Small favors.

[rivka]

I am not, not, NOT getting a cold just in time for alt.polycon 12. I am NOT. No. Not.

But it's good to hear from my midwife that, hypothetically, if I were getting a cold, I could take Sudafed. And Robitussin. And of course, the ever-useless panacea of pregnant women, Tylenol. And chicken soup. So at least there's that.[1]



[1] Thank you for not recommending (a) echinacea, which I have never found helpful; (b) megadoses of vitamins, which I would certainly take if I weren't pregnant but have been linked to birth defects and other fetal problems; or (c) herbal remedies which are not in any way tested or evaluated by the FDA and therefore, for example, have frequently been found in independent studies to be contaminated with heavy metals and/or not to include the ingredients and amounts advertised on the bottle. And which might have undocumented fetal effects. Thank you.

Comments

[akirlu.livejournal.com]

Not a recommendation, but an observation: echinacea only works for me if I meet two crucial criteria. First, I have to take it immediately upon onset of initial symptoms. If I don't catch the thing in its very first nascency, say the first few hours of sore throat and balloon-head, then the echinacea will not have any noticeable effect. Second, I have to take mega-dosages when I'm taking it. On the order of six times the dosage and treble the rate that the package recommends. Less, and I don't notice any effect at all. In fact, it's pretty close to a square curve: either I don't perceive much or any benefit from the echinacea, or it simply short circuits the cold and I don't get sick at all. I've gone from doom-like symptomology to no symptoms overnight, the first time despite major skepticism over herbal remedies. I only took the echinacea out of desperation, the first time, having an unavoidable all-day trade show stint the next day.

So it is just possible that echinacea could work for you, if you managed to get timing and dosage right. I agree this isn't the time to experiment, though. But the reason that people pester you with recommendations of echinacea may be their experience that when it works, echinacea is amazing. You simply don't get the cold.

On the other hand, I hear good reports of the effectiveness of saline irrigation of the nasal passages. Yes, snorting salt water. But dosing yourself can be unpleasant.

[rivka.livejournal.com]

I used to get a similarly miraculous effect from 2g of Vitamin C a day, but alas, no megadosing for me now.