[Harold]

Bringing this question over from another thread.

Originally Posted by tmef

Oh I'm so glad someone else has the chronic chest infection thing going on. I've had it all last year and no antibiotic on the planet has helped. Going to the doc again next week. What have you done when you have it?

Colds are tough when you have diabetes. A non diabetic will display cold symptoms for two weeks and it's over. With diabetes a cold can last months if you bg's are not in control. Keeping bg's under tight control is your biggest defense and for keeping the time you have it down to two weeks.

What do you do if you have it and had it for weeks and weeks. Antibiotics will do nothing for getting over the cold. My suspicions are that they might actually prolong the cold. So what I do and did this last November when my A1c's went to 6.4% and I caught a cold. Which was the same thing I did when, after going through all of the antibiotics in 3 months, and my Doctor told me I had to get over it myself. So I armed myself with a saline nasal spray, a prescription antihistamine/decongestant, a prescription for another nasal spray to dry up my nose when it flowed like a river, and an over the counter cough suppressant. The cough suppressant was so I could sleep and to keep from annoying others for which cough drops work well. The saline nasal spay I used the most to keep my sinuses moist whenever the humidity was very low. The humidity in heated spaces here commonly gets below 10%. Which in my case causes the membranes to dry up and crack. Which then bleed and that gives the glucose in the blood over to those bugs for food that make us sick. The salt in the saline spray also kills some or inhibits their growth. Which brings me to when I would get a scratchy throat I would have a cup of chicken noodle soup or just a cup of chicken broth both of which are really salty. Gargle with warm salt water if your not supposed to take in any salt. A humidifier in your bed room for when you are asleep at night will help. However I will not keep any humidifier for very long if I can not clean every surface of it with white vinegar it gets trashed. Better to get a new cheap one every month.

[DeusXM]

I also wouldn't take the fact that 'no antibiotic worked' as being significant. All that means is that the underlying infection is caused by a virus rather than bacteria. Antibiotics can only treat bacterial infections, not viral ones.

[mg_2204]

I used to have never ending colds. Well I thought it was the same one but it wasn't. It's possible to catch many colds, one after the other. My daughter (non diabetic) has had a cold since December! When she gets a bit better... we either have people over who have a big cold or a friend of hers has a bad cold and there she goes again...!

I used to be like that, before diagnosis. Colds, the flu, gastro enteritis (ack!), then a cold again... It was never ending. Every week-end I ended up in bed and sick as a dog! I was working 40 hours a week, raising 3 children, running like a headless chicken all the time (the only exercise I got!), going to bed around 11 pm (if I was lucky!) and getting up around 5h30 am.

What has changed since is... my diet (turning point I believe), and I do get 8 hours of sleep at the very least every night. I work part time and when I have time off I do try to think of myself once in a while. I get more done when I'm well rested and happy too. I exercise but I should do more. I am seldom sick now. And I haven't caught my daughter's colds either!!!!