Benton Integrative Medicine

My cold/sinusitis/bronchitis handout can help with symptoms.

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A cold is a viral sinus infection- “too much snot”, coughing, facial pain, sore throat, headache, ear popping or pain, pain in the sides of neck- glands feel “swollen”, coughing all night (like in the Nyquil commercials). Bacterial infections happen when things continue to get worse beyond the typical 10-14 days or if you have issues like deviated septum or polyps maybe.

A chest cold is when the drainage gets into the chest.  It can feel like you have a fist in front of your chest or you can’t take in a deep breath (but it should not feel as though you are short of breath). 

Studies show we treat colds too quickly as sinus infections and we are not allowing your body to heal itself.  Even mild bacterial sinusitis does NOT typically need antibiotics.  The more antibiotics that you use now, the less effective your immune system will be and the less effective the antibiotics will be as well.

What Can You Do To Relieve Your Symptoms?

• For congestion and fever, do the Magic Sock trick!  Sounds crazy but it works! It helps with fever, cough,  and congestion.  Consider adding Vick’s Vapo Rub or eucalyptus oil to the feet first- works great on a cough.  I personally use RC essential oil on the feet and chest. If you have cold feet, be sure to warm them first in hot water.  You can also wrap your feet with a hot towel afterwards. 

• NAC ( N acetyl cysteine) helps tons with mucus.

• Try this for an earache.  Slice an onion in half and microwave the onion until warm- not hot.  Place the onion in a sock and hold up to the ear for pain relief.  Garlic oil/Mullein ear drops are also popular and work well.

Before going to bed and when you wake in the morning try these tips:

• Use steam from your shower or boil water with Vick’s liquid or eucalyptus or tea tree oil- works great with chest colds!

• Hot bath with epsom salt and apple cider vinegar.  Use a hand towel wet with the bath water and tent it over your nose and mouth.

• Use Mucinex D or other behind the counter medications with pseudoephedrine. Ok to use Coricidin HBP if you are sensitive to pseudoephedrine. I am less likely to need this when I do the other tips.

• Try Simply Saline in the white can or a Neti Pot.  Do not use the squeezy bottles of nasal spray as the preservatives can bother your sinuses and cause them to bleed.

• If SEVERE nasal congestion, okay to use Afrin nasal spray up to 3 nights.

• If thinking you may need antibiotics- make a neti pot with essential oils- 8 T neti salts, 10 drops of rosemary, 6 drops of tea tree oil.  Mix and use ½-1 tsp per neti solution, rinse twice daily, tingles a bit, can use 7-10 days.

• When you get the chest cold where you get that tickle in the chest with a lot of cough, use Herbal Formula Phytocillin.  It tastes awful but works fast for that chest cold. 

• Tea for cough- Ginger (fresh is best)-grate the ginger and let it steep for 15 minutes and strain it.  Add honey when cool enough to touch to avoid damaging the good parts of the honey.  Add a pinch of cayenne pepper, lemon juice, some add Bragg’s apple cider vinegar.  If you are of age, then add a shot of high proof liquor like whiskey.  Many locals use the Rock and Rye from the liquor store. 

• Make chicken bone broth with a lot of garlic.  Keep the garlic as cloves and eat the cloves!

Stimulate Your Immune System!

Pick which ones work well for you-sometimes it is best to rotate them.

• Probiotics- Get a good quality one and take 3-4 times the dosage for a few days and then take daily year round.

• Echinacea- Do double the dose for up to one week.  Do not take this one for an extended amount of time since it can elevate blood pressure and avoid in autoimmune disease.

• Emergen-C- Drink this in your water frequently when sick or Vitamin C up to 1000 mg 2-3 times per day.

• Zinc Lozenges- There is good science behind this one!  Fights off colds quickly (but has a tendency to make food taste bad when using.

• Elderberry syrup and astralagus have great anti-viral properties and worth alternating for prevention and using when sick.

• During ALLERGY SEASON: Vitamin C 1000mg 3 times a day can be helpful. I like Orthomolecular's Natural D Hist that has a combo of quercitin and stinging nettle. Add zinc to the quercitin for the anti coronavirus

• Pollen allergy: to prevent, eat a tablespoon of local raw honey every day year round (not under age 1).

• Prevention- Get good regular sleep, eat a healthy diet high in fruits and veggies, low in simple carbs like sodas, sugars, pastas, and avoid fast foods.  Stress relief is important-consider Yoga/Tai Chi/meditation/prayer.

• Essential Oils- The brand I use is Young Living (YL) but there are other great ones.

  • Congestion/Cough- Eucalyptus or RC to feet and chest

  • Fever- Peppermint or Lavender to feet 

  • Immune- Thieves to the feet or diffuse 

  • Allergies- Make capsules with Peppermint, Lavender, and Lemon -not all oils can be used internally

  • Oils should be diluted and avoid thieves and peppermint topically in babies

• Most important for your health is to eat real food, avoid sugar, get plenty of sleep, manage your stress, and practice gratitude.

Bronchitis Management

Get some phytocillin by Herbals Etc- as soon as it starts getting in your chest- take the phytocillin- take 1 dropper 4-5 times per day. Tastes awful but it works so well.  Another cough syrup is Cherry Bark Syrup. My homemade cough syrup is some of the Traditional Medicinals Cough and cold tea or Throat Coat add some whiskey, pineapple juice, and honey and that works better than most cough syrups for me. NAC ( N acetyl cysteine) helps tons with mucus especially that stuck kind of mucus- take the NAC 2 capsules 3-5 times per day.  Consider also castor oil packs. Also you can just put some tea tree oil in some boiling water and inhale.

SELF MONITOR

• Increase self-monitoring: pulse ox, respiratory rate, temp.

  • If your oxygen drops below 93% for more than 30-60 minutes, your respiratory rate is >30 breaths per minute, and/or your fever is >102.5°, you probably should go to ER.  Ask for the following tests: CBC, CMP, ferritin, CRP, fibrinogen, PT INR, D-dimer, Procalcitonin, chest Xray or CT chest

SELF ISOLATE https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/if-you-are-sick/care-for-someone.html

SELF CARE 

• Eat clean food (fresh, local, produce, nutrient dense, free of preservatives, dyes, additives and pesticides)

• Drink clean water (filtered, not from a plastic bottle)  

• Exercise most days of the week to tolerance

• Sleep soundly 7-8 hours per night

• Spend time daily in gratitude, prayer, and meditation

• Daily hypertonic saline lavage of mucus membranes(neti pot.) We have other herbal remedies as well*

• Avoid close contact with people who are sick.

• Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth.

• Stay home when you are sick. (14 days quarantine after known COVID-19 infection)

• Cover your cough or sneeze with a tissue, then throw the tissue in the trash.

• Clean and disinfect frequently touched objects and surfaces using a regular household cleaning spray or wipe. Pay attention to instructions. Some cleaners require 10 MINUTES of contact time for disinfection to occur.

• Follow CDC’s recommendations for using a facemask.  Currently: ALL use, when outside the home

• Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, especially after going to the bathroom; before eating; and after blowing your nose, coughing, or sneezing.  For information about handwashing, see CDC’s Handwashing website https://www.cdc.gov/handwashing/when-how-handwashing.html

• If soap and water are not readily available, use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer with at least 60% alcohol. Always wash hands with soap and water if hands are visibly dirty. *

• Take basic supplements daily for you and your family members. Increase  for the sick patient  https://riordanclinic.org/.../vitamin-c-protects-against.../

• The physicians of the Orthomolecular Medicine News Service and the International Society for Orthomolecular Medicine urge a nutrient-based method to prevent or minimize symptoms for future viral infection. The following inexpensive supplemental levels are recommended for adults; for children reduce these in proportion to body weight.