Congested in Colombia

In case you have been wondering why I sound so nasally, here's why.  I just took a little trip to the grocery store down the street in search of some cold medicine to combat this ridiculous congestion that overcame me yesterday.  There was plenty to choose from in various forms.  Luckily I happened to check the label of one product quickly and noticed it had fenilefrina, or phenylephrine, in it as the active ingredient for decongestion.  Unfortunately, I found out the hard way in college that I have seriously unpleasant reactions to this drug in the form of continuous vomiting for about 2-3 hours after taking whatever medication its in.  TMI?  Sorry.  Needless to say I quickly put this back on the shelf and grabbed another.  And then another.  And then another.  Ultimately realizing that they ALL had fenilefrina in them.  Off to the pharmacy counter I go.  I successfully informed the man behind the counter of my allergy and asked if he had something else without phenylephrine, but with the same cold-fighting benefits.  Drawer after drawer of search and he found that everything he had also contained the drug.  I checked the OTC aisle one more time and finally accepted I would be stuffed up for the rest of the night, and grabbed some extra Vitamin C tablets instead.

On the walk home, I realized I could check with the pharmacy at the hospital tomorrow after I have my appointment to check on the status of my knee.  Hopefully this cold wouldn't get too much worse before then.  When I got home I decided to do a little research, like how to say psuedoephrine in Spanish, as this is the decongestant I normally take.  In the US, this has to be purchased from the pharmacy directly since its used in large doses to make meth.  Somehow in my search I came across this article http://www.eltiempo.com/archivo/documento/CMS-5824648 outlining how psuedoephrine sales have been banned in Colombia for the same reasons that you need to get it from the pharmacist in the US.  I wasn't going to get decongested anytime soon.

This then led to a search of "natural home remedies for nasal congestion" because this its just too miserable to not try to fight.  Looks like I have 10 or more jumping jacks to do and some hot sauce or mint gum and maybe some gin soaked golden raisins (what!?) tonight.  Or maybe I'll keep the tissue close at hand. 

If you're coming to Colombia, PLEASE smuggle down some Sudafed with psuedoephrine, but keep in mind, I bare no responsibility if you are detained or accused of making meth.  That's a rick you'll have to be willing to make.