Cold/flu season kit

Urchina

Urchina

Full time employment: Posting here.
Joined
Feb 3, 2008
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Central Coast, California
Cold/Flu season has hit our household early this year, with the onset of a nasty little norovirus.
(Neither cold nor flu, but similar feeling with a much shorter duration).

So, I had cause to stock our cold/flu care kit with the following:


  • Cans of Campbell's vegetarian vegetable, vegetable beef and chicken and stars soup.
  • Bottles of Recharge, a sports drink that's like Gatorade but without the nasty artificial additives/flavors.
  • Apple juice
  • Apple sauce
  • Crackers
  • Ricola
  • Tylenol
  • Honey
  • chicken broth
  • miso soup packets
  • Kleenex
  • Nyquil (for DH; I can't stand the stuff and the kids never get anything other than Tylenol or Motrin).
We restock after each bout of cold/flu because we don't want to have to run out and get stuff when we're sick. What does everyone else do?
 
Orange juice, lots and lots of orange juice. Vitamin C, fiber, and fluid, all in one tasty drink!
 
I nix the OJ for us, because DS and I tend to get upset stomachs from it -- especially if we're already sick.

Good idea for DH, though. I'll stick a can of concentrate in the freezer.
 
I have some sort of miserable cold/flu now... second day. It's not an intestinal bug, at least not yet.

For most of the day yesterday I didn't feel like eating anything at all, so the miso soup, chicken soup, Campbell's soup, apple juice, apple sauce, crackers, honey, etc would have been of no use whatsoever.

Today, I had a big bowl of hot oatmeal for breakfast, with blueberries mixed in. I grilled a small sirloin for dinner. I have some cans of soup in the cabinet, but just haven't felt like soup. The crackers might have been nice today, if I had some. Plain saltines.
 
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CyclingInvestor said:
Theraflu (tastes better than Nyquil)
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It's hard to believe anything could taste worse than NyQuil!

I'd add Vernor's ginger ale. It's the thing (let it go flat) if you ever get a bad case of stomach flu. I'm convinced it saved the life of my wife and I when we were both bad sick with some sort of tummy bug 20 years ago.
 
samclem said:
I'd add Vernor's ginger ale. It's the thing (let it go flat) if you ever get a bad case of stomach flu. I'm convinced it saved the life of my wife and I when we were both bad sick with some sort of tummy bug 20 years ago.
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Yep, that and/or 7UP, Sprite, or Slice.....easy on the tum-tum! We keep some sort of Gatorade or similar type stuff around too.

And when I get to the point of being sick of being sick.....I throw normal common sense out the window, and have a pizza with lots of crushed red pepper sprinkled on top! I figure it's either gonna kill me or cure me...and at that point I don't really care which!!! It may just be coincidence, but it usually puts me on the fast track to getting well...go figure! :D

I'm also extremely fortunate that I very rarely get sick! I get a flu shot every year, and I try to get oodles & loads of all of the proper vitamins & minerals that we're supposed to get.....and even more importantly (for me), I try to avoid close contact with people (especially kids) as much as possible during the cold & flu season...and either wash my hands often or use hand sanitizer often!
 
I always have cans of chicken soup , tissues ,advil and most importantly my SO who will baby me and run out for whatever I want .
 
Oh, and my Dad & Grandad (in their post-moonshine days) both swore by either Calvert's, Jack Daniel's, or Jim Beam as their elixir of choice for "what ails ya".....for medicinal purposes only of course! ;)

Grandad only had 3 things for medication in his house: 1) Whiskey 2) Cod Liver Oil 3) Aspirin......he never took the aspirin! :p
 
I'd put some disinfectant on the list for wiping down door handles to keep it from spreading. And some handsoap (just regular; studies show no need for antibacterial) for washing before eating.
 
Urchina said:
  • Cans of Campbell's vegetarian vegetable,
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Back in the 1960s I decided that Campbell's vegetarian vegetable and Dinty Moore Beef Stew were the worst foods created by mankind and have not tried them since.


I like for queasy stomachs Ginger Tea made from slices of ginger in hot water, steeped for a while, with maybe a touch of honey or sugar. Actually, I drink this all the time in the winter. Ginger Ale with lots of ice is also good. NOT flat.

For a cold, drink the ginger tea and eat spicy food.
 
Martha said:
Back in the 1960s I decided that . . . Dinty Moore Beef Stew were the worst foods created by mankind and have not tried them since.
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Okay, now we're gonna have a fight.

I know that Dinty Moore packs a subtle taste and some people with less sophisticated palates can't appreciate the nuance, but to pan this delightful treat in blanket fashion is really beyond the pale.

The savory gravy surrounding and embracing the oh-so-tender chunks of beef, the carrots distinguishable only by texture and not by taste from the potatoes, all these flavors working together to provide an epicurean experience unrivaled in the world. When you see that gentle giant's bold red thumb print on the top of the can, you know you are in for a treat.

Dinty and I had lunch together at least twice a week right at my desk during my hard-core working days. He, more than my thrift, will be responsible for the success of my ER financial plan as I'm counting on all that ingested fat and sodium to assure I expire before my money runs out.
 
ziggy29 said:
You pretty much need the whiskey to get rid of the taste of cod liver oil. That stuff is horrible.
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No kidding! After my 1st experience with cod liver oil at the hands of Grandad, I refused to EVER cough or even sneeze anywhere within his hearing distance!!! My cousin never learned that, the poor soul! :p
Martha said:
For a cold, drink the ginger tea and eat spicy food.
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I don't know about the ginger tea part, as I've never had it....but I know that spicy food sure works wonders for me!!! And I've never seen any of my Mexican friends with a cold. Ingesting all that capsaicin must burn the guts out of all those nasty cold germs!!! :D
 
Prevention:
Hand sanitizer
Zinc (at the first sign of a runny nose)

Rescue:
Hot mint tea
Halls for sore throat
Benylin with codeine if nighttime cough is particularly bad and I am not on call

BTW, if you have small kids, do NOT give them cold & cough medicine. Never studied properly, too many side effects. FDA and Health Canada say it's a no-no.
 
Urchina said:
We restock after each bout of cold/flu because we don't want to have to run out and get stuff when we're sick. What does everyone else do?
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Flu shots.

The cruise ships (norovirus aware) put hand-sanitizer stations about every 30 feet from stem to stern. I knew a housecleaner who claimed that her good health was due to spending all day with her hands in buckets of bleach.

Martha, my father is a Campbell's fanatic and he has the blood pressure to show for it. Even the "Healthy Choice" sodium numbers give pause.

I like Goonie's answer: spicy Thai and/or Mexican cuisine. I was actually asked to water down my taco meat this time or they won't let me cook dinner anymore. Hmmmm.
 
Goonie said:
I don't know about the ginger tea part, as I've never had it....but I know that spicy food sure works wonders for me!!! And I've never seen any of my Mexican friends with a cold. Ingesting all that capsaicin must burn the guts out of all those nasty cold germs!!! :D
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I just went to lunch with Frank and ordered a HUGE bowl of hot seafood gumbo, heavy on the Cajun spices. I hope it works! This cold/virus/whatever is going to my ears, which almost never happens to me. My hearing is diminishing. :p This morning I slept an extra 2-3 hours, and I'm sleepy again already.

I told him I am sick, but he seems to think he won't catch this bug.
 
I just discovered Zicam. It is supposed to cut the duration of a cold if you start it when you have the first signs. I have tried it twice in the last year and it worked very well. My cold was gone within three days both times. It comes in several different forms. It comes as a lozenge that is supposed to melt in your mouth. It is the most horrible tasting thing I have ever tasted, unless you have a cold and can't taste anything anyway! You can also get it in a nose swab and nasal spray. I recommend the swab. I keep a stock of cold medicine and Zicam.
 
Cruisinthru said:
I just discovered Zicam. It is supposed to cut the duration of a cold if you start it when you have the first signs. I have tried it twice in the last year and it worked very well. My cold was gone within three days both times. It comes in several different forms. It comes as a lozenge that is supposed to melt in your mouth. It is the most horrible tasting thing I have ever tasted, unless you have a cold and can't taste anything anyway! You can also get it in a nose swab and nasal spray. I recommend the swab. I keep a stock of cold medicine and Zicam.
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The active ingredient is "Zincum Gluconium". ie. Zinc.
 
this may sound a little crazy, but kleenex or paper napkins kept in the pockets of your coats and ALWAYS used to protect your hands when opening public door handles and turning knobs is by far the best prevention method I use. i use anything but my bare hands to open a public door.
picture a sick person sneezing into their hand and then using same hand to open the door. :p then poor unsuspecting you enters next. then your nose itches...and that's all she wrote. :(
i used to get sick all the time, but since i adopted this prevention habit, it is rare that i pick up a bug.
hot green tea and honey is the fluid of choice for recovery.
 
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