Help! School starts in 2 days and I'm sick!

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I'm starting to have symptoms of the flu or the common cold, and my classes start on Tuesday!!

My husband got a fever on Thursday and has a touch of sore throat, intermittant cough, and runny nose. The worst part is the body aches from the fever, he says. (he drenched the sheets with sweat on Friday night) It appeared to be getting better on Saturday afternoon, but by Sunday was worse than in the beginning.

As luck would have it, I'm starting to sneeze, cough, and feel mucus in the back of my throat. No sign of fever yet. To make matters worse, my 12 yr old son is complaining of feeling "like he needs to spit."

I've heard high doses of vitamin C help boost the immune system, but should be taken prior to onset of symptoms or it does no good.

I can't afford the doctor right now, since I have no insurance for myself! Besides, unless it's bacterial, there's not much to be done. Which reminds me, when mucus is clear, is it usually viral? The green mucus signals bacteria, correct? Or is it the other way around?

I know I will go to classes anyway. Even if I have a fever of 104, there's no way I can miss the first week of classes. The staff at my school are barracudas, and the last thing I want to do is draw attention to myself early in the program!

Any home/herbal remedies that have worked for anyone would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks!

Caroline

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Hi Caroline,

Tylenol, Benadryl, and lots of fluids (particularly orange juice) seem to help me when I'm sick like that. If the stuff that you and your family is coughing up/blowing out of your nose is clear, then my guess is that it is viral. Hope you feel better soon! :cool:

Kristin

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Specializes in ER, PACU, OR.

Forget the Benadryl......that will dry you up.

Tylenol....... and a an expectorant (Guafenisin) q4hrs, with lots and lots of water will help you get rid of all the gook!

To your question........ clear is viral........because viruses don't raise the White blood cell count, sometimes they even lower it. Yellow........is the start (not usually treated), of a few WBC's migrating to the area. Yes when it turns green it is a moderate bacterial infection. Brown......needs definate treatment. Lots and lots of WBCS.

What most poeple think, is that the colored sputum is due to bacteria. It is not........it is caused by WBC's........the darker the color...the more WBC's have migrated to the area. That is what causes the color changes :) FYI:)

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Caroline,

It can't hurt to try garlic capsuls. I always take them on the onset of cold symptoms and it usually speeds the healing up (not for a flu or anything viral, but for a common cold it seems to work for me).

If anything, it can't hurt. :) Just bring lotsa gum b/c whenever I take the garlic capsuls, eventually I start to taste it in my mouth, but gum clears that up. And LOTS of water!!!!!!!!!

I was nervous myself b/c our classes start soon and the stomach flu is going around my work. :-( (thankfully you don't have that problem) :) :)

Good Luck!!

--zannie :)

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Garlic capsules and liquid colloidial silver are both great natural antibiotics. You can get them both at GNC and probably most other herbal stores. A nurse at my work told me that vitamin C will not prevent you from getting sick, but it will help you get over it faster. My first symptoms are always an ear ache and sore throat, so I load up on vitamin C as soon as I experience them and hardly ever get really sick.

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Caroline I am so sorry to hear that you are sick :o I hope you get better really soon. I never been sick at the start of classes but I have been sick around finals 2x before and it was horrible. Everyone else already gave you good advice but drink lots of fluids and soups. Hope you feel better really soon.

Take care :)

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What do you think the doctor is going to do! My husband is an MD and when I was in nursing school, he got me hot and sour soup (enough for leftovers), sent me to bed and did the laundry for me whenever I felt like that. Just eat right, get a lot to drink, and don't overdo! Show up to student health after you show your face on Monday if you are that sick...you probably aren't the only one.

Remember, the key to nursing school is this:

LESS IS MORE...DON'T BURN YOURSELF OUT.

And, when you get over this cold, make sure you put yourself first... eat right, exercise, enjoy life. If you can't find fun in something that you do everyday...make it fun.:cool:

Now, get to bed!

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I sure hope you are feeling better!

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Thanks to all for good advice.

I rested up yesterday and bought tylenol and a good expectorant, and drank alot of H2O. When I woke up this morning, I had a low temp. 100.4 orally. Not bad enough to keep me down, but enough to not feel quite right. The tylenol definately helped. I made it to class, and was able to stay focused. See my other thread for more about that.

Caroline

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