As a kid, I had no allergies. No food, no animals, no dust, nothing. It was awesome. But, thanks to quarterly bouts of strep throat every year for about 20 years, within the last 10 years I developed allergies. To medications. Specifically antibiotics. Specifically penicillin, amoxacillin, zithromax/z-pac, and bactrim. Which means I pretty much can not take anything ever for any kind of infection. The only antibiotic that did not cause a reaction was pulled from the market, some rubbish about kidney failure or something.So, needless to say, it sucks to be me and have a sinus infection. I try very very hard to not get any kind of ear, nose, or throat infection that would require internal antibiotics, because, well, I like to breathe, and I like my skin to be flesh colored, and taking antibiotics can prevent both of those things. But recently, due to the warmer weather, I have been suffering. Headaches, congestion, sinus pressure. I sound like a flipping medicine commercial.
I do not get much relief from over the counter medication, and therefore do not want to take much of it. But today, my sinuses were bleeding, and I thought to myself, "self, enough is enough".
And so, I bought......a neti pot.
If you are not familiar, it is basically a little teapot looking thing that comes with some special mix that you use to create a saline solution. You pour it through your nose, and it flushes out your sinuses. I used it this afternoon for the first time, and let me tell you, using this thing, it is not a pretty site. BUT it did make me feel a little better. I think I will keep using it in the hopes that it will provide me some relief.
This is borderline holistic medicine, I think. I have also recently tried melatonin for sleep, which worked like a charm, and am going to start using glucosamine with condroitin for joint health. I am not very well versed in supplements, and I think sometimes people can get carried away with them.
What are your thoughts on holistic medicine? Have you or would you try any, and if so, what kinds?
