Going Cold Turkey

I'm on Day 2 of a fairly intense head cold, and frustration is mounting. Headache, sore throat, runny nose, sneezing. My medicine cabinet is full, yet utterly useless.

Having kidney disease means not being able to take over-the-counter analgesics like aspirin, acetaminophen, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (ibuprofen, Motrin) and naproxen sodium (Alleve). All of these common pain relievers can be harmful to the kidneys; there is actually a form of kidney disease -- analgesic nephropathy -- caused by the overuse of these types of meds. My nephrologist has banned them all. Also on the "no-no" list are popular cold/flu remedies like Sudafed, DayQuil and NyQuil. There is not a single over-the-counter medicine that I've been cleared to take.

What am I supposed to do instead?

Rest, eat well, and drink a lot of water. In other words, what my Mom told me when I was a kid. :)

Here's hoping that I'm back at it soon.