But
once back at work, he lost sight of what was required to rebuild his
health and be rid of the flu once and for all. A common mistake which
we all can make, he believed he was 100% cured, when actually he was
only about 80% there.
That
night after work, he felt fine. Having spent so much time
recuperating, he was ready to resume tasks around the house that
required both mental and physical energy to complete. An odd plumbing
job, fixing an old leak, installing a screen door, fixing a light bulb
socket, and a few other tasks seemed easy enough to him. His
frustration and impatience at not having gotten anything done around the
house got the best of him, and that little voice inside was saying
“stop being a baby, and get something done.” This turned out to be a
mistake.
He
had spent the last three weeks getting to bed rather early, and his
body wasn’t used to the extra exertion that was common when he was fully
well. He also thought that he was well enough to indulge in some
cookies and ice cream, which he had stayed away from during his illness.
As
a result of overexertion as well as sugary foods, as soon as his head
hit the pillow, he started coughing violently from the tickle in his
throat he thought was licked. The next morning, he awoke with a sore
throat yet again. Basically, he set himself back a full week as a
result of not taking his recovery seriously enough.
Here are the rules I recommend my patients follow when recovering from a cold or flu:
1.
Keep your neck and throat covered and warm at all times. When out,
wear a scarf, even if it’s warm out. Even the slightest breeze can set
off a cold and sore throat when your immune system is still vulnerable.
2.
At night, rub castor oil on your neck, cover with a towel and apply a
heating pad for at least 20-30 minutes before bed. If your chest is
also congested, also apply this remedy to the chest area.
3.
Take a warm Epsom salts bath before retiring. This has not only the
effect of calming and relaxing you, but it also draws out many toxins
within the body, and opens the chest and sinus passages to help with
breathing and alleviate problems with mucus buildup or coughing.
4.
Gargle with either salt water or with Hydrastis homeopathic tincture.
Place about 10-20 drops of the tincture in about 1/2 cup of hot
distilled or bottled water and gargle five or six times before bed.
5.
Faithfully take all supplements recommended to you. As you heal and
the illness begins to subside, you may cut back on supplements. But one
of the biggest mistakes people make is to stop altogether. Taper off
slowly, and keep taking them for about one week after you are feeling
better.
6.
It is very common for a cold or flu to change locations as you begin to
feel better. From the immune system, it may travel into the
muscular-skeletal system. This may take the form of various muscle
aches or pains, neck and shoulder spasms and tightness or low back pain
or sciatica. It’s important not to ignore these or to misinterpret
them as genuine structural problems. Rather, treat them like a virus
that has entered your muscle system. Continue taking your anti-viral
herbal and vitamin supplements and seek deep tissue body work to move
the virus out of the muscles as quickly as possible. Body work will
also help move your lymph system along and quicken your healing time.
Hot Epsom salt baths are recommended, as well.
7.
Eat only warming, cooked foods and drinks. Never eat or drink anything
cold; an occasional room temperature fruit or fruit juice is alright.
Hot foods help keep your meridians unblocked and your Chi flowing
smoothly. Cold causes blockage and constriction, resulting in a buildup
of mucus or muscle pains.
8.
Go easy on yourself! It’s normal to get sick and there is nothing
wrong with you. It’s also common to feel blue when sick, especially if
healing isn’t quick. For such cases, a full regimen of anti-depressant
herbs and supplements, such as Glutamine, Glycine, Tyrosine, P5P, St.
John’s Wart, are beneficial
9.
Be certain to change your homeopathic treatment as your symptoms
change. Often patients will be on one specific remedy for the cold or
flu and then stay on it for the recovery period, or worse yet,
discontinue it after they feel better. But you need to consult with
your Classical Homeopath, so that he may track your symptoms and adjust
your homeopathic remedy as the symptoms are changing. You often have to
change homeopathic remedies every day or every other day to keep up
matching the symptoms.
10.
Even if you must resort to antibiotics or over the counter cold and flu
medications, continue your herbal and homeopathic regime. This is very
important. Using Western and homeopathics simultaneously is
beneficial, not conflicting, but there is an art to mixing the two.
Your Homeopath can teach you how to use both optimally. Often you can
maximize the use of a prescription drug when you know which herbs or
homeopathics to use, which may also enable you to heal quicker with
fewer prescribed drugs. Many such drugs can cause toxicity and
sluggishness in the liver, making it that much harder to fight the virus
or bacteria. But never hesitate to take a Western medication when
indicated!
11.
Receive an acupuncture treatment as quickly as possible during the
recovery phase. Acupuncture has been shown to lesson recovery time by
improving the overall function of the immune system and helping the body
detoxify.
Follow these suggestions and I assure you a speedy, full recovery in as quick of time as is humanly possible.
