Remedies for the Invalid

Every since our trip to Puerto, I have been feeling quite under the weather. It didn't completely set in until the meetings were over (Praise God!), but once it set in, it hit me hard. It was just your basic cold; stuffy nose, cough, headaches, but adding the hot and humid climate made me feel 10x more miserable.

Usually when I get colds, they don't last very long, so I just drink lots of water and hope to flush it out of my system. I tried this for a couple days and it didn't seem to work. Now, I'm not really a fan of medicine, I like letting the body get rid of the sickness itself. So when Shielah suggested Steam Inhalation, I was game to try.

I'm sure in the States there is an easier way of accomplishing this treatment, but here in the Philippines its a little more difficult. You have to get a kettle of water boiling on the stove. Once it begins to steam you need to get a blanket and/or towel and put it over your head to inhale the steam. You have to be careful though, because if you just put the blanket completely over you and the kettle, it could catch on fire and/or you start inhaling fumes from the stove. But if you don't have it evenly distributed over your head and the kettle, you won't get any steam....and then your just a idiot standing next to the stove with a towel over your head. :)

I tried this for a couple nights, but it didn't seem to work. As the days went on, we got closer to our day to climb into the mountains. I really didn't want to go into the mountains feeling like this, so I doubled my intake of water and tried doing more steam inhalations throughout the day. Still nothing...

The night before going into the mountains, Shielah tried a "Steam Bath". Basically they boiled lots of water and put it into a bucket and then put me underneath a blanket with the bucket. As time went on they added more hot water and more hot water, until I was sweating profusely. Then at the end, she used a cold wash cloth and wiped me down limb by limb while drying me off with a fresh towel. 

Lol, I have no idea what they were doing!

Then afterwards, I had to take the bucket of hot water into the bathroom to shower with. (For those of you that don't know, here in the Philippines the water only has 1 temperature....and thats Cold. So for all dishes, laundry, and showers you use cold water...Brr!) I was instructed to mix the hot water with cold water and take a nice warm shower (Awesome!) and then at the end dump cold water over my head, twice (Not so Awesome). This is called a Contrast Bath and the effect is to increase the blood circulation and thus assist the healing process. Its also said to positively influence the immune system.

Afterwards, I was instructed to change my clothes and get a good nights rest. I really hope I don't have to spend 3 days up in the mountains like this...only time will tell...


"Have mercy on me, O LORD, for I am weak; O LORD, heal me, for my bones are trouble."
~Psalms 6:2