Throat Sickness

[wisdom]

I have a question about illnesses such as colds that originate within the mouth and throat. In general I am in good health, I rarely get sick. However all my health related problems seems to manifest in this area. For one, I have seasonal allergies. My nose runs like a waterfall, I sneeze 100 times a day, almost no matter how much allergy medicine I take. It always culminates in a throat infection/fever, which lasts about 24 hours, and then gradually goes away. The whole process takes about three weeks, and seems to happen only once a year, in either spring or fall (for some reason its never both, thankfully).

My question specifically though is about my present cold. I had a cold a month ago, brought upon me due to anger and stress (there is an indicator there) and it started in the nose, developed into the throat, turned into a cough, then went away. I'm sick again, and the process is identical only more throat oriented this time. I have a fever, again, and am already coughing.

To contrast this with other kinds of illnesses, I have not had a flu shot since I was like 14, and in 14 years I have only gotten the flu once, possibly twice. In every case my illness or physical disability manifests like this. The fevers are always accompanied by body pain, the general malaise and uneasy feeling generated from contact with surfaces like clothes.

I know I need to reduce anger and stress, a problem I generally don't have but recently have been frustrated with my job and life situation in general, a problem I am remedying through meditation on karma, the four truths, the four thoughts that turn the mind, and maintaining daily practice. I'm at a point where when I let these things get the better of me, the consequences are immediate. Within a day or two I'm sick. Besides seeking to reduce stress, anyone have any advice in regards to specifically throat/mouth related illness. Am I talking too much? Should I practice more silence? What kind of lung imbalance causes it? What kind of vice produces this kind of illness. Anger might be the cause of weakning my lung balance and creating obscuration, but its specifically manifesting in this way, over and over again.

[ronnewmexico]

To my dim recollection throat is a important energy center. Emotions precipitate in this area, such as a feeling may be described as "choking one up"..a intense emotional feeling.
Personally I think regret or repressed emotion may incite a throat problem. It is repressed this is where it channel wise is kept. But I'd guess it could be any repressed emotion. So working with repressed emotion by meditiational means then may pose a bit of a solution...not short term but longer term to prevent such things from occuring. A energy obstruction of sorts this is where it stops in the throat. It is repressed to there.

Infection in mouth....toothpaste or mouthwash with tea tree oil may help. Washing ones hands with a tea tree oil soap may also help to prevent expousure.

Of course check with your doc....these are just personal obserations and suggestions, and I am just a simple bobo, on the internet.

On flu shots....one should of course not get them when sick in any manner. What I find with flu shots however is that they seem to exercise my immune system a bit. Immediately after for several months I will not catch anything. So I have taken them regularly for several years. I don't know of any medical opinion to support my thinking of this however.
Ill effects to my opinion usually that is the rare instance when one gets the flu just after the shot. Nasal flu immunizations....I would not do them.
I don't get sick much but would prefer not at all . It is a good means to use this thing of sickness....but still I avoid it. I think I am not alone in that aversion.
I tried seeking out peoples sick, and giving them things for their colds...but alas that did not work I have spread to many colds in my past by not washing may hands and such to prevent that karmic effect I think.
Next lifetime I will have to remember to be more careful.

A meditative remedy for regret or repression....all are differnet and with differing traditions and skills.
A remedy I may try.....would be to incite the idea I am OK, anything I may have done is the best I may have done considering the imperfect situation I find myself in.
I would incite that thought, and without modification keep it present in my mindstream that thing. I may do it that way at some time.

Presently I would incite the idea or feeling I am not present, but am witness only to myself sitting in meditation, all caused to include my heartbeat and breath by other, other being circumstance one finds oneself in...I find that a universal remedy of sorts to the idea of regret or repression.
And inciting and staying there seems easy, it seems to become the body that incitement. And it seems to carryover to not sitting.
Breathing I feel breathed that type of thing, each sensation, each movement of body or mind,thought..... can be observed in that fashion.

Hard to say that though...all are so different.

Anyway...I hope you feel better. At the very least....(if tibetan) envision you are taking the illnesses of others voluntarily upon yourself for others benefit....that can be very handy to develope the habit of compassion....so even this be used for good purpose. (easy for me to say I am not presently sick I know.
Nevertheless it is handy to use it in that fashion. It may then serve great purpose...that providing of purpose may be in fact the actual remedy to that things occurance.....you become sick for then compassionate purpose..to learn compassion. So self may be less inclined to produce that thing.....as compassion works generally against self concept. So that may perhaps work for personal benefit as well.

So perhaps I would try that first. Taking on others sickness in meditation. It is easy to visualize oneself doing that. Do it and stay with it a little while.
Part of a meditation until one gets better. Check with your teacher if these things are OK first.

[Nemo]

I know it's been awhile but if you are still sick I may know what is infecting you. This year I’ve seen many co workers at the hospital develop chronic sinusitis, ear infections and even pneumonia. Some think it can even cause UTIs as well. All caused by a bacterium that is amoxicillin resistant. Many were mildly sick for months. Luckily Septra Ds is very effective and can kill off this particular bug. You may have a long term low grade sinus infection that keeps coming back whenever you are weakened or stressed. IF it is this bacterium you will feel better thatn you have in months in as little as two days. Septra is that effective.