Thursday, October 15, 2009

Flu and Black Elderberry Extract

So 3 out of the 4 members of my household have had flu. Melissa is the only one who went to the doctor and she was told it is probably H1N1 since that is what is going around. They are not testing every case. This has been going on for 2 weeks or more and I am still healthy.

Back in June when I was in severe pain, my doctor could not come up with a firm diagnosis. It seemed it might be nerve pain. It followed the nerve line across the back of my left shoulder and down my left arm. It was unaffected by OTC pain meds and I was pretty miserable. I did some online research and self-diagnosed zoster sine herpete, or shingles without the rash. I investigated further and found that black elderberry extract is supposed to have anti-viral properties. I started taking it in June. The pain went away finally at the end of June. I'm not sure if the elderberry had anything to do with it, but I stopped taking it. After a pain-free July, the same kind of pain in the same place came back in August. So I started taking the elderberry extract again. The Pain lasted the whole month, but this time, when it finally went away, I kept taking the elderberry. I still take it once or twice a day. I am wondering whether the anti-viral properties have kept me from getting the flu.

1 comment:

newlymed said...

perhaps, but don't hold your breath. or do hold your breath when you're around those folks with flu- that and cover you cough, wash your hands, don't share drinks etc are really the only things 'proven' to help.