wow, thanks for all the various forms of advice, folks.

in the end, I decided that the best way for me to do anything about it was to just grin and bear through it all... that and make myself a hot toddy before going to bed. those things work wonders! all that hot liquid and the rum has this further heating effect, plus of course alcohol-honey combination makes one very sleepy...

i think i just get so tired of feeling so helpless, and unaidable... woo! tea and rest usually do it for me, i just don't have the time for that right now, unfortunately. and, as successful as they may be for all of you, i don't have any handy remedy/placebo pills and/or mcdonalds' food... (Beck! blech, how is that even possible???)

well, fingers crossed, folk fest won't turn into an illness-riddled gong show...

there's a new sheriff in town...
JUGGS....
JUGGS MASTER!!!!!!

VULVAX 2004

VULVAX 2004

VULVAX 2004

Funny, I've had the exact opposite experience with McD's...

One thing that I've found to be a great help during illness is tea. Often a cup of peppermint or Lady Grey will work wonders, and will also help you get some much-needed sleep. If it's a stomach thing, try something less acidic like chamomile or any sort of white tea.

There's been many a time when I've settled my upset stomach with a couple of well-done plain McDonalds cheeseburgers. Something about it works wonders. Has to be well done and plain though...

Chinese remedies no longer have to be bitter as hell. You can go pop a Chinese garlic pill with a sugar coating that will probably give you a kick for 10 minutes...at least mine do.

Well, I find that getting out of god-awful six seater planes with the pilots on crack flying it usually makes me feel much better.....

Other than that, the trip so far is going well. We have seen coastal desert and associated fauna, and not-so-coastal desert which looks more like the deserts in the far side cartoons, and the oasis. You can tell where the underground rivers and wet-season rivers are because there are strips of short trees and shrubs. We stood outside for an hour looking at really old desert mummies and I learned that deserts, while beautiful from the bus window are bloody hell in the wind, and really cold at night.

Hope you all are good.

No, No Par, Future Doctor Paras will do the diagnosis, not present day Paras. They'll send a message to us from the future and help Alison out.

And placebo work suprisingly very well even though I know I'm taking a placebo.

Really, I don't know much at all. There's any number of Indian remedies that I've used that can't help because they can't really get to you over the internet (and I'm not 100% sure about their efficacy.) Eating something light (eg. crackers) usually, at least, stays down for me, and gives me the energy to not feel like crap. Other than that, though, I'm nowhere near as useful as, say, motherly advice.

I am curious about how effective a placebo is when you know it's a placebo...

When did you start feeling ill? Usually I take some kind of chinese medicine placebo and I'm fine within the next day. The placebo should taste bitter as hell so you'll shock yourself better so you won't have to take that good awful placebo anymore.

Ginger ale is a good idea though, it's easy on the stomach and will usually keep even if you feel like hurling. The only thing I learned from dietitics as dictated by my sister.

If you tell more of you sympthoms I'm sure future Doctor Paras can make a diagnosis.