I am having a nasty "cold" for some weeks now, I am feeling better, but still not at 100%, so I am starting to consider to see a doctor if I am not clean in some days. What about you, do you self medicate yourself or you don't take a pill without going to the doctor, what is your case?
Well I'm anti-medicine so I avoid it as much as possible. When I had a cold this year, I just roughed it out. I just made sure to blow my nose a lot, drink plenty of water and get enough rest. However if you're having a cold for that long then I would probably go to the doctor because that is not normal.
Self-medication tends to cause more problems for you eventually. Using drugs of any kind without prescription [since you don't take them as you're supposed to] may cause the disease causing organisms to develop some kind of resistance against that particular drug. So, if I had a cold or any other kind of ailment I'd try home-made treatments like taking a syrup made from cayenne, honey and other stuff but if I don't get better I'd have to see a doctor.
I have had a very bad cold few months ago but it didn't last for more than two days. What I did was I drank as much warm water as I can. It was probably about 13 or 14 glasses a day. It stopped soon after, the sneezing and runny nose went away. I also managed to avoid from getting a fever which I usually do when I have a cold in the past. I'd like to avoid from taking medicine as much as possible because I'm already taking one for my horrible migraine whenever it attacks me.
I will self medicate with over the counter meds but never with anything that is prescription. If I have some old stuff left over, even if I have a cold now and the leftover meds are cold meds, I won't take them because it makes me nervous. I don't want to cause more harm and I also worry about the way the medicine could interact with anything else I am taking.
If it's just a simple cough or cold, I may just self-medicate or drink a lot of vitamin C. However, if the symptoms appear to be more serious, I make sure that I actually see a doctor. I'm very scared to self-medicate because I know for a fact that a lot of medicines are not good to take unless really needed and unless you've been properly diagnosed by the doctor. I have a relative in the past who died of liver cancer and the doctors said it was because he liked to drink certain medicines even when it was not really advised by the doctor. It destroyed his liver.
Yeah, I know. I've spend my whole life seeing doctors, so sometimes I feel I don't need them, but that is not the case. If it's something that goes away in a couple of days, fine, but if the symptoms keep dragging week after week, for sure I will see a doctor or else I might be ruining my health.
When it's only a simple cold or even a flu, I do self medicate. I dislike going to the doctor and I don't think it's necessary if you have had flus and colds before and already know what you took before... at least to me it's OK to self medicate when it's simple like that. I also have a cousin who's a doctor to whom I call whenever I have doubts about something health related.
That's lucky from you, having a doctor who you can call whenever you need. I do that with my kids, they have this wonderful pediatrician and we call them whenever we need, I have thought many times to ask her if she could be my doctor too, but at the same time it doesn't look adequate to do it. I'm now investing a little more in natural medicines and if doesn't work (I am way better already) I'll go to a conventional doctor.
Rest, rest, rest and rest. What I mean by this is just keep yourself in bed until you feel best and feel normal, until that you have already regained the strength that you have lost. No TVs, movies, books and computers. Not even simple chitchats or bull sessions are allowed. Stop thinking too much. Feel like you are dead, but don't deprive yourself of food. Alongside with your extreme rest, eat extremely also. Drown yourself with fruits. They are good for cell repair and they help you to recover faster. Eat some vegetables and other nutritious foods. Eat no matter how bad you feel. even you don't feel like doing so. Nothing is going to help you to give you strength, energy except rest and food. And also, don't forget to drink a lot of water even if that means you would have to pee a lot.
I self-treat until something gets out of hand that I can't handle. For example, I got bronchitis one year. I treated up through the point where it seemed like a normal cold or flu, but when I wasn't getting any better, then I went to a doctor. They were able to treat it in a way that I couldn't on my own.
I don't call it self medication as much as I call it holistic health. It's just how I think. I have been learning and doing it as a lifestyle for over 30 years. I use herbs, supplements, homeopathy, essential oils etc. I think people do have to learn more than you know the phrase, just enough to get you into trouble. It does take a good bit of self awareness, of yourself and your body as well as learning. I do this for children, and for animals too. Like I said, for me it's just a way of life. I would go to the doctor to have something x-rayed for possibilities of being broken, and for other emergencies like head injury's, etc. And I have had done all of that. I can't tell other people what to do, so I don't. I do say tho that when you feel something is past your knowledge or going on a long time, only you can know when you have reached that, to go if you think it's gone into 'something else' or it's something else entirely. Somethings have a 'course to run', some things not. Only you can know. There is a trusting our instincts and that means doing or not doing something either one. Things can turn on a hair trigger and we all can be 'out of our element'. That also has happened to me. We do have to know our 'range'. I won't say limits. Best wishes.
Zinc is often great at fighting off colds or preventing them. 50mg is the standard size you get from the bottle, but more often that can lead to some nausea so consider taking half. Speaking of which, try to always take zinc with a meal to avoid any side effects. Most of the cold remedies you see out there are just packed with Vitamin C and Zinc. The alternative, and this is my own personal philosophy, is try to flush it through your system with a combination of exercise, Niacin flushes, zinc, of course lots of water.
Try this for "self medication". - half a garlic clove (raw) -3 cups of ginger tea (fresh ginger) If you did that for a week straight, you would feel like your life has changed in some way. A healthy remedy that you should use even when you are not "sick". What is sickness anyways? i look around and see almost every single person is unhealthy. Being unhealthy is "sickness". So, try it now.
I try to avoid going to the doctor if I can help it. I try to avoid taking prescription drugs as well because first, I think the pharmaceutical industry is one big scam, and second, I don't think they are always that great for you. A lot of that stuff is just too potent. I always try to treat myself first by trying tea/garlic/soup/lemon water/honey, etc. If that doesn't work, I'll usually turn to over-the-counter meds. Worst case scenario would be the doctor.
When I'm sick and I have a sense of what's going on, I will take a Sudafed or Aleve or something like that. I will not take a medicine that was prescribed for another sickness some time ago. The saying that says you know yourself better then anyone really takes part when it comes to your sickness.
I think there is a line we should no cross when self-medicating and usually that line is determined by time, meaning, if we are sick for too long we should see a doctor. The other line is more obvious and it's called pain, if we are in pain we should not self-medicate I think, doctors are more fit to deal with it. Having this said, I still think we are our best doctors.
In your case, since you're just suffering from a cold, then I think that you can just take an anti-cold tablet. It's quite safe to take one without a prescription anyway. That's what I actually do when I have a cold. I also try to self-medicate at times, but only for minor ailments. For serious ailments, of course I will see a doctor first before buying anything.
I've been reading a book about bacteria sidney and it's really impressive, we have bacteria inside ourselves that can cause us diseases when our immune system is weak, while other people with the same bacteria, but stronger immune systems remain healthy. A cold is not just a cold, is way more than that, much more complex.
F it's just a cold then I usually just self medicate, even if it lasts longer than usual I am mostly sure it will pass so I don't feel like I need to go to the doctor. Whenever this happens, I usually just drink lots of water and tea as well as citrus fruits and vitamin c tablets, and with a good amount of rest, the sickness is usually gone in aa week or two.
