getting better

Posted on November 7th, 2013 by mountain girl  |  7 Comments »

Well, we’re out of the woods. Of course, we live in the woods, so we’re never actually out of them, LOL. But after a month and a half of feeling pretty downright awful, I’m getting better. I had either intense allergies or some kind of long-lasting bug, but it included lots and lots of coughing, and probably seven or eight wheelbarrows full of used tissues. 🙂

All that coughing led to a bruised rib, and that was not fun at all.  Maybe it didn’t help that I split wood for an hour when I first started feeling bad. Oy, what a disappointment. I really thought I was Wonder Woman–or at least Super Mom.

After a month of coughing, I finally found something at Earth Clinic that helped: a combination of apple cider vinegar, honey, and cayenne pepper. It nixed the cough right away, and I think it also wiped out some bad bacteria or allergens. After a few days of taking it, the nonstop mucus production has pretty much subsided. The rib is still sore, but getting better every day.

It’s such a simple little tincture, and I always have the ingredients on hand. I just wish I had thought to combine them before. I use about a cup of raw, unfiltered apple cider vinegar (like Bragg’s) with a tablespoon or so of raw honey and a few good dashes of cayenne pepper. I stir it together, then take a couple of sips at a time throughout the day and before bed.

It helped Caleb and Zia too, who each had a little cough that seemed very much like allergies.  Zia’s especially was nonstop at night, and the tincture seems to have completely cleared it out.

I’ve heard that every 1000 feet or so of higher altitude there is a whole different set of organisms in the ecosystem.  It does seem like every time we’ve moved higher, our bodies (especially mine) have to adjust to deal with new allergens and other gunky stuff. Hopefully this is the last move upwards for a while, and the last big bug to vanquish as a result.  But in case we need it, I have a spicy new weapon in my arsenal.

7 Responses to “getting better”

  1. Hannah says on :

    glad you are better. we were all exposed to whooping cough, and have been waiting to see.. but so far so good (taking all kids of immune building things)

  2. mountain girl says on :

    Oh…this time of year all kinds of things are going around! Hope you stay well.

  3. Appleshoe says on :

    I’m sorry to hear you were under the weather, but glad you are doing better now, I added your recipe into my crunchy cookbook to keep on hand for this winter, Be well.

  4. Colleen says on :

    I will have to try out this recipe when sickness is going around!!! Is it pretty hard for your kids to take? I’m glad you are all feeling better!

  5. mountain girl says on :

    Actually, Zia loved it–and she is terrible about taking stuff! She can’t even take kids’ berry-flavor echinacea. But they both love a.c. vinegar, since I’ve always used it for their salad dressings, and I think the honey made it even more palatable. Just go easy on the cayenne for them.

  6. Poco Mountain Girl » Blog Archive » a morning routine: two versions says on :

    […] and promotes healthy gums and clean, white teeth. I think it also helped speed up my recovery from being sick […]

  7. Tiffany says on :

    Sorry to hear that you were not feeling well! Hope that everyone is all better! 🙂