Neti pots and Mai Men Dong

Sounds X-rated, doesn't it? Mai Men Dong? It isn't.

See, I hate going to the doctor, unless it's my psychiatrist. Him, I need. I need the prescriptions. Maybe part of it is the fact that I'm already taking 5 pills a day. That's a lot.

I still have a persistent dry cough, the "hack" Ron calls it. It's allergies. The coughing gets A LOT worse anytime I get near a cat. Yup, I'm allergic to my children.

I don't want to see my primary care doctor for allergies. She'll write a prescription, and if I'm unfortunate, I'll have a bad reaction and freak out. It's happened before, once I was given compazine and I had a 3 week manic bender. Ron thought he would have to "Put me away".

If I have average luck, it'll work somewhat but I'll have another side effect or two to add to my list (did I already mention I'm on 3 pills that ALL cause side effects?). If I'm "lucky", the medication will be cheap, no side effects, and it'll work well. But I hate the whole process. I just do. It makes me weary.

I'll keep taking my vitamin C. It's helping, and I noticed my gums finally stopped bleeding. Apparently my meds use up a lot of vitamin C. I can take over 6 grams a day before I reach my "tolerance" (diarrhea), and it's compatible with my prescriptions.

So I'm trying some home remedies. I got the Neti pot when a health food store went out of business. I mix 1/2 t of sea salt (no iodine) with distilled water and stick it up my nose. Yeah, I stick the spout in my nose, with my head tilted to the side, and rinse out my "cavities". I must add that a lot of "junk" came out (clear junk which confirms allergies). My nose felt great, actually, once I got over the initial ACK and EW and then all the nose-blowing after the "procedure". The solution doesn't irritate the membranes and even though it was a little warm (God forbid you're going to do this, you want tepid), I wasn't too uncomfortable. Except for pouring 8 ounces of saline solution into my sinuses. Ack. Ew.

I'm also going to strip the bed and wash all the sheets in REALLY hot water. I'll soak them first, then wash. No fragrances, either. That should eliminate the "Cat Dander in my bed" part of the equation. Clean the air filter. Keep using the Neti pot. Ack.

If that doesn't work, I'm going to order some Mai Men Dong. It's supposed to moisten dryness, nourish the Yin, and make the Qi behave. You know what? It works. AMAZINGLY well. The last time I had a nasty dry cough like this I did my research, got some, "decocted it" (cooked in the crock-pot overnight, strained and drank), and within a day or two the cough was gone. Good stuff! It's a lot better bet than a pharmaceutical that might make me freak out. It even tastes pretty decent.

If THAT fails, then I'll go see my doctor.