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[Emperor_Jonathan]

I lost my voice when I had the flu or something about 2 weeks ago. My doctor prescribed Anti-biotics and that I gargle salt water, from the ocean.

On second thought, this surprises me. Why would a doctor prescribe antibiotics for a viral infection? That seems kind of irresponsible and useless.

God how silly of me, the flu? I had Pharyngitis, a throat infection not the flu :| (Bacterial infection.)

[Soviet Travolta]

As far as i know, the use of ocean water in medicine isn't related to the sodium in it, but to the iodine, as a disinfectant.

[IndonesiaWarMinister]

I do nothing.
The flu simply stops on itself, if I wait long enough.

[Muz]

Keeping yourself healthy and hydrated helps. Lightly salted water is a way of hydrating yourself better than normal water. But I'm no expert.

[Cthulhu]

I don't know, that doesn't sound right.  Drinking salt water dehydrates you, and I don't see how you could salt it lightly enough to avoid that.

[DJ]

I think you just need salt to maintain normal blood salinity. When you have a fever you sweat, and sweat is very salty, so it stands to reason that you'd need to replace that salt.

[G-Flex]

As far as i know, the use of ocean water in medicine isn't related to the sodium in it, but to the iodine, as a disinfectant.

I really don't think there's any iodine in seawater, and if there is, it's in concentrations way too small to be a disinfectant, or else everything in the ocean (including swimmers) would be getting poisoned by it.

I don't know, that doesn't sound right.  Drinking salt water dehydrates you, and I don't see how you could salt it lightly enough to avoid that.

It doesn't to me either. Basically everybody in the United States gets more sodium than they could possibly need in their diet. Even sports drinks, meant to be drunk when you're sweating tons, don't have a ton of sodium in them. A moderately significant amount, but 110mg/8oz. isn't all that much. I did some quick math, for the fun of it, and 110mg of salt is about a 0.095mL heap of the stuff, which is about a 50th of a teaspoon. In other words, a pinch at the most.

So basically, you don't need salt in your water because what you eat probably has too much of it already, not to mention you'll imbalance your other electrolytes more (potassium, magnesium, etc.).

[Rashilul]

Drink bubbly water and eat chicken franks! That is all I drink and eat when I have a cold/flu.

[Muz]

I don't know, that doesn't sound right.  Drinking salt water dehydrates you, and I don't see how you could salt it lightly enough to avoid that.

I know that there's "salt" and "sugar" in some of the hydration liquids in the pharmacy. So it's part of the process. You shouldn't salt the water enough to turn it into "salt water" though

[Maggarg - Eater of chicke]

Gargling with spirits helps a sore throat. It is both an anesthetic and an antiseptic. (And some of them are nice)

[G-Flex]

The only problem with that is that alcohol make irritate your throat more. I'd just recommend mouthwash, since it's sort of designed for that (and has alcohol in it regardless).

Also, at first I thought you said "gargling with Sprite" and my head blew up.

[Karlito]

When I saw this title, it reminded me of grade school.  If you thought you were sick, the school nurse could recommend exactly three treatments - lay down on a lumpy cot, gargle warm salt water, or go home.  I've always wondered why they even bothered with the first two, or needed someone with any training to do such a job.

I know this is horribly off topic, but currently my school district doesn't even employ nurses, just some bum that's taken a first aid class.  I don't even think they can give you Tylenol.

[Samyotix]

Hm. Colds ...

... when I was a kid, my mom hated doctors, and liked to use "home medicines". This included holding your head over a bowl of steaming hot water, with a towel over your head (useless when your nose is blocked), radish syrup against coughing (works) and homeopathic stuff (useless).
The result? I'm partially deaf from having rather narrow ear tubes (the connection between nose and ears), so whenever I had a nasal infection, clearing the ear became impossible, and cleaning the nose was accompanied with whistling noises in the ear, lots of pain (and loss of hearing). The "chemical club" would've helped.


The chemical club is what I use when I have a cold, but have to either work or lose my job (that's the way it is sometimes if you're a QA tester, freelance translator, etc). Fever-reducing stuff + painkiller + decongestant, which clears sinuses. Plus: You hardly feel the cold anymore, just dumb and tired. Minus: Possible damage to stomach, liver, sinuses.

Nowadays I risk taking some time off for a cold; though instead of staying in bed, I usually play DF. I use decongestants to spray up the nose. A friend recommended Cannabis products as a "natural" way of reducing the swelling of sinuses, but I'm a bit sceptical - I don't like herbal tea either.

[Virex]

As far as i know, the use of ocean water in medicine isn't related to the sodium in it, but to the iodine, as a disinfectant.

I really don't think there's any iodine in seawater, and if there is, it's in concentrations way too small to be a disinfectant, or else everything in the ocean (including swimmers) would be getting poisoned by it.

Actualy, the Iodine concentration in the sea, and as a result also in sea salt, is lower then that in most kinds of salts. As a result, using only sea salt in all circumstances will get you an iodine defict...

I don't know, that doesn't sound right.  Drinking salt water dehydrates you, and I don't see how you could salt it lightly enough to avoid that.

It doesn't to me either. Basically everybody in the United States gets more sodium than they could possibly need in their diet. Even sports drinks, meant to be drunk when you're sweating tons, don't have a ton of sodium in them. A moderately significant amount, but 110mg/8oz. isn't all that much. I did some quick math, for the fun of it, and 110mg of salt is about a 0.095mL heap of the stuff, which is about a 50th of a teaspoon. In other words, a pinch at the most.

So basically, you don't need salt in your water because what you eat probably has too much of it already, not to mention you'll imbalance your other electrolytes more (potassium, magnesium, etc.).
[/quote]

The trick behind adding a pinch of salt to watter is that this takes it up to salt concentration levels that are comparable to the one in your body. This prevents it from screwing with the osmotic pressure around your cells. If you wouldn't do this, you could get a salt defict or water poisoning after drinking too much of it.

[codezero]

A friend recommended Cannabis products as a "natural" way of reducing the swelling of sinuses, but I'm a bit sceptical - I don't like herbal tea either.

It's true, last time I had a blocked nose I had a cone/bowl (not intentionally to clear it) and it cleared within about 5 seconds, then I had a cigarette and it blocked up again just as fast heh. So smoke it pretty green if you do it for that reason.

More on topic, I was flicking thru a herbal medicine book today and it reckons citrus peel is the go for colds, try grating some into your 'concoction'. Realistically, any solution is probably quackery considering there's no known cure for the common cold.

EDIT: Actually maybe don't try citrus peel, i just licked a lemon and got a sore throat, heh, i don't even have a fuckin cold. Ahwell it's gone away now.