worldinabag

Hi

I don't think your daughter has a cold. Shes's suffering chronic fatigue. It hit me when I was in Spain last year. After getting the trip planning done, finishing my work (I have a physical job), doing all the last minute house things, a long flight (3 stages) and then a hectic tour. I am very fit but it hit me nonetheless - very spooky! I started to improve when I spent more time resting. So what I advise is your daughter needs to chill out in her hotel more and take in plenty of fluids. Cut your itinerary/activities way, way down. Don't worry - she'll be better soon.

sebinah

This isn't the answer for everyone but I definitely think that if she is tired, her body is telling her something. When we got colds recently while traveling, we had to go at half pace for many days. If we had felt worse, we would have bagged entire days. Listen to the body, it may be screaming for rest.

jody

I swear by Zicam and never travel without it. But Ger's sugestion of the canadian medicine , Cold FX, is really spot on. Not only she but 2 other friends have recommended it.

I find if I use Saline nasal spray on the plane about every hour , I never come down with a cold, but if I don't or my DH doesn't we always end up with one.

I spray every hour and use the Zicam about twice on every flight...so far in the last 10 years no colds or airplane flu!

ptm

So sorry to hear about your daughter. My husband always gets a cold when we travel and the best thing he does is rest and drinks lots of liquids. Hopefully she will recover quickly. Good luck.

Jed

Besides seeming tired, what else are her symptoms? If it is stuffy nose and sneezing, Actifed or some other antihistamine usually works for me.

Robespierre

If your use of antihistamines results in the well-known &quot;bounce-back&quot; effect (<i>q.v.</i when you are flying home, you'll wish you'd died of the cold when your ears plug up.

suze

Visit a pharmacy. I know in Switzerland I was able to buy some wonderful homeopathic remedies for colds and flu.

For food I would get liquids, broth based soup &amp; some kind of protein into her. And bed rest for at least one full day.

The_Babs

I absolutely agree that ZICAM is a miracle worker, but is best used at the moment when you start feeling like you're getting a cold. Doesn't do much once you've got the cold. My boss once gave me something called Occillacocinum (spelling might be a bit off, but it's VERY close to that.) He bought it in Europe and I believe it's now available in the US as well. You put these little sugar-like crystals on your tongue and allow them to dissolve. You immediately start feeling better...it's very strange, but totally worked for me. Good luck!

WillTravel

Sorry to say my daughter was not up to traveling around Berlin today. But she told me to go out and enjoy myself, because she could not! I was actually more tired than usual too, so maybe I have a touch of it also. The Mercure hotel where we are staying has a deal for a free kid´s breakfast with the purchase of an adult breakfast. I thoroughly enjoyed mine, and she was able to eat a bit. We both had a nap after breakfast, and then I went out and did a few things. I phoned back to the hotel in the afternoon, and she was saying she thinks she will be up and around tomorrow. She is fully supplied with her CDs (brought from home), numerous books, and CNN in English. She will phone some friends using a telephone card in a little while. I felt a bit guilty being out enjoying myself, but she was fine with it. I am definitely going to look into those zinc and Vitamin C and ColdFX and Airborne suggestions (I will reread the thread in case I miss something).

Dukey

Just remember that it is VIRAL (if it is in fact a simple cold) so don't waste ANY money on any sort of &quot;antibiotic.&quot;

All you can probably do now is treat the symptoms.

suze

What I was talking about (I've found it both in Switzerland and natural remedies stores in the U.S.) is what The_Babs mentions... Occillacocinum (or close to that) crystals that go under your tongue.

DeeW

Unfotunately, you will not be able to access it for this cold, but I do want to add my comments about the efficacy of Cold FX for future. I have not had a cold for two years since discovering this product. On occasions when I have felt the potential onset of symptoms I have used Cold Fx and stoppped the cold from developing. It is not as effective, I am told by friends, if beginning to take it after the full blow symptoms, but can still reduce the length and seveity. It is a ginseng derivitive, no stimulants etc. Fairly pricy but I would not be without it.

I hope that your daughter is soon recovered and that you do not get sick.

suze

What is the active ingredient in &quot;Cold FX&quot;? Sounds like it may be zinc (similar to Zicam in the U.S.)?

DeeW

From the Cold -fx website:

COLD-fX is a patented, highly purified natural product obtained from roots of North American ginseng.

cantstayhome

The only &quot;cure&quot; that ever worked for me I learned from a housekeeper in Anguilla. She mixed up some sort of concoction in the morning after hearing me sniffle, sneeze and cough one morning. If I remember correctly, it consisted of rum, honey, and some sort of leaf muddled up with it (mint, maybe? doesn't sound right, but I just can't remember). She covered the glass with saran wrap and let it sit all day in the sun. I drank it that night and felt 1000 times better the next day. Maybe not the best remedy for a 15 year old, though.

As for Airborne, I have a friend who swears by it. She went to Italy with us earlier this year. At the airport, she plunked her Airborne tablets into the water as the rest of us all mocked her. Guess who got sick on the trip? Yep, she did! She missed two fantastic dinners due to that cold! Lying around in bed and some steam from a shower seemed to help, though.

111op

Hi WT, just sending my good wishes for the rest of the trip. Hope the daughter recovers soon.

SeaUrchin

I keep a pack of Airborne in my purse at all times. At the first sign of fatigue that seems like it will turn into a cold put a tablet in a small amount of water and drink it. I use it on planes, on trips, at home, always at the first twinge of &quot;oh oh, oh no&quot; feeling that you feel it coming on or when you are going into an iffy environment.

All of my friends use it and it works!

www.airbornehealth.com

bluestar

re Airborne: Sorry, but I think it is little more than snake oil in effervescent form. &quot;Created by a school teacher!&quot; the packaging exclaims. Whoa! What's next, a plasma TV designed by a farmer?...a heart valve invented by an accountant??? If it's actually a cure for the common cold, which has eluded those in modern medical research for decades, where are the results from double-blind clinical studies conducted by accredited institutions?

If the placebo effect makes people fell better, so be it -- but I hate to see them duped out of $8 (or whatever is costs) when they could just as easily drink a glass of water with a sugar cube in it for a lot less.

http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/Health/sto...514&amp;page=1

http://whohastimeforthis.blogspot.co...l-teacher.html

WillTravel

Daughter is getting better, slower than she would like, but she has gone out twice today, with a nap in between. She was thrilled to go shopping today at the used clothing store called Garage on Ahornstrasse near Nollendorfplatz. The clothes cost 13.99 Euros per kilogram, and for just 14.27 Euros she was able to buy 4 nice dresses and a handbag. She is really into vintage clothing, so that was quite exciting.

petertherabbitt

you can forget the massive doses of vitamine C as there has never been and will never will be any scientific evidence that this works ona a common cold. rest. fluids and some type of medication to dry up a super runny nose is about all you can hope for