I’m full of cold or flu. Taken some paraceptamol to reduce the fever. What do you like to do to feel better even for a short period of time. Need some tips! Feeling so crap
Chicken soup (placebo yes but works for me)
Ibuprofen
That’s not true
You can take it at the same time and usually you take it in 2 hour intervals alternating.
They are entirely different drugs with different mechanisms. Taking too much paracetamol/Tylenol/acetaminophen is extremely dangerous for your liver and dosing instructions should be followed exactly. Prolonged use of ibuprofen or other NSAIDs can lead to gastrointestinal ulcers and kidney damage, so only take it for as long as you have to. They both have instructions to take a dose every 6 to 8 hours, so if you’re in significant pain or you have a really bad fever, you can alternate them every 4 hours. For example, paracetamol at 8am, ibuprofen at noon, paracetamol at 4pm, etc.
Also, be careful of “cough” or “cold” medicines like NyQuil/DayQuil, because they usually have paracetamol/Tylenol in them and that counts towards the daily dose limit.
You are not supposed to swallow them together or right after the other, that’s right. But you can alternate them safely and take ibuprofen before the paracetamol starts wearing off (roughly four hours after the other).
Of course it’s not ideal to take ibuprofen regularly for days on end. And don’t exceed the maximum dose at any given time.
Personally paracetamol does nothing for me, so I rely on ibuprofen solely.
Not just a placebo! At least when made with a proper bone broth. There have been some studies showing it has anti-inflammatory properties, not to mention all the great nutrients it has! (source)
Yes, I always leave the bones when making the chicken soup . And it has a lot of nutrients, but I meant placebo because it doesn’t help fight off an infection like a vaccine or an antibiotic would, and it also doesn’t help with fever or inflammation in a noticeable manner. It helps with hydration and some electrolytes I guess, but I suspect an over the counter solution is probably even more effective than the soup.
Benefits are if you regularly include it in your diet. It takes time for your body to pack up its nutrient reserves and make something useful with it. Myth has turned chicken soup into something similar to Popeye’s Spinach or Mario’s Mushrooms and that’s not true.
I don’t mean to imply anything magical about it, just thought I’d mention that it has some legitimate benefits beyond placebo for anyone unaware! The site linked above has all the information I was talking about, and cites the source studies too.
Plus one for chicken soup, always seems to help. Also orange juice and fresh air (while keeping warm)
Ibuprofen all the way for the flu. I think its a more effective antipyretic, and it will help with the inflammatory response that causes the body aches.
Had this bad boy in the fridge…
Time to give it a go. Get well soon!
It is important to drink enough. If your nose is swollen and shut, xylometazoline does handle that. Paracetamol (1000 mg for adults) or Ibuprofene (400 mg for adults) will help against pain and fever.
Far out. 400 ibuprofen is more than enough for most people. Always try the smallest recommended dose first.
You’re right, I updated my comment.I tend to take 600 mg when I have severe pain, but I’m 203cm/110kg.
Water + rest. Take off work!
Your body is fighting hard
My mother always made chicken soup when I was sick with a cold/flu. I always felt worse afterwards and she would be upset when I told her because “that’s so unkind to say”, like it was a criticism of her cooking. It took me so many years to figure out that I am slightly allergic to celery which I was only fed when I was already sick …
Vitamin C , lots of water. Rest and real non processed food such fresh fruit and vegetables. I also avoid carb heavy meals when unwell to give my system a break. I still eat some carbs but just keep it light.
If you can stand it and the temperature isn’t life threatening, let the fever go without fever reducers. It may shorten the duration of your convelesece.
I agree with what everyone else is saying. Keep your electrolytes up, eat healthy foods, eggs, liver, if you can. Stay hydrated. Rest. And sleep.
Sounds nice, I think feel like having a cold now.
So do you actually add tea leaves or you just cook the spices? I suppose ground versions don’t work for this?
If you want to add tea (sometimes I add black tea), just let it steep for the normal duration after cooking the rest and before adding the orange juice and honey. For the best result/taste you should grind the spices right before cooking. (Pre-)ground spices work to; you might use a little bit more of them. A word of warning on the pepper: use very little at first. Cooked it the water it is a lot hotter/more stinging than you might expect.
Cheers! Thanks for the recipe
I thought this was an early misconception of the pandemic and had since been debunked?
Yeah I usually avoid ibuprofen anyways due to asthma! Going to have to try some chicken soup!
Depends on your symptoms.
- Paracetamol for a general feeling of malaise
- Ibuprofen for fever and muscle and joint aches
- A decongestant like pseudoephedrine if your nose is clogged up, but not the “alternative” phenylephrine that’s often pushed now in over the counter decongestants. It just doesn’t work. A xylometazoline spray works too, but I try to avoid it because it can easily lead to rebound congestion.
I swear that high dose vitamin D helps me when I have a viral infection, but only if I start taking it early on. Tylenol for fever, maybe also ibuprofen if there are a lot of aches and pains.
Feel better soon, OP!
For a cold?
Soup, spicy food, hot drinks, salt water gargle, and sometimes I’ll use OTC cold medicine (but be careful because they usually have tylenol in them so you don’t want to drink or take other medicines that can fuck up your liver).
If it’s not too hot outside, sunshine. It helps get rid of that icky, germy feeling of being cooped up inside and the vitamin D doesn’t hurt either.
In addition to what people have advised so far, I can’t stress enough how important rest, and especially sleep is when you’re ill. Whenever I’ve fallen ill with a cold, flu, cough, etc., I find that if I try to fight it and go about the day as normal, the illness lasts much longer. If I try to sleep it off, I get better a lot faster. If you can, and especially on the first day, don’t go to work, don’t run errands, and especially don’t go to the gym/exercise. Good luck!
Fevers are your body fighting the infection so unless it gets too high you should just let it do it’s thing. Keeping the fever will shorten the duration of a mild or moderate illness. If your fever gets up to 102-103f or ~39c take medicine to reduce it, if it hits 105f or 40c then you are in danger of cooking you brain and should go to the ER. Stay well hydrated, getting some electrolytes is a good idea if you are sweating more than usual or vomiting. Eat regularly, your body is using extra calories to fight the infection so even if you activity level is lower you need the same or a little more calories than normal. The more balanced your diet the better. Have something to do. Don’t just focus on the illness and lay around getting bored, do some light housework, engage is a light hobby, catch up on some TV or movies, replay an old favorite video game. Anything to keep your mind engaged and to make the time pass faster.
I agree. Unless it is too high or too long, let it work it’s magic. You will be miserable, but likely get well faster. Take something for the congestion, drink plenty of fluid, and go to bed and sleep or lay on the couch and watch movies.
