The Head Cold from Hell

It has been a long time since I've had a cold of this magnitude. What began as a little tickle in my throat Halloween night was a full blown whopper of a cold by the next morning. Nothing is worse than being sick on top of sick. I have a fever. My head hurts. My nose is running a mile a minute. Yet I still can't breathe out of my right nostril. My eyes are dry and bloodshot, rapidly resembling those of Natalie Portman a la Black Swan. And my TMJD is in another rip roaring pain flare thanks to all the violent sneezing I've been doing. I am about ready to knock myself out with Nyquil. Or maybe a Hot Toddy. But it's probably not a smart idea to mix any of that with Tylenol. So I am playing the waiting game. Waiting for this misery to abate.

As luck would have it, I had an appointment with an ear nose and throat doctor yesterday that had been scheduled for a long time. On day one of a bad cold. He said it will take 5-10 days before antibiotics are warranted. Right now it is an old-fashioned viral head cold. And there's no cure for that but time according to the ENT anyway. But the good news is, my hearing tested in the normal range despite the ringing in my own ears being much louder than any of the audible beeps. I passed that test by sheer luck I think.

Does anyone have any safe and effective home remedies for the common cold? My regime currently consists of steam inhalation, Halls cough drops, vitamin c, hot tea and spicy salsa. But what I really need is some sleep. And of course I gargle repeatedly to prevent the germs from having a party in my throat thanks to the timeless teachings of The Cosby Show.