Working on Bronchitis

First, my youngest daughter got sick and we fought through it for two torturous weeks, doing what her doctor recommended, and finally after very little improvement, she got an office visit which resulted in a short course of the strong antibiotic Azithromycin. During this time of year, it can be hard to differentiate between allergies and infections-even for medical professionals! My poor tough kid went to school every day like a little trooper in spite of coughing wretchedly every night the first week and then coughing in sporadic nightly bursts the second week. The Azithromycin seems to be resolving this now-or has the disease merely run its course? And then, it became my turn which clarified even further that this dreadful coughing thing is the cause of a microorganism. It was easy to deal with the initial fever that my daughter had with one dose of Tylenol. I am not crazy about this pharmaceutical and will only use it for a very short term alleviation of fevers. I cannot take Tylenol at all, so when my fever hit I made an infusion of fresh Melissa Officionalis, fresh Monarda didyma, (Thank God they had both sent up some three to five inch high new growth), ginger and lemon. I don't bother removing the leaves or anything when it is done-I just let those sit in the bottom of the cup which in my case is the size of two regular coffee cups, and I use a fairly good amount of these two herbs. (The only ginger and lemon I have on hand at the moment is in less than stellar form, so I'm not counting on it as being effective) My cup is about half full when I pour in the boiling water-which I let steep covered until nearly cool. Ah, yes it has been working for my fever and easing the cough and congestion too! I started sipping on this yesterday-all day-and will continue until this disease is gone. The fever seems to be gone and that is a bonus. I wonder if it will take two weeks or longer for the whole thing to leave. Part of me is lamenting that I didn't start taking some ginseng or echinacea before symptoms set in and part of me is thinking about that little experiment I did with the gabapentin. Could it have messed up my immune balance so that I caught this, although I experimented for only one day? It is not beyond the realm of possibility. There is a peculiar taste that certain diseases leave in the mouth that I have noticed over the years and usually these forms of infection require antibiotics. Eeew-no, I sure wouldn't go around sampling anyone elses mouth! I have noticed this taste from my own experiences with strep and bronchitis. I have that taste thing happening, so I might end up taking some antibiotics too. This old back can't take a bunch of violent coughing fits-even securely wrapped as it is! Amazing how such a thing can cause bursts of sciatic pain! One thing that I have learned about Melissa o. is that it is impotent in dried form. When it's dried, it is merely a pleasant flavoring. To get the true potency of this herb, fresh is best. I'm not relying merely on my little infusion either. I began the eat many habeneros and onions campaign too. They are great for chills, but not everyone likes fresh habanero on everything or munching onions like potato chips. I have a feeling fresh garlic will join the menu today, after I drag myself out to get a good bulb. Yes, I'll be fragrant and yes, I don't care. I want this torment gone and preferably without a doctor visit!