Getting Sick
I have been reading on Facebook that a lot of my friends have come down with colds. Recently, I have been fighting back against the onset of a cold like beating back barbarians at the gates. As a disclaimer, I am no doctor. I don't even play one on TV (that was about the stupidest commercial ever...if you do play a doctor on TV are you suggesting credibility?)
Sometimes I catch myself saying after I have gotten a cold, "Man, I hate getting sick." I hear other says it too. That is a strange statement...like anyone actually enjoys getting sick with the hacking and wheezing, shakes and chills, and the coughing up of phlegm. Gee, what isn't there to like?
It would kind of be like looking forward to going to the dentist to experience the drilling of one's teeth... could I have a root canal too? PLLEEAAASE? like a kid asking for second helpings. Not that I have much of an issue with cavities...I only have one cavity despite my advanced age. So, going to the dentist is actually a pretty pleasant affair for me. I had a new dentist a couple of years ago who actually seemed disappointed that there was not more work to do on my teeth besides the cleaning. I think he needed the business. For that and other reasons (billing problems that would not die like a vampire), I dropped him like a bad habit.
So, I'll assume that you don't like having a cold. I have learned a few things to place in my strategic arsenal that often helps in minimize the severity of the cold, if not stop the cold "cold" in its tracks. My current campaign against the foe seems to have been effective. I am not going to get into citing the medical evidence for these strategies because there may not be a lot. I really don't care, in the end, if every one of my cold-fighting weapons are a placebo. If it works for me, I don't really care "why."
Stay Warm-Duh...On Saturday, I attended a Grand Opening of a cool Homebrew Store in Lancaster. The place has been open since sometime in August so I am not sure how that qualifies for Grand Opening status. Maybe they thought the chance for inhospitable weather was better in mid-October than August. Whatever. There was a guy from the Swashbuckler Brew Pub at the Pennsylvania Renaissance Faire. It was a cold, rainy, and raw day here in Central Pa. on Saturday and I spent too much time outside watching the mash boil when he was making an IPA Ale. I should have stayed inside the store or dressed warmer. I was was wearing a raincoat and a long-sleeve shirt underneath but should have had a sweatshirt on, too. I did have a hat on, so I think that might have kept the chill off a bit. That leads me to my next point.
Wear a Hat-Back in college during the late fall, winter, and early spring, I would play basketball at Pucillo Gym at Millersville U. A lot of Mondays, I found myself with a cold. I have found that if I am exercising and sweating, with my body temperatures being elevated, that when I go outside, I must wear a hat. I can almost guarantee that I will catch a cold (like if someone were to pay me a thousand dollars to contract one I could do it on command). When you go outside when it is cold, always wear a hat, particularly if you are going to be physically active, or have been physically active. When I started wearing a hat, after figuring out the cause and effect, the incidences of getting colds dropped dramatically. Sure, it messes my hair up and creates the "frizz" look but that is better than getting the "freeze" of a cold. So, frizz or freeze? To me the choice is easy...that I struggle at all with this shows my vanity.
Don't Ignore the Warning Signs - I don't know about you but I feel colds coming on like one hears a freight train coming down the tracks. If you feel one coming on, shut down and get rest if you are able to. I usually have about a day of transition to a cold where, if I shut down, then my chances of swimming under the "cold wave" is enhanced. Get a lot of sleep. I went to bed early the other night and missed the Phillies' bottom of the 9th inning with two outs dramatic comeback victory but I knew that I had a long day yesterday where I needed to get up early, so I did what I needed to do and turned in even though I wanted to stay up and watch the game.
Take a Good Multi-Vitamin - I am not sure that taking mega-doses of Vitamin C are helpful once you do get sick (I know some people swear by it) but I am pretty convinced that a good multi-vitamin is an excellent defense against sickness. Get a multi-vitamin that is made from food sources...there are a lot of things about nutrition that we do not understand but that our modern foods are less nutritional than in years past is a fact (due to overfarming and soil depletion). Modern farming is Frankensteinian in its practices and our bodies are telling us that by us getting sick (both short-term and long-term illnesses) that we need to eat less of the crap that the food industry peddles and more of foods that are not pulverized, processed, and packaged.
Garlic and Ginger - Saturday afternoon, I felt a severe chill coming on. By Sunday, I felt the onset of a cold. I waited until Lina left for Las Vegas on a business trip at noon on Sunday, before I employed the "nuclear option"....raw garlic. The smell of raw garlic on my breath and exuding from my pores, makes my wife nauseous (she has finely honed and sensitive senses of taste and smell...that is one reason that she is an excellent food critic). The downside is that she picks up on a lot of things that most people either don't notice as acutely or don't notice at all (although it is hard to not smell garlic on my breath). So, I had to wait until she left and then I ate some raw garlic. It is a harsh treatment and it burns the mouth, nasal passages, and every other body part on the way down and out of the body. Yet, I am absolutely convinced that the same burning from the sulfuric compounds and allicin means that the garlic's anti-bacterial and anti-viral forces are being marshaled against the enemy.
Ginger tea is just soothing and is used a lot in Asian households when people get sick. It is probably better to not ingest caffeine when your body is fighting off a cold. It puts stress into your system that is not helpful. OK, so I didn't listen to my own counsel...I was pretty sure that I turned the corner on the cold by the time I had my Java.
Suck on Some Cold-Eeze Lozenges - If I ingest too many of these, a start to feel like a have radioactive isotopes coursing through my veins and a strange metallic taste in my mouth but I do think they help. Hey, at least the package says so.
Take a Walk - It is always a challenge to work out when sick. Too much, and you are going to kick your body when it is down like Rodney King. Not wise. But, a walk for 20 minutes or so can elevate your body temperature and that apparently has some effect on dispelling the cold germs. Did I mention wear a hat?
I think I can declare myself cold-free at this point...there is a slight lingering of something but I can say in good conscience that I did not get sick.
Sometimes I catch myself saying after I have gotten a cold, "Man, I hate getting sick." I hear other says it too. That is a strange statement...like anyone actually enjoys getting sick with the hacking and wheezing, shakes and chills, and the coughing up of phlegm. Gee, what isn't there to like?
It would kind of be like looking forward to going to the dentist to experience the drilling of one's teeth... could I have a root canal too? PLLEEAAASE? like a kid asking for second helpings. Not that I have much of an issue with cavities...I only have one cavity despite my advanced age. So, going to the dentist is actually a pretty pleasant affair for me. I had a new dentist a couple of years ago who actually seemed disappointed that there was not more work to do on my teeth besides the cleaning. I think he needed the business. For that and other reasons (billing problems that would not die like a vampire), I dropped him like a bad habit.
So, I'll assume that you don't like having a cold. I have learned a few things to place in my strategic arsenal that often helps in minimize the severity of the cold, if not stop the cold "cold" in its tracks. My current campaign against the foe seems to have been effective. I am not going to get into citing the medical evidence for these strategies because there may not be a lot. I really don't care, in the end, if every one of my cold-fighting weapons are a placebo. If it works for me, I don't really care "why."
Stay Warm-Duh...On Saturday, I attended a Grand Opening of a cool Homebrew Store in Lancaster. The place has been open since sometime in August so I am not sure how that qualifies for Grand Opening status. Maybe they thought the chance for inhospitable weather was better in mid-October than August. Whatever. There was a guy from the Swashbuckler Brew Pub at the Pennsylvania Renaissance Faire. It was a cold, rainy, and raw day here in Central Pa. on Saturday and I spent too much time outside watching the mash boil when he was making an IPA Ale. I should have stayed inside the store or dressed warmer. I was was wearing a raincoat and a long-sleeve shirt underneath but should have had a sweatshirt on, too. I did have a hat on, so I think that might have kept the chill off a bit. That leads me to my next point.
Wear a Hat-Back in college during the late fall, winter, and early spring, I would play basketball at Pucillo Gym at Millersville U. A lot of Mondays, I found myself with a cold. I have found that if I am exercising and sweating, with my body temperatures being elevated, that when I go outside, I must wear a hat. I can almost guarantee that I will catch a cold (like if someone were to pay me a thousand dollars to contract one I could do it on command). When you go outside when it is cold, always wear a hat, particularly if you are going to be physically active, or have been physically active. When I started wearing a hat, after figuring out the cause and effect, the incidences of getting colds dropped dramatically. Sure, it messes my hair up and creates the "frizz" look but that is better than getting the "freeze" of a cold. So, frizz or freeze? To me the choice is easy...that I struggle at all with this shows my vanity.
Don't Ignore the Warning Signs - I don't know about you but I feel colds coming on like one hears a freight train coming down the tracks. If you feel one coming on, shut down and get rest if you are able to. I usually have about a day of transition to a cold where, if I shut down, then my chances of swimming under the "cold wave" is enhanced. Get a lot of sleep. I went to bed early the other night and missed the Phillies' bottom of the 9th inning with two outs dramatic comeback victory but I knew that I had a long day yesterday where I needed to get up early, so I did what I needed to do and turned in even though I wanted to stay up and watch the game.
Take a Good Multi-Vitamin - I am not sure that taking mega-doses of Vitamin C are helpful once you do get sick (I know some people swear by it) but I am pretty convinced that a good multi-vitamin is an excellent defense against sickness. Get a multi-vitamin that is made from food sources...there are a lot of things about nutrition that we do not understand but that our modern foods are less nutritional than in years past is a fact (due to overfarming and soil depletion). Modern farming is Frankensteinian in its practices and our bodies are telling us that by us getting sick (both short-term and long-term illnesses) that we need to eat less of the crap that the food industry peddles and more of foods that are not pulverized, processed, and packaged.
Garlic and Ginger - Saturday afternoon, I felt a severe chill coming on. By Sunday, I felt the onset of a cold. I waited until Lina left for Las Vegas on a business trip at noon on Sunday, before I employed the "nuclear option"....raw garlic. The smell of raw garlic on my breath and exuding from my pores, makes my wife nauseous (she has finely honed and sensitive senses of taste and smell...that is one reason that she is an excellent food critic). The downside is that she picks up on a lot of things that most people either don't notice as acutely or don't notice at all (although it is hard to not smell garlic on my breath). So, I had to wait until she left and then I ate some raw garlic. It is a harsh treatment and it burns the mouth, nasal passages, and every other body part on the way down and out of the body. Yet, I am absolutely convinced that the same burning from the sulfuric compounds and allicin means that the garlic's anti-bacterial and anti-viral forces are being marshaled against the enemy.
Ginger tea is just soothing and is used a lot in Asian households when people get sick. It is probably better to not ingest caffeine when your body is fighting off a cold. It puts stress into your system that is not helpful. OK, so I didn't listen to my own counsel...I was pretty sure that I turned the corner on the cold by the time I had my Java.
Suck on Some Cold-Eeze Lozenges - If I ingest too many of these, a start to feel like a have radioactive isotopes coursing through my veins and a strange metallic taste in my mouth but I do think they help. Hey, at least the package says so.
Take a Walk - It is always a challenge to work out when sick. Too much, and you are going to kick your body when it is down like Rodney King. Not wise. But, a walk for 20 minutes or so can elevate your body temperature and that apparently has some effect on dispelling the cold germs. Did I mention wear a hat?
I think I can declare myself cold-free at this point...there is a slight lingering of something but I can say in good conscience that I did not get sick.
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