This year's bug seems so virulent it's hard not to speculate that it was engineered that way.
This is what I share on PM with friends who post about feeling awful.
Daryl’s list of favorite natural “magic bullets.”
Of course, none of this advice is intended or purported to heal, treat or cure any disease, nor replace the expensive advice of a licensed “healthcare” professional.
- Ordinary OTC Hydrogen Peroxide 1/2 capful, lay on your side and pour into your ear. Let bubble 10 min (one side will sting more, that's your hot side) and roll over to do the other. Repeat in 2 hours (sting will be gone but will still bubble) and again in two more hours (most bubbling will be gone by now) it's weird but it WORKS. When your throat is scratchy you can also gargle with a little bit of it. Tastes pretty bad but it works too. And a pint of it in a warm bath works wonders also, the skin absorbs the nascent O2, and the malevolent microbes behind this are quite anaerobic. More expensive 3% Food Grade hydrogen peroxide can be found in health food stores, often in a spray bottle, and with that you can spray your throat and into your ears - and leave it there.
My friends at the GOE carry 35% food grade. Learn to do the dilutions right to make the 3% spray. DO NOT CONSUME 35% or let it touch your skin (a few drops in a glass of water is okay, but 35% is scary caustic).
https://www.intothegardenofeden.com/hydrogen-peroxide.html
The 3% food grade can also be diluted 1:10 (one part peroxide to ten parts distilled water) and used as a nasal spray that will work wonders even after symptoms are gone. It’s essentially an oxygen therapy and there’s lots of work out there about that. Short term it's unpopular with bad microbes, but it also does long-term protection potential against sinus infections and much more. For more inflamed sinuses increase the dilution to 1:20, but much stronger than 1:10 can really sting.
Alternate peroxide enhanced baths with epsom salts baths, the extra magnesium is super helpful too. Magnesium oil after a shower also works and is easier. I like magnesium chloride. Spray large areas of skin and massage in. We absorb most things through the skin better than we do through the gut.
Vitamin D3. Many say if you're not taking at least 4k IU a day you're asking for it these days. 2k morning, 2k evening. 6 is better in most cases. Way better is to have a blood test done for Vit D levels (then you can customize the dose) but don't let your doc prescribe the vitamin, as you'll pay much more for much less effective d2. When you're sick, taking megadoses (I've read as high as 50K IU) can stop a cold or flu in its tracks. A cautionary note, generally for every 1K IU of D3, 100 Micrograms of K2 is a good idea to prevent the possibility of aberrant calcification (kidney stones, heel spurs) and assist in proper calcium and magnesium distribution. Of course, we also make our own Vit D with sunlight on exposed skin, so make that happen when you can.
Vit C. A good ascorbate (I like Emergen-C) will do but liposomal is way better - and know that you can take 1k mg EVERY TWO HOURS when you're sick - you'll know you’re taking too much if it has a mild laxative effect (by all accounts this does not happen with liposomal vitamin C).
Raw, unfiltered, local honey. Probably available at your nearest health food store. 2 tsp with ½ tsp of ground organic cinnamon in hot water 3 times a day. If you can afford it, Manuka honey from New Zealand is amazing too, but local honey has the added benefit of being made by local bees with the local pollen your immune system is being exposed to. Mixed with cinnamon, it’s also amazing for almost everything when consumed in warm water, and applied topically it’s an absolute miracle for wounds and burns (and scar prevention). For tummy issues, add ginger and lemon.
If food-borne toxins are a possibility, activated charcoal is THAT magic bullet. Best in capsules, it’s a mess to use as a powder.
Probiotics. Buy a good one (I like Dr Ohhira’s) especially essential if you do resort to antibiotics. Antibiotics kill all kinds of fauna in the gut, and the beneficial species are very important to repopulate. Regular intake of these will also make the immune system very resilient where food borne illness is concerned. Best taken with filtered water at least 15 min before breakfast – and at least three hours from taking any kind of antibiotic. Look for numbers like 15 Billion live cultures, and multiple strains.
SAMBUCOL (or pure Elderberry) at first sign of feeling bad with cold or flu-like symptons. Usually takes 3 vials over 24 hrs and now available at grocery and drugstores. Even better paired with Boiron Oscillococcinum. You can find both at CVS or Walgreens these days.
Colloidal silver. Take orally, nasally and/or in the ears. Very benign and very gently anti-malevolent-microbial.
Alkalize as you hydrate. Slowly and gently. Best water to drink, quarter two organic lemons, peel and all (wash well first) and add to a gallon of good filtered water with a pinch of pink Himalayan salt. Let steep overnight and drink frequently. Another way (a very powerful one) buy a box of baking soda at the health food store or natural market (no stabilizers) and drink water with a tsp per glass. Works on colds, flu and more. Can be overdone (sodium) but amazing for times when you’re under the weather.
Essential oils. For quality, stick with DoTerra, Young Living, or Ameo (my fave available from Zija). The DoTerra blend you want is called OnGuard, with YL you want another blend called Thieves Oil (interesting story) and Ameo calls it Proshield. 2-3 drops straight (or cut with organic coconut oil) to apply to the bottoms of the feet. I’ve seen this alone stop a bug (caught early) in its tracks. 3-5 drops in 8 oz water is also possible with an oil grade this high, but again this is not official advice.
By the way, if you’re vomiting, have a small gulp of pink bismuth (pepto or generic) right before a wave, it coats the esophagus and stops the burn.
And for nausea (and hangovers) a little white pill in a little blue homeopathic dispenser tube, called Nux Vomica – is a MAJOR magic bullet.
There are more of course. Ginger, cayenne, garlic (chew a clove raw if you can) superfoods. You really can eat yourself well.
And another thing about water. Buy a shower filter. Or a whole house filter. Most of us drink bottled or filtered water, but we absorb more contaminants through the skin and the lungs in a single shower than we would through the gut in a whole day of drinking tap water.