Since returning from my travels last week, I've been fighting off some evil rhinovirus. I've got all the usual symptoms of a really bad cold, including (most especially) being thoroughly congested.
Being as ancient as I am, this is far from the first time I've had such a cold. In the past I've used decongestants with great success. But this time they weren't doing a thing. My lovely bride suggested that I do a little research yesterday into decongestants, and then she'd pop down to the drug store and get me some of whatever works best.
My starting point was the medication I had been taking. It's active ingredient was phenylephrine, which I quickly discovered was rather notoriously ineffective compared to the traditional decongestant pseudoephidrine. So why would they have switched to a less-effective ingredient? Because many states have passed laws banning or restricting the sale of over-the-counter pseudoephridrine – because the drug lords discovered an easy way to make methamphetamines by using pseudoephidrine. These criminals go buy huge quantities of cold medicine and convert it to methamphetamines.
Yet another way the drug wars are impacting my life! This problem only exists because methamphetamines are illegal...
In California, sales of pseudoephidrine are controlled – an individual can buy small quantities only. That means that you can't just go pull it off the shelf like any other cold medication – you have to ask the pharmacist for it. My lovely bride did just that, and also picked me up a couple boxes of those wonderful tissues with lotions embedded, so your nose doesn't get rubbed raw.
Last night I took the first round of pseudoephidrine. Result: in less than a half hour, I could breath easily through my nose for the first time in several days. Ah, what a relief! And those tissues...sheer heaven on my nose...
There was one downside for me, though: my personal reaction to pseudoephidrine is that it keeps me wide awake. I got not a wink of sleep last night. But I feel much, much better this morning – not least because I can once again breathe freely...
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