The monsoon is gone and winter is approaching. The change of season can already be subtly felt in Mumbai. The nights are a little cooler. And it’s been enough to cause my husband to fall sick. Yesterday, he had a blocked nose, body aches, and a slight temperature.
This morning he was much better, but still went to the doctor. She diagonised viral fever. And dispensed her usual handful of brightly coloured pills. She also told my husband that if he’s not feeling better by tomorrow, he should return for an injection.
The cost for today’s consultation and medicine was 50 rupees (just over $1). It’s incredibly cheap by western standards. At home, it would’ve been around $50.
I find it difficult to believe that my husband could have viral fever and still be up and about though. I’ve been sick with it in India and have been bedridden for five days every time.
As for myself, I felt like I was getting a cold yesterday. My solution to illnesses like that is a bit alternative. Natural medicine works wonders for me. I took high doses of Vitamin C, Echinacea (an anti-viral, anti-bacterial herb that’s widely used in Australia) and ate a clove of raw garlic. Not a very appealing idea, but I’m much better now!
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{ 42 comments… read them below or add one }
Get well soon you two.
Garlic? Raw garlic? Yuck!
Isn’t echinacea available in India as a homeopathic med too? If it isn’t, how did you find it in India?
We think nothing of viral fever, we usually go to work full time in it too
My poor western body gets knocked flat by Indian illnesses.
I brought the echinacea with me from Australia. In fact one of my cupboards here looks like a homeopathic medicine store. It’s filled to the brim with high dose natural medicine from Australia!
Yeah same here. My Dad is into homeopathy too. You have to see his collection
I still remember the seasons of mumbai <3 (and the farmacy of india:-))
Feel better matey
Dont worry about the viral. Its nothing actually. The truth is that I hardly get a high temperature. Whenever I am ill, my temperature goes down. Its so weird. But thankfully, it is never viral.
Viral is no serious problem. It is the make-it-sound-complicated term used by doctors for seasonal fevers, when no known pathogens are the cause.
Thanks for all the good wishes and reassurances!
I hope the two of you do feel better very soon, vieral fever almost kind sounds like hay fever here in the western states, I usually get hay fever when the seasons change from warm to cold or cold to warm. I would have thought since were are getting fall/winter here in the US that India would be getting summer I did not know that you get fall/winter when we do as well Sharell you tought me something today. Natural cures are the best! If I have troulbe sleeping I don’t take sleeping pill I use camomill tea. I do hope you feel better soon. BTW will have photos of me today.
Hello Sharell,
First of all let me begin by saying just a week ago by luck I came across your blog online when I was looking for some material on (inter cultural stuff) and Indian guys married to white girls and boy I am so glad that I found your blog. For the past week or so it has been a non-stop entertainment for me. Thank you. I am having so much fun with the material you are posting, the pictures, your day to day problems (not that it is fun but the way you handle it that is amazing). It just brings back my memories of my old place. My parents still live in Goregaon and my dad owns a company in Bombay Central (I am sure you know where these places are). I have so much to cover on your blog it is really informative and good source of guide for my wife. All I can say is it is really impressive and my hats off to you. Keep up the good work. Just cant believe that you live in Mumbai. Wow still cant get my head wrapped around that thought.
Allow me to introduce myself my name is Ajay (or AJ for locals) and I was born and raised in Mumbai lived there for 25 years in Goregaon came on a student visa to the US got my MBA in IBM (International Business in Marketing) and just this year I became a proud US Citizen. Well my wife’s name is Melodie. She is white and an all American girl. Born and raised in Green Bay, WI. She has a Bachelor in Fashion Merchandising. Just wanted to give you some background on us that is all. Oh we live in Northern VA it is just outside DC. WOW I have so many questions for you and will ask them as I am reading your blog as time goes by. We are coming to Mumbai next year well mine 5th trip since coming to the US and my wife’s3rd trip until then keep on posting.
Your new reader
Ajay
Ps: how do you make/insert those smiley, confused or sad faces?? I am used to the chat forums but this blog stuff is really new to me. Hence the stupid question of registering and all that did not know this gets posted instantly like forums. I was thinking you have to authorize a post or something like that. Anyway this is so cooooooollll. Now back to reading your blog.
Get well soon Sharell….
I remember eating and drinking all sorts of colorful medicines in childhood…
Though I must say the pic of pills u have posted looks so tempting
I hated them then but had no choice to gulp in.
Just take care and stay fit…
Woops…same goes for ur hubby too
I’ve just recently subscribed to your blog and with anticipation, like little gems, your life and experience have opened a world of wonderment and discovery for me.
Thank you ever so much…
Good for you Sharell, stay away from unnatural medication.
Raw garlic is not that bad you can chop it and drink with water if you do not want to eat it by chewing it. That’s what we do with my husband we are against any medication that has chemicals in it, anything natural is good. Medicine can do good to one thing but can harm the other organs, not recommended.
wish you and your husband a fast recovery:-)
Hi Sharell,
Just received a letter this morning from our G.P. (very unusual these days due to Postal Strike….) asked us to make an appointment for H1N1 Injection. Not looking forward to… hate injections…
Cheers
Mac
Hi Ajay, I’m glad that you’ve been well entertained here. There’s never a dull moment, that’s for sure! Hopefully, you’ll keep enjoying the blog too. And all questions are welcome.
As for the faces, you have to type them in first. So a smile would be : – ) (But without the spaces in between). It will get converted to a smile when you post your comment. A sad face is : – ( A wink is ; – ) A tongue is : – P Shocked is : – o Have fun!!
Isabelle, welcome!
Nelli, I usually chop the raw garlic up and swallow it with water.
I really don’t mind the taste. I find that natural medicine is often so much more effective than the chemical stuff, if of course it’s used in the right way. As soon as I feel like I’m getting a cold, I take the natural medicine in a high dose. Then within a couple of hours the symptoms are gone! But the good thing is it’s actually treating the cause, not like a lot of chemical medicine which only deals with the symptoms.
Oh no, Mac, it doesn’t sound appealing at all! I managed to talk my husband out of going back to the doctor for the injection this morning (although he didn’t seem too pleased). The crazy thing is that he doesn’t even know what it is (something for cold and viral fever). And he’s fine today, apart from a very congested nose. So I’ve got him inhaling eucalyptus oil through a vaporizer (and yes, taking the raw garlic, etc.).
You swallow raw garlic? :-O
The “shocked” smiley didn’t work.
:-O
It’s a lower case “o” that is required.
And yes, the effectiveness is well worth it!
Now that I know:
;-0
hope he’s feeling better now !!! and you too !!
do tk cr and try and experience the delhi weather sometimes, it litreally changes every month !!!
Sharell,
I’m sick here in France, as well! Change of seasons and all that, I guess. Hope your husband feels better soon and that you don’t end up getting sick, too..
And, Ajay, just read your introduction – I’m a Green Bay girl, married to an Indian man, too. Coincidence!
Sorry to hear that your husband has been sick! I worked from home this week because I had some sort of stomach bug too.
Ajay, my husband and I are also in the DC area. You should check out the forum at Gori Girl’s blog if you haven’t already!
Hello Sharell, How are you today? How is Mumbai treating you? Have you gotten rid of your lice menace yet? Hope so. How is your hubby feeling? Good I hope. WOW those colorful tablets (medicine) remind me of my childhood. Things have not changed that much since I came to the US. In 2005 on my visit to Mumbai I fell sick and I remember my parents called our family doctor at our house and he gave me some really colorful tablets and those suckers were huge too. I remember breaking the tablets in 2 (cause you can’t swallow these tablets on one shot) Anyway I have read your blog for almost 2 weeks now and know a little about your life as a white Indian housewife. Once again just can’t believe you live in Mumbai on a day to day basis. Just amazing:-o . Okay now for some questions.
1) Do you use the local trains in Mumbai? I hope not. (oh my god they are hell I remember for almost 6-8 years I used to travel on them and mind you I had a 1st class pass but we both know it does not mean a thing I was hanging at the door all the time:-o.)
2) When you walk the streets how do you ignore strangers staring at you constantly? I kid you not before the trip I was so worried about my wife and the attention she would draw from the beggars and even shopkeepers. Being a blond she really sticks out in a crowd not to mention she’s tall too compared to most Indian people.
3) How do you shop there? (We all know when a white person walks in a store the prices automatically double or quadruple) I remember in 2005 my wife’s first visit to Mumbai the prices were always different for her then for my parents or when I shopped alone hence we decided that she just point what she liked and we did all the talking.
I guess these are some of my questions I can think of for now. Oh believe me I will have more. I will post more later. You take care and take care of your hubby too.
AJ
Hi Andrea COOOOL you are from Green Bay too?? Nice. Oh my are you a packer’s fan too? My wife is just crazy about the packers (well not just her the whole family is) she has jerseys, Mugs, sweaters even a Cheese Head that she wears when the packer game is on. Even our outside grill is not spared it has packers grill cover on it. So you live in France?? Nice. My wife and I were planning on going to France (Southern France to be exact Cannes) this year but then choose to go in the Caribbean island since we have a big trip next year to Mumbai India we need all our vacation days for that.
Hi D.JAIN. You live in Northern VA too? That is so cool. May be someday we can all get together( I am sure there are more people in our area then just 2 couples who are inter cultural) and we can call it a National Inter cultural day or something. I am really new to this blog stuff. I found Sharell’s blog just recently I will check out Gori Girls blog in time too. Thanks for bringing it to my attention.
Garlic is really good for fighting off colds and viruses. I don’t have the nerve to take it raw but every day starting this summer I’ve been taking a garlic pill (dehydrated concentrated garlic). So far, I have not had a single cold.
Oh, I forgot – Vitamin D. A daily combo of Vitamin D (1000 iu)+garlic+multivitamin pill seems to have kept my immune system in good form – so far (touch wood).
Hi Ajay, I’ve written a post especially devoted to answering your three questions.
We’re feeling much better today but my lice problem is still under treatment. 
Sharmishtha, I’m so happy to have come across another person who’s into alternative medicine.
If I was in Australia I’d be having the garlic pills (we have a great combination of Horseradish, Garlic and Vitamin C all in one there) but unfortunately I don’t have any with me, so have to make do with the real thing here! Glad to hear it’s been effective for you.
Hey Sharell,
Behind “Not just Jazz” is a place where you can get all Naturopathic Medicines that are of high standard. My friend Ant is a naturopath in Melbourne and has often given me shopping list of items to buy because the quality and prices is really good. I’ll get the full details and pass them on. (It might save you some space in your luggage to bring home more jars of vegemite and packets of Tim Tams)
V, thanks so much! You’re a gem. I’m thrilled to know there is such a place here. It will also mean more room in my luggage for BBQ shapes!!
first time here and i loved the way you write about life Sharell…
and i am into naturopathy and alternative medicine big time…it has helped me immensely.
also i grow some of my herbs and make some of the preparations myself..
i am following you.
What are BBQ shapes?
BBQ shapes are a type of cracker/biscuit with BBQ flavour seasoning (masala) on them. Shapes come in other flavours too, like pizza and chicken. Aussies love them so much that according to Arnott’s (the manufacturer) we eat 53 million packets per year (quite a lot, when we only have a population of 20 million).
http://www.arnotts.com/our-products/products/arnotts-shapes.aspx
Wow! Incredibly edible!
Nothing like BBQ shapes and Coke for a hangover!! ( now thats natural medicine
)
True,here in Australia consulting a GP is a expensive affair.One very strange experience I have here that one cannot directly go to a specialist until he has a GP’s referral.And in India for small ailments we consult a specialist directly.Sometimes,this arrangement i dont like when my son is not well i want to visit only a pediatrician but i cant bcse i dont have a GP ’s referral.May be I have an Indian mindset of rushing to a specialist,it will change but with time
Falling prey to viral fever during change of season is quite common for me.I get it everytym der is a sudden change in da season & my symptoms r da same,apart frm da fact dat my ears r also blocked.For any kind of aches n pain,hav sm dalchini powder wid a tsp of honey,its quite effective!For dry cough,u cud try dis:Mix jaggery wid black pepper(also called saboot kali mirch),make small balls wid it n swallow it wid water,its better dan vicks,I tell u!
I’ll be able to cure people when I’m through with college in 4 years time!!
Hope that you fellas still stick around here till then!!