cough aria

[sistawendy]

I have a cold that's positively operatic in scope. It took me nine hours to get seven hours of sleep thanks to violent coughing fits. Yes, I've stayed home from work. And I resent greatly the necessity of postponing a rare lunch date with cupcake_goth.

But this is an opportunity for SCIENCE. For some time, my son has sworn by an over-the-counter remedy called Umcka, whose active ingredient is Pelargonium sidoides, a.k.a. South African geranium. It's supposed to shorten colds, but I can't help but wonder if I've gotten a week's worth of cold in a day and a half. Given that Halloween (observed) is coming up, though, even that might be worth it. The sore throat did last less than two days.

I'm pretty sure I got this from the Wendling - he does, after all, work in a supermarket and is therefore in contact with a lot of people. I just hope I didn't give it to the Proprietress.

Comments

[staxxy]

just remember that if it hits your lungs to pick up something with guiafenisen in it to thin the mucus and pull it out of your lungs (on the sound advice of my lung doctor friend).

Let me know how the Umcka works out. And where does he get it? I generally go for the asian meds because they are easy to find at the asian markets, but I will be making a note of this ingredient and tracking it down.

[staxxy]

and 'lo, I did find: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12807337

ncbi says: cuts flu time by 2 days compared to placebo.

Ncbi also says to beware of overuse and to switch to antibiotic prescriptions if cough persists.