"Boil some water..."

Last week I was sick - really sick - nasty cough, trouble breathing... it was not fun.  I didn't go to the doctor because - well, I thought I'd get over it.

I did get over it, mostly.  Today I am still having trouble breathing - likely a problem having to do with the local heat and humidity.  I took the opportunity to talk with my doctor about the illness last week and the breathing trouble this week.  I expected she would listen to my lungs, and maybe give me a script for.. something.

Here's what I did not expect:  I did not expect for her to ignore the troubles and give me advice about how to treat them - she didn't even listen to my lungs to see if I was still having any legitimate sounding difficulties.  I did not expect her advice:  "Boil a pot of hot water, put some Vicks Vapo Rub in it, put it on the floor, cover your head with a towel and lean over the pot.  Breathe the vapors.  Do this twice a day."

Huh?  did I mention that it's 93 degrees outside today with a heat index of 104?  Or that we don't have air conditioning in most of our house?  Do you really think I'm about to boil anything, or put my head over a pot of steaming anything?  Nope - maybe some vapo rub on my chest... or maybe I'll call the income based clinic downtown if this breathing doesn't calm down in the next couple of days.