Caribbean Chest Colds

We had the misfortune of taking a one hour bus ride across the countryside with a lady who was obviously very sick. Sniffing, coughing and chest gurgling / rumbling going on, and we were stuck sitting in the back seat of the bus right next to her. You could tell the lady was suffering with it as she was flushed and looked quite uncomfortable with having to cover her sneezes and coughs. We didn't really notice her to start with, as it's normal for people to cough or sneeze from time to time. But when she carried on coughing and making those deep rumbling noises in her chest, we started getting quite concerned.

You also need to understand what we mean when we say “bus”. These are typical north american sized vans with four rows of seats and four seats in each row. You sit squeezed into your seat shoulder to shoulder – heaven help you if you have a large bag as juggling that is a lot of work. One seat in each row will flip up so you can squeeze from row to row. If someone wants to get out from the back row, the bus stops (as they should!) and everyone sitting in a flip seat has to get out to let the person in back get out. Everyone then gets back in again except the one that met their stop. When you take a bus here it's more of a group exercise program than a "ride"...

The buses are our normal mode of transportation and we are well versed in the bus routes, the mechanics of the ride processes, and payments to the conductor. They provide a great service to the public here and even though it can be bit tight from time to time we don't wish to complain about it as we are not ready to buy a car yet. The drivers are real gentlemen and go out of their way to stop for you - even if you're not at a proper bus stop - and the conductor will escort older persons and children across busy roads.

Anyway, there we are on a bus with everyone on board heading to the same one hour destination (Grenville) and the bus is not stopping anywhere. No one has to move and no one changes places and the lady with the horrible sickness continues to cough and hack away.... then add heat and humidity and you can guess what comes next. Ugh...

Yes, a week later, both of us had a sore throat, were sneezing and have a runny nose that flows like water... sorry for the graphic descriptions.... and a couple of days after that, the yellow stuff starts showing up with boxes of tissues disappearing like ice on a hot day, and we are hacking up things that will remain unmentioned. Fever, cough, endless tissues, and generally feeling crappy.

We had to cancel several things we had planned at GARP, and were not able to help a good friend move here things into her new house.

So we go see the local pharmacy to try to find the things we usually use to help us through – decongestant pills and sinus / cough pills along with cough syrup and throat lozenges. That sort of thing is quite expensive here....

Our Grenadian friends heard of our sad condition and they were quite insistent that we get our hands on fresh Thyme leaves and fresh Soursop leaves for use as a herbal tea. Then they brought some to us – door to door service. This is our photo of the leaves on our kitchen counter. Make tea, they said. Drink it they said. So we did.

I put a half teaspoon of honey in mine! :) The next day, we started feeling much better and the chest infections starting clearing up. Sore throat disappearing, runny nose all gone, cough going away. Amazing... Grenada is full of great secrets.

We did a bit of research and found that Thyme goes beyond many other herbs with its wide array of uses, including ointments for fighting infection, cough elixirs, and throat infections. Thyme has been used as an expectorant to clear lungs, and is particularly helpful as a remedy for upper respiratory tract problems like bronchitis. (https://draxe.com/thyme/)

Apparently, tea made from Soursop leaves helps you to fall asleep and is a good night-time tea. It also has many medicinal qualities that heal the body. Far too many to mention here but you might be well advised to do a Google search on it to find out more...

(http://drhealthbenefits.com/herbal/leaves/health-benefits-of-soursop-leaves

Local remedies really do work! Thank you to our new friends from GARP, Carol and Afzal. :)