Last weekend my husband was outside in the cold and wind too long, and nearly everyone in our small village has a cold, so needless to say, we’re both got struck down. Monday started with fatigue, and then Tuesday, a full blown cold. Of course, Juliana is completely healthy. So we’re two sick parents chasing after a 1-year old. And yes, she is definitely taking us for a ride! She learned to send emails from my Blackberry, tore up a roll of toilet paper in the hallway, and pulled all her diaper wipes out of the container. Yep, it’s been fun! Today, I’m finally on the mend.
Since I’m pregnant, I’m limited on what I can take to relieve my symptoms. I’ve been living off of boiled water with half a squeezed lemon and a tablespoon of honey. My husband bought me Gelée Royale (Royal Jelly) to strengthen my immune system. It came with 40 days worth, but I think I’ll only take it for 20 days for now. The company mixes royal jelly (comes from bees) with honey, orange juice, and fructose. The pharmacist said it’s safe for pregnant women.
Wikipedia states “Royal jelly is collected and sold as a dietary supplement for humans, claiming various health benefits because of components such as B-complex vitamins such as pantothenic acid (vitamin B5) and vitamin B6 (pyridoxine). The overall composition of royal jelly is 67% water, 12.5% crude protein, including small amounts of many different amino acids, and 11% simple sugars (monosaccharides), also including a relatively high amount (5%) of fatty acids. It also contains many trace minerals, some enzymes, antibacterial and antibiotic components, and trace amounts of vitamin C,[2] but none of the fat-soluble vitamins, A, D, E and K.”
My husband also bought me Homéogène9. It’s a homeopathic medicine for sore throats, laryngitis, and hoarse voice. I had a sore throat and it seemed to have helped. The only bad thing is you have to remember to take it every hour. If you are like me when you’re sick, I can be caught wearing my shirt backwards, put the ice cream in the cup cabinet, and forget I’m wearing slippers when leaving the house. So to remember to take a medicine every hour, it’s near impossible. I took this for medicine for two days and randomly throughout the day. I’m sure it would have worked faster if I could follow the instructions!
One night in desperation, I used the nasal spray that has salt water. I’m not sure how we ended up with 4 different brands! I think I was prescribed it a couple times when I was pregnant, and then for Juliana when she was sick from the black mold (she also needed an inhaler and chest physical therapy, poor girl!). One of them appears to have medication in it (Actisoufre) so I didn’t take that one. Physiodose and Stérimar have both nice, soft mists, so I placed one in the kitchen and one in the bathroom for easy access. The Physiomer is a geyser! If you have a REALLY stuffy nose, try it. Otherwise, you’ll feel like you’re drowning. When I tried it, a flashback came to me of when I was swept under the ocean current when knocked down by a wave in Florida. So only buy this one if your desperate for relief, even then, I’d get Physiodose or Stérimar to follow it up with. I’m not sure if I’ll use Physiomer again. I used the spray only for two nights… after that, propping myself up with two pillows was sufficient to get some sleep.
Throughout this week, I dreamed of Tylenol Cold & Flu. It’s the only stuff that ever worked on me in the US. Last time we returned to Florida, I brought back three boxes. My husband used it all up within a couple months! We didn’t realize our house had black mold, so he thought he was fighting a cold. We haven’t been sick since then (moved in February). I asked about this medicine at several pharmacies, but no one’s even heard of it. Advil is the most effective on my husband, but it’s too strong – his energy increases too much. So this time around, he purchased Humex. It did not help him much the first night, but after that, it seems to have some effect. It appears it is not very strong, but can help you live comfortably while you recover.
I’m glad I’m no sick often. After years of experimenting with different medicines in the US when hit by a cold or the flu, I finally know what works. Now, it’s a bit frustrating to start all over. Spend money on medicines that don’t work or have adverse effects. Most of the medicines here are foreign to me. When allergies hit me in Bordeaux, all I wanted was Claritin, but that’s not even available here. I forget what I used, but it was not as effective. Oh well, I still love France 🙂
susan says
Hi
Just to let you know that you can get Claritin in France. If I remember correctly you cannot buy it at the chemist directly but via the doctor on prescription. The spelling is a little different Clarityne . Most of the time the chemist will give you the equivilent i.e. an anti-histamine containing Loratadine.
Hope you get better soon,
Susan