pistachiomacarons:

Fact: There is no worse place to get sick than in a foreign country.

Not only are you away from the comforts of your home and the proximity of chicken noodle soup (ideally made by someone other than yourself) but you are also without North American medications. Oh, how I long for Tylenol Cold & Sinus and a bottle of abrasive but effective Otrovin.

In France, you cannot buy any medications at a supermarché, instead you have to go to a Pharmacie where women stare at you in white coats and laugh at your attempts to describe your symptoms in French. Geez, I am sorry that the properly vocabulary for “stuffy nose” and “nasal decongestant” was not taught to me.

For the record, a nasal decongestant in French is solution pour pulvérisation nasale. 

Another complication is the availability of drugs in France without a prescription. So while I can see the Nyquil and Contac behind the counter (at 4x the price I might add) I am not allowed to buy it. Instead, I am left to the powers of Demo Gripal and Euvanol. While the cold medication is not so terrible (its efficacy is still undetermined), Euvanol is the equivalent of spraying a garden up your nose. 

Here are the listed “medical” components: geranium oil, melaluca oil and camphor which is an evergreen tree. See, literally a garden with a dash of benzalkonium bromide (point to whoever can tell me what that is). 

                        

Yeah they look pretty but take it from me, they do not taste good. 

Here is hoping that this sickness ends soon so I can get back to enjoying the better parts of French society: cheap vin and a good nightlife. Oh yeah, and school.

camphor is actually a really effective nasal decongestant! I use it a lot. some awesome home remedies for nasal decongestion when you can’t get otrivin (which I live off of, so I feel your pain) :

- onions! cut up an onion and inhale the goodness - phlegm and mucus will start breaking down very quickly

- SALT AND VINEGAR CHIPS: it’s the vinegar, haha but eating it in chip form is much better than swallowing apple cider vinegar! not sure if they have these in france but if they do, grab a bag and get to eating! 

- a steam vaporizer: these aren’t so common these days but it was a big part of my childhood so I still make my own vaporizers. I use eucalyptus oil and salt in mine but you don’t need to. Boil a bunch of water and pour it out into a large bowl. put your head over the bowl and big towel over both your head and the bowl - inhale! Steam helps break up lots of mucus, and adding some vics vapor rub around your nose will really start this process on turbo, if you have some. 

- lastly, a neti pot! (http://www.neti-netti-pot.com/neti-pot-instructions.html)

stay healthy everyone!