Blog Post #106 - A Quick Summer/Fall Cold Remedy


            NO ONE enjoys a summer cold, not that you EVER enjoy being sick. However, somehow it just doesn’t seem RIGHT to have a cold in the summertime. But, try as we might, occasionally, the old “cold virus” trips us up, and brings us down. With schools just getting underway, unfortunately, the season of “giving the ‘gift’ that keeps on giving” ALSO begins. What I mean is that it only takes ONE kid with a late summer cold, to knock out most of an entire class or even a grade. It’s amazing! I remember when I was teaching, it always astounded me. I get it! We don’t want our kids to miss school; they NEED to build up their Immune Systems. Yes, on both counts. HOWEVER, I have a pet peeve with people who carelessly send their kids OR worse, who THEMSELVES infect everybody else just for the sake of not MISSING school or work. All this is to say, though, IT HAPPENS! We ALL get sick sometimes, and I, yours truly, recently fell prey to this very same conundrum.
         I have terrible allergies, always have had. Therefore, MOST of the time when I get the sniffles, I KNOW I’m not sick; I’m just allergic. Steam, nasal washes, sleeping elevated, and I’m just fine. That’s what I thought about a month ago. My health, as many of you know, hasn’t been great overall, so I wasn’t really surprised when I wasn’t feeling great after teaching one long afternoon. I was sniffly but, again, I’m accustomed to my allergies. Unfortunately, though, after about half an hour, I realized that I was feeling achy and tired and sad and I wanted Chicken Soup, and “Oh, no! I’m sick!”
I am BIG on vitamin and mineral supplements, so I IMMEDIATELY started taking 2000 mg. of Vitamin C EVERY HOUR with 500 mg. of Grapefruit Seed Extract tablets. You’re probably thinking this is excessive, but PLEASE KEEP READING. I HOPE you all know that I don’t “sell” products or whatever, BUT I have to tell you, you HAVE to buy yourself a “Neil Med Sinus Rinse” kit. Many of you have used a Netty Pot, and I used to endorse rinsing your sinuses with Alkalol. Those are both okay but the Neil Med system is SO MUCH EASIER and SO MUCH QUICKER, AND it’s cheap. I bought my “Kit” at Costco, and I think the whole thing was around $20. It included 2 squeeze bottles for using the Rinse, a complementary Saline Nasal Spray (like “Ocean” Spray), and 250 pre-mixed packets to mix with warm water in the squeeze bottles. Mine has lasted over a year! They also sell the bigger kits online or smaller, one-bottle kits at many local pharmacies (https://www.amazon.com/NeilMed-Sinus-Rinse-Bottles-Premixed/dp/B00Y0VYCTU/ref=sr_1_1_s_it?s=hpc&ie=UTF8&qid=1503219039&sr=1-1&keywords=neilmed+sinus+rinse OR https://www.amazon.com/NeilMed-Neilmed-Sinus-Rinse-Kit/dp/B00MY5Q1SY/ref=sr_1_5_s_it?ie=UTF8&qid=1503219039&sr=1-5&keywords=neilmed+sinus+rinse); I know Saugus Drugs has them. This was created by an Ear, Nose, and Throat Doctor, and it is AMAZING. When I first discovered I was, actually, getting SICK, it was early evening on Wednesday. Even so, I did my Neil Med TWICE before going to bed. The next 3 days, I kept up my Vitamin C and Grapefruit Seed Extract routine, and I did the Neil Med 4 Times each day. The Neil Med Rinse is a MILD saline solution (there are pre-measured packets you empty into the provided bottle, mixed with warm water), so you’re not injecting ANY KIND of medicine or drug; you are simply washing all to yuck out of your sinuses with a gentle, saline solution. The only other thing I did was push LOTS OF WATER, at least, a GALLON EACH DAY, and try to get OVER 8 hours of sleep each night.
When I woke up Sunday morning, I was symptom free, COMPLETELY. Now, understand, I’m not GUARANTEEING you will have the exact experience I did, but I didn’t have to go to the doctor; I DID have to cancel students for two days, but NOBODY got sick; and I got well. I admit to you that I take a large regimen of supplements on a regular, daily basis because over the course of my life, I have not always made the “best” nutritional choices, shall we say. Hopefully, most of you or your kiddos, are beginning from a place of above-average, natural health. So, here’s my best advice to each of you: drown your cold with LOTS of water; take 2000 mg. of Vitamin C and 500 mg. of Grapefruit Seed Extract EVERY HOUR until your symptoms clear; steam in the shower, using a portable steamer, or by tenting yourself over a sink; get PLENTY of sleep; and USE NEIL MED, at least, 3 times a day. This is holistic, easy, quick, and CHEAP since you don’t have to pay a doctor for treatment or a pharmacy for medications.
I advise all my students to take a good, Multiple Vitamin, as well as some strong Immune System Support EVERYDAY, EVEN when you’re healthy! These need to be as much a part of your daily routine as brushing your teeth.  You should treat your body like the TREASURE it truly is. Thank you for reading this! I pray each of you has a wonderful, HEALTHY end of summer and fall, and that you keep working hard of your Voice, your Piano, your LIFE!  For information on my lessons or me, see my website at www.SingitForward.net. Enjoy your music, and remember, Sing it Forward!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Basic Music Theory - 1st Post - Notes, Rests, and Note Particulars

Image
          It is really important for a singer, even an amazingly gifted singer, to understand basic Music Theory.    That doesn’t mean you have to be any kind of virtuoso or study music theory for dozens of years but it does mean you need to study some fundamental or elemental aspects of theoretical concepts.   Your first “basic” lesson is below.   Stay tuned for more “installments” in the future.   Here goes: •             NOTES AND RESTS - Melodies in music are represented through patterns of “Notes” and “Rests”.   Here is a chart of the most common types of Notes and Rests: The Quarter Note is, by far, the most common type of Note and Rest but each of these notes and rests are important, universal, and frequently-occurring.   You DO need to know, however, that the values you see here CAN change, depending on the Time Signature (see the next post that covers Time Signatures) of the entire song.   The values shown here are applicable for any Time Signature with a
Read more

Vocal Quirks - Why do I Sometimes Yawn, Hiccup, Burp, or Crack?

When we begin singing, sometimes the very strangest things can happen. You may start yawning or burping or getting the hiccups or even hear your voice crack.   Why do these things happen, especially when you first begin singing?   Let’s explore some ideas…             Why Would Singing Make Me Yawn?   So, it’s true confession time.   I have always been told and believed that we yawn because our brains tell our lungs we need more Oxygen and so, initiate a deeper inhalation.   The yawn DOES cause a deeper breath and it IS a great way to practice deeper, voluntary breathing.   However, evidently the REAL reason we yawn is still for the brain but it is actually a “thermoregulating device”, which is to say the swift intake of air acts to normalize the temperature of your brain in the same way you might use a fan to automatically come on in your garage, if the temperature reaches a certain height.             So, why might you yawn when you begin a voice lesson?   W
Read more

Basic Music Theory - #3 - Rhythms and Putting it All Together

Image
So, here is the last installment in this beginning set of Music Theory posts.   I know I’ve covered an awful lot in these last 3 posts but I promise you, if you’ll devote a little consistent time to learning it, the benefits you’ll receive will far outweigh your small time investment.   These key components of Music Theory make up the essential underpinnings of composed music.   The next set of Music Theory posts will cover different types of Chords, Scales, and Chord Progressions but until then, enjoy these amazing pillars of Music Theory and send me any questions you still have once you’re done.   Here you go: •             RHYTHMS AND TEMPOS - I try to explain the “Beat” of music or the “Rhythm” like our own heartbeat.   It is a regular, constant “pulse” (literally).   Most of the time this “Beat” or “Pulse” is what you dance to, tap your foot to, or clap along with.   “Typical” Rhythms include the March (4/4 Time) and the Waltz (3/4 or 6/8 time), but oth
Read more