so, then when I woke I took a prednisone. That helped clear my bronchial tubes so I could breathe, and I took a couple puffs off my inhaler. And I've been drinking vigilantly. DH bought me some more drinks and a bouquet of flowers. I've been able to get rid of a lot of the gunk in my system (will try not to be graphic!) I think I can sleep ok tonight if I dose up before bed. I've been dozing off and on all day.

Talked to DD, she's got no symptoms, so maybe I didn't pick it up at the school, but at the store I stopped at later. Either way, I'm glad she's ok as she has bad asthma and colds are horrific for her...she sometimes ends up in the ER for breathing treatments.

So I've got DH taking the Zicam, and he just cooked up a bunch of veggies with garlic & onions. I can't smell it, but I can taste it in my mouth...isn't that funny? He's drinking lots of OJ, too. He's being a much better nurse to me than I would be to him!