Chronic Sickness - Advice Needed

[WinterlessIceness]

Alright, so if the topic would have to deal with me I'd probably already know how to handle it or would find different ways to cope with it using a personal experience. And now that I'm really concerned about my friends it's the complete lack of it why I can't seem to help her at all. If I'm talking about myself, I don't recall getting sick in years - literally years, including colds, running nose or anything, I'm perfectly healthy from every aspect (just excluding vision to a certain extent). With my friend - she gets ill basically out of nowhere. This monday when we've been sleeping it went quite warm in the room, so I just opened the window simply to cool it down. Because of this, really subtle temperature change she woke up with a sore throat, discovered the temperature once she got back to her home, and today she's been feeling like throwing up since the very morning (couldn't sleep thru the night either). It happens all the time, but since this time it was clearly my fault I now feel totally bad I couldn't have prevented her from getting ill, neither could I do anything about it after.

Many of you guys have children, and are overally much more experienced as I am, so I thought I'd start a thread to ask what I should do once this happens again. If a person feels like throwing up is it better to lay down waiting for it to let go, or it's better to make yourself throw up? Should a person not eat at all for the whole day and just drink, and if so what kind of drink - just plain water or hot drinks like hot milk or tea with lemon? Or honey? What helps to fight against the sore throat and temperature? And I wonder, if there's any way to train or improve the immune system, because it's quite weird coz she's really fit and does exercises regulary, she's used to walking for a long in whichever weather it would be, but everytime after it would rain she'd start coughing and have a running nose, if not more complicated.

I just really want to know how I should act, and not just to sit around like a dumbass feeling even worse that I'm absolutely healthy and she's not. If you have any story or any advice to share - that would really be just great guys.

[Ted Van Halen]

Cold/heat won't make you sick, germs will. That being said, ambient temp changes can start the process. For instance: you open a window, let in humid warm air that starts sinuses draining which leads to the sore throat & causes the immune system to kick into gear against a "false" signal. All the while, a virus has been laying in the weeds waiting for a compromised immune system & takes advantage of the situation provided by the false signal. SO, the virus is the actual culprit albeit by way of chaos theory from the simple opening of the window. When my kids get sick & are puking we put them on a "BRAT" diet. Bananas, rice, apple sauce & toast. No rich foods, no milk, just a bland diet. My wife is a registered nurse so I've been engrained w/ what to do & it works. As for preventing colds, etc., we keep a bottle of Germ-X hand sanitizer close by at all times. In the cars in the house, I even have it on my desk at work. Frequent hand washing is the #1 preventer of colds. Also, if it is a cold, Zicam is the shiz-nickle.


TVH

[Number 47]

get lots of rest!!

[Number 47]

I'm reminded that our mother use to give us Toast, Tea, Giger Ale, Patience, Love and a cool wash cloth.

[ZeoBandit]

Drink lots of OJ!!!! Vitamin C overdoses will kill anything!

[WinterlessIceness]

Cold/heat won't make you sick, germs will. That being said, ambient temp changes can start the process. For instance: you open a window, let in humid warm air that starts sinuses draining which leads to the sore throat & causes the immune system to kick into gear against a "false" signal. All the while, a virus has been laying in the weeds waiting for a compromised immune system & takes advantage of the situation provided by the false signal. SO, the virus is the actual culprit albeit by way of chaos theory from the simple opening of the window. When my kids get sick & are puking we put them on a "BRAT" diet. Bananas, rice, apple sauce & toast. No rich foods, no milk, just a bland diet. My wife is a registered nurse so I've been engrained w/ what to do & it works. As for preventing colds, etc., we keep a bottle of Germ-X hand sanitizer close by at all times. In the cars in the house, I even have it on my desk at work. Frequent hand washing is the #1 preventer of colds. Also, if it is a cold, Zicam is the shiz-nickle.


TVH

Thanks Ted. I'll stick Zicam and your "BRAT" components all over my kitchen now, never thought bananas were so good! Besides she likes them on anyway.
So what are you saying, it's just her immune system that's easily attacked by the virus, or there's some virus sleeping in her?

get lots of rest!!

That's the crux of the problem, we both have to wake up at like 6 to get to uni, and handle the work finished at half-past midnight the day before. Annoying as hell

I'm reminded that our mother use to give us Toast, Tea, Giger Ale, Patience, Love and a cool wash cloth.

Thanks, I'll take those into account!

Drink lots of OJ!!!! Vitamin C overdoses will kill anything!

Including hormones ?!

Kidding , thanks I'll fill my fridge with packs of orange juice as well.

[Rick5150]

This may sound odd, but I was plagued by flu and colds until my late 30's. I had to use an asthma inhaler 4-5 times per day and a steroid nose spray just to breathe. In a nutshell:

1) I did Atkins and found I am very sensitive to carbs. Most everything cleared up. Stuffy sinuses, post nasal drip, heartburn and even the asthma. The body can be hypersensitive to flour/sugar and literally keep you on the edge of sickness so one minor thing topples the apple cart. The "carb controlled" diets are controversial so do what is right for you.

2) Due to item #1, I lost about 15 lbs. so the weight loss may have contributed to feeling ill.

3) I would still get sinus headaches in the morning from time to time. I bought a product called Sinus Buster and it is a miracle worker. I used it for a month since it is all natural and there is no "rebound effect." Sore throats, congestion and headaches are a thing of the past. You need a strong disposition to use this as it is basically hot pepper juice you are spraying up your nose.

4) A yeast "infestation". If you or anyone who gets sick takes antibiotics, they kill the good bacteria as well as the bad bacteria. Your digestive system relies on this bacteria to assist in breaking down food. The lack of the good bacteria allows candida yeast to take over. A colon cleanse and probiotics may help offer relief.

5) A good multivitamin. Megadoses of vitamin C too. Linus Pauling wasn't as crazy as they thought, maybe. He still died of cancer, but at 93, I believe.

6) A good attitude about not getting sick. Your mind can do amazing things to your body. This sounds almost like hypochondria.

I have not used an inhaler, taken a nose spray (other than the all natural one listed), or even taken as much as an aspirin or tylenol in 6 years now. I feel better than I have in years. At 44 years old, I am hiking NH's 48 4,000 footers. Something I could never consider in the past.

Good luck

[WinterlessIceness]

Thank you so much Rick!! I can't afford that remedy you've mentioned (international shipment and all) but thanks for the links, I'll keep them in mind. Looks like I'm definately sticking to that vitamin C thingie. I hope #1 is not the case with my friend though!

Could you develope more on hypochondria part, what is it? I used to practice such thing as constantly convincing myself that I don't feel cold when it was freezing or vice versa (primitive form of what those Dalai Lama's do or whoever they are) and it actually seemed to work (I can still go out with just a t-short on when everyone would be wearing fur coats and whatnot), but again, it's just me. I really don't think my friend would understand me if I'd get her out with her pajamas on in this shivering cold and say something like "you're in Texas, you're in Texas!!"

[Ted Van Halen]

Not a virus sleeping in her per but she may be hasa virus that her body id fighting off until the other symptoms kick in & overload her immune system. Theen the actual virus does it's thing. Also, someone else mentioned about the yeast thing. That is absolutely true. Just eating a cup of yogurt a day will help get the natural bacteria going again to aid in proper digestion. Make sure the yogurt has live active cultures in it. Not the frozen stuff from the ice cream stand.


Ted

[seenbad]

Damn good advice rendered here. Wow, I'm impressed.

I'm a yeast sensitive fella, but never was until AFTER coming off the atkins diet. I didn't even really need to do the diet either. I wasn't huge or anything, I just wanted to knock 10 pounds quick. Boy was that stupid. My body got all whacked out after that and now I've got a yeast sensitivity. 4 pieces of papa murphys pizza is how I found that out as they use a high gluten dough. Zapped my ass hardcore.

[WinterlessIceness]

Thanks everyone for your input

[Rick5150]

Thank you so much Rick!! I can't afford that remedy you've mentioned (international shipment and all) but thanks for the links, I'll keep them in mind. Looks like I'm definately sticking to that vitamin C thingie. I hope #1 is not the case with my friend though!

Could you develope more on hypochondria part, what is it?

A person with hypochondria has a preoccupying fear of having a serious illness. This conviction persists despite appropriate medical evaluation and reassurance of good health.

People with hypochondria are obsessed with bodily functions and interpret normal sensations (such as heart beats, sweating, and bowel movements) or minor abnormalities (such as a runny nose, a small sore, or slightly swollen lymph nodes) as symptoms of serious medical conditions.

There is a self-test you can take here, that may help. The trick is to answer it honestly since you will be the only one who sees the results. But hypochondriacs usually do not want to hear that there is nothing wrong.

The kicker is just as you described. You use your mind to convince your body that you are not freezing. A hypochondriac will hear symptoms of a disease and will develop those symptoms if they are convinced they have a disease.

Vitamin C info here

Linus Pauling and megadosing vitamin C here. There are probably just as many opponents of his theories, but I tend to believe the person who practiced what they preached and lived a long life partly because of it.

My body got all whacked out after that and now I've got a yeast sensitivity. 4 pieces of papa murphys pizza is how I found that out as they use a high gluten dough. Zapped my ass hardcore.

Can you share any more details? I like to hear all sides of things. I have had nothing but great things to say about controlled carb diets - not always Atkins, though. It sounds as if you are saying that Atkins reset your body to where it should be.

When you look around and see all the overweight people, you wonder why there is no mechanism that allows them to control themselves. Watch children who have yet to develop extra high tolerances to sweets eat too much candy. Their body reacts as if they were poisoned and they throw up or get a stomach ache. Too many adults adjust their bodies to accept all the garbage they put into it.