Okay, as a physician I'm just a wee bit biased, but here goes.

Most of the advice I've read here is pretty safe; though not all of the recommendations mentioned are proven to be effective, I haven't heard you guys mention anything dangerous. I do, however, have one word of warning.

Traditional docs such as myself get a bad rap for 'overprescribing' antibiotics. This bugs the hell out of me, as I feel like I spend half my time talking people out of them. Parents have screamed at me at the top of their lungs when I refused to give little Johnny any penicillin for his viral sore throat. People, if your symptoms (or your kid's symptoms) are mild, and you've talked it over with a doc you trust, don't insist on antibiotics. If you make enough of a nuisance of yourself, your doc will give them to you anyway just to get rid of you, and that's where the stereotype of drug-pushing docs comes from.

On the other hand, if you are seriously ill and your doc recommends an antibiotic, please take it. All of it, as directed. If you disagree about the need for an antibiotic, please talk with your doc before you leave the office. Often I will give a parent a prescription and say, "You can watch your child safely off antibiotics for another 48 hours... but if at that time they're not getting better, start this."

The above recommendation regarding taking colloidal silver instead of a prescribed antibiotic... sorry, but I can't agree with that. Again, if you suspect you have a mild illness and you want to wait before you take your meds, please let your doc know. He or she may be just fine with the idea, but he or she will want to know. And if you are sicker than snot (and Clifton, you sound pretty sick) you can be playing with fire by not following directions.

In this day and age, with proper treatment, pneumonia is more miserable than dangerous. But why does it have such a scary reputation? Because back in the old days, before we had antibiotics, it killed people. Regularly.