Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.1 (Denver Mods 7/26/84) 6/24/83; site drutx.UUCP Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!burl!ulysses!mhuxr!mhuxt!houxm!mtuxo!drutx!slb From: slb@drutx.UUCP (Sue Brezden) Newsgroups: net.med Subject: Re: Cure my Cold, Please Message-ID: <419@drutx.UUCP> Date: Fri, 1-Nov-85 13:09:10 EST Article-I.D.: drutx.419 Posted: Fri Nov 1 13:09:10 1985 Date-Received: Sun, 3-Nov-85 04:53:31 EST Organization: AT&T Information Systems Laboratories, Denver Lines: 58 > Question 3: What should I take? I find it better to take NOTHING. If I have a fever or muscle aches, I may take some tylenol. But OTC cold remedies seem to cause me more trouble than they are worth. Contac, for instance, makes me shakey, groggy, and generally stupid (or more stupid, as the case may be.:-) Nasel sprays, by the way, are very habit forming. I have known people who started taking them and soon couldn't breathe without them, even when the cold was gone. Think of it this way--the symptoms of the cold are actually your body attacking the virus. Let the symptoms take their course, and your cold will be over sooner. I have also found that if you don't take anything, it is easier to ignore the cold and go on with your life. If you are concentrating on your medicine all the time, you may feel worse! Probably the best remedy when you are really feeling down is a shot of whiskey. That's about all the night-time cold remedies like Nyquil are, by the way, is alcohol. It's a pretty good cough medicine, too. > Question 4: What should I do? Drink a screwdriver and go to bed. Or try to find something to occupy your mind so you aren't thinking about how miserable you feel. One thing NOT to do is to blow your nose much. Let it run and wipe it. It will help, believe it or not. Use chapstick under your nose to prevent soreness. > Question 6: How can I keep from getting colds in the first place?" Just generally keep your health up. Make sure you are eating a well- balanced diet, exercise, and so on. Keep away from large crowds of people. Most colds go around in the winter, not because of the cold, but because people are inside, crowded together, and the virus can get around better. Avoid children if possible. Most of the colds I get anymore are from my daughter, who picks them up at school. By the way, you may grow out of it. I used to get lots of horrible colds when I was young. I seldom get them anymore, and I've been told that this is quite common. (There's got to be *something* good about growing old.) Another thing I found once was that central heating can cause you to have more colds. We lived on a farm and had a propane stove instead of central heat. In two years I had no colds. I don't know if this is due to the higher humidity, or the fact that with central heating your body gets used to one temperature, and any change, such as going outside will affect you more. -- Sue Brezden ihnp4!drutx!slb ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I march to the beat of a different drummer, whose identity, location, and musical ability are as yet unknown. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~