What To Do If You Catch The Mother of All Colds.
Posted: Wednesday, March 09, 2011
by Bob Alexander
http://www.bluemarlinbob.com
In the past I used to whine and moan about having a bad cold. Now that I have survived the mother of all colds, any common cold of the past seems insignificant. They say you can't die of the common cold, but now I have my doubts
As far as a cure is concerned, forget it! There is no cure for the common cold. If you develop symptoms such as a scratchy throat, sneezing or a runny nose, here is what you can do make yourself feel better.
Secondly: Eat a lot of soup. In answer to the old question…"Will it help?" "No, but it can't hurt." Really, it will help because of the nutrition and the hydration value. The only thing I could keep from throwing up was Tomato soup. I hate Tomato soup.
Thirdly: Over-the -counter cold medicines will help get rid of the symptoms, but won't really help the length of the cold. A word of advice is not to buy several bottles of the cough syrup that is an essential ingredient in the manufacture of crystal meth. In my part of the country that will earn you a visit from the police who will accuse you of drug manufacturing.
One cold remedy I remember from my growing up days is a magic elixir that my mother used to make. There were only two ingredients; honey and whiskey. It was a home remedy I liked, but since mom and dad were teetotalers, she had to borrow the whiskey from the neighbor. I guess since it was for medicinal use, it was perfectly fine to drink a spoonful of the booze.
Four: A salt water gargle can help ease a sore throat for a while. The only drawback is that it made my blood pressure rise. Thankfully I only did it once before I realized I had better not do anything to cause another stroke.
When you have a cold, coffee or caffeinated sodas can make dehydration worse. Now is not the time to drown your sorrows in booze either. Drink plenty of water and juices. They won't help you loose the cold, but you may feel a little better.
Fifth: Don't take antibiotics for a cold. They are good for bacteria, but not for a virus. A cold is a virus.
Last but certainly not least is a vital ingredient in outlasting a cold. Whine and moan about how badly you feel. You won't get a chance to make everyone within the sound of your voice miserable when you are feeling good, so milk the cold for all it's worth. Actually a lot of complaining is therapeutic.
Anyone can be stoic and brave when a cold is driving you nuts, but it takes a real genius to put on a good enough show to receive a lot of much needed sympathy.
Bob Alexander is well experienced in outdoor cooking, gardening, fishing and leisure living. Bob is also the author and owner of this article. Visit his sites at:
http://www.homeandgardenbob.com
This Article has been viewed 1,352 times. (Not updated in real-time.)
Top-level comments on this article: (3 total)Thanks for the tips BobThanks for reading David.
Bob, I think honey lemon drink works better as a precaution against colds and sore throat. Drink plenty of it. One thing I am bad about myself, i.e, I hate to restrict from my favorite food once I have this or that. Thank God I don't always come down with colds etc (touch wood first) hahaI normally don't have colds either. I think someone is out to get me.
My husband is king of the Mother Colds and he's a real genius when it comes to working them to get attention. His mother should have warned me. Thanks for the tips Bob.
We want your comments! If you can read this, you don't have javascript enabled, so you can't use this comment system. Please enable javascript.