New Moon Niffles

A virus came calling
Said,
  "Maybe?"
  "May I?"
But Thyme stood still
next to Elderberry with arms crossed;
Lemon cussed from the living room
Cider Vinegar waved a skillet in the kitchen
Ginger and Garlic had to be restrained
and Honey said,
  "Honey, I'm afraid not!"
Not all vagrants
  need be welcomed.


 Even at our best, we still are subject to physical-body problems. Some of them, yes, do stem from our mental vagrancies. I worked some odd hours, I ate too many corn chips and too much chocolate, then some darned germ-ridden, animated carcass walked by and, wup!
 * sniff sniff *
 The upside is, I'm a herbalist and potist --- one who's survived enough colds to greatly lessen the symptoms and speed the healing process. Cold-kicking brews are like the "Happy Birthday" song --- they're one of the brews I make most often, even during an overall brewing dry spell.

 The poem above was inspired during the last cold I caught, and successfully fought, using my now-automatic regimen of remedies. A social media friend replied, "That is the most elegant way of describing an herbal remedy I've ever seen."

 This time around, I didn't have a few of the ingredients (or was too lazy or cheap to buy them). But I still brewed my potions and successfully fought off the infection: I felt achy and produced mucus for only a single day! I still sneezed a bit for a day or two afterward, as my sinuses tried to rid the excess dried-up garbage, but the ache and "main thrust" of the illness was gone. Of course, a preventative lifestyle is best --- what if I ate garlic every day? --- but this shows how herbs can greatly speed healing, in a part of the world where a sinus cold can last two weeks, entering the glottis, bronchial tubes and lungs.

 My brews this time around contained:

-- A pint of water.
-- Heaping cupped-handful of frozen elderberries. I have a two-year-old bag of them, which has gone from freezer to freezer along with my numerous moves!
-- A couple pieces of candied ginger, cut into little pieces.
-- 4-6 cloves of raw garlic, mashed.
-- Pinch of cayenne.
-- Honey, to taste (typically 2 tsp. to 1 Tbs.).

 Makes two servings.
 Drink a couple cups in early half of day, spaced out, as hot as possible. Then make another batch for evening half of day --- two batches daily at mininum. Drink the last serving shortly before bed. Take a hot shower (on one of these nights, I made it a Jacuzzi bath!), then go to bed fully clothed. This will cause you to sweat the infection out.

 Obviously, the elderberries and garlic are the main power behind this brew, but it all adds up to create a very strong, warming, infection fighting blend. As my poem suggests, thyme is a good addition. So is a squeeze of lemon, and so are yarrow, oregano, and pennyroyal; add boneset for an especially gnarly fever. Eastern herbs ashwagandha and reishi aee also good, boosting immunity. Nature has given us a plethora of great infection-kicking herbs, especially for us "damp-cold" types (as suggested by Chinese medicine). A healthy gut also helps resist colds (note that ginger is also good for the digestion).

 Even if a virus does get its toe in the door, there's no reason to let it hang around for longer than a day.