I had a cold for a while. I mostly ignored it because it wasn’t very bad. I’d wake up in the morning with a sore throat and a little congestion, and after an hour or two it’d be gone.
My first response to anything is generally to just kind of feel it and think about it, see what I might be telling myself. I could see that there were some unsaid things that my throat might be upset about, and I said them a little. But I was busy working and driving and being alive, so I didn’t dwell on it much until I woke up one morning barely able to breathe through the coughing and it didn’t go away.
I started right away with some poplar tincture (poplar is an expectorant for congested lungs, a topical analgesic for my sore throat, and helps to sooth and repair irritated throat and lung tissue) that I made this spring, and some usnea tincture (usnea is an antibiotic specific for upper respiratory things) that I traded for from a friend who lives in the desert. I looked for something moistening to gloop up that lung snot, and decided that the chickweed I already take would have to do. There aren’t a whole lot of wettening herbs.
Later I talked to Darcy and she recommended flax seed tea as a wettener (I think the technical word might be demulcent, but wettener is so much more fun). If you’ve never made flax seed tea, as I hadn’t, you should try it. It’s pure slime, but a bunch of honey makes it palatable.
Eventually I switched from poplar to ginger (an anti-spasmodic) to slow the coughing down, and got in a hot bath, where I proceeded to hallucinate that I was unconscious and couldn’t lift my head from the water. I am very prone to hallucinations, but I always know when I’m doing it. I kept waking up and telling myself to get out of the tub, but it was too hard and I’d fall back asleep. Finally I woke up and crawled out of the bathroom, hacking, and passed out in front of my friends heater for a couple hours. I woke up feeling better, and made my way out to the van where I slept for a good twelve hours, just waking up to take the usnea.
When I finally did get up, I was almost all better. I still have a little congestion, but it’s just a little congestion. Yay for plants!
Anyways, this has delayed my getting the hell out of dodge even more, but I guess it’s all part of the process.
yah, flax seeds do make a very slimy tea, but i rather like the nutty flavor. I like it better than the flavor of marshmallow root. Mixed with chai spices like ginger and cinnamon it tastes quite good!
so glad you are feeling better and arent coughing out your insides! I bet that warm bath and sleep helped quite a bit too. It takes lots of energy for the body to heal and sometimes rest is the best medicine.
“If you’ve never made flax seed tea, as I hadn’t, you should try it. It’s pure slime, but a bunch of honey makes it palatable.”
Um. You don’t make it sound very tempting! I’ll wait until I’m ill, I think 😉
“Wettener”… I think of demulcents more as jellifiers because when I’m too dry water just runs right out of me but the slimey ones keep it in place.
Licorice is a nice moistening and soothing herb for sore throats, lungs/coughs and coldy things. Unlike most demulcent herbs it’s warming which is a bonus when the weather is cold too. Not hot like ginger which I find too intense.
I find usnea very drying to the nasal membranes. Don’t know about the lungs though – what do you two find?
It’s fun slime, Sylvia, and the flavor is good. 😀
I didn’t notice any drying from the usnea, SK, but I am in a very dry place, and I was using the flax seeds to keep stuff wet. It tastes pretty drying, tho, so I wouldn’t be surprised.
flax is nuetral in temperature, and nicely demulcent. licorice feels nuetral to me, rather than warming, i think fenugreek is the only warming demulcent i’ve experienced, in my body anyway. but they are all pretty much useful across the board for dry mucuos membranes (throat, lung, guts, bladder etc. 🙂 i use what i have on hand mnost of the time.