Home Cough Remedy

I ended up going to that walk-in clinic yesterday, but the NP there couldn't do anything as far as testing me for whooping cough. She said that given my symptoms and their date of onset after being exposed, it is very possible that I could have it. She also recommended I see someone within the next 5 days. My mom says that I've been vaccinated for whooping cough such that I won't even need a booster for another 2 years, but I still worry because catching an illness you've been vaccinated for isn't unheard of. The NP gave me a "presumptive diagnosis" of bronchitis until I can get tested further. She also prescribed me a prescription cough suppressant, an inhaler, and told me to take ibuprofen. So we'll see.

Before I started taking these lovely meds, I threw together a homemade cough remedy that a friend found on Pinterest and suggested I try.

1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper*

1/4 tsp. ground ginger

1 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar

1 Tbsp. honey

2 Tbsp. water

Dissolve your cayenne pepper and ground ginger in your water and cider vinegar before adding honey. Mix well before using, as the honey tends to separate from the water if it is left sitting. What's really nice about this remedy is that there is absolutely no reason you can't take it as often as you need it. It also kind of tastes good, which is a plus. This is great for if you have chest congestion or a cough related to a simple cold. Unfortunately my cough is worse than that, so this didn't help too much for that, but it did help with the soreness in my through that developed as a result of coughing so much. I stored it in one of my little 4oz mason jars and plan to take it with me to work tomorrow. I can't afford to go home early again tomorrow, so hopefully this in conjunction with a lot of water, drugs, and the inhaler will keep me on the phone. 

I'm surprised, actually, that I will be going back into work on Monday. My temp job was supposed to only last for three weeks, and Monday marks my fourth week. When I left early Friday, my supervisor said "we'll see you Monday," so that's cool. I'm glad to have an opportunity to make up the time I missed last week. Maybe they'll keep me? That would be awesome. And if they don't keep me, hopefully I'm off before the end of the work week, because I need to go to an urgent care within the week if things don't get better. Here's to hoping I just get better in the next few days AND a permanent job :)

*thanks to our neighbors Josh and Jenny who kindly provided the cayenne pepper :)