yup that's right. hotpants has a cold. so in the haze of "non-drowsy" cold medicine here is some info about colds that you may already know, but a lot of people don't:
1. it's a virus. please don't take antibiotics for it! over-prescription of antibiotics helps pesky bacteria evolve to resist. (i am now picturing a cartoon bacteria shouting in a french accent "resistance!")
2. there is no evidence that being cold gives you the common cold. there are more colds in the winter than other seasons, but that's probably b/c we are all indoors sharing the same air. (yummy!)
3. lack of sleep (<7 hours) has been associated with catching the common cold (whoops!)
4. there is no cure for the common cold (no anti-virals). everything you've taken for it is supposed to either help with severity and/or duration of symptoms. and that zinc you're taking, there is no proof it helps. so if it hurts your stomach, stop taking it.
5. if you are like me up until a year ago, and have stubbornly not taken cold medicine thinking you are tough... i understand... but let me tell you it's pretty helpful. (and may be making me a little wacky... that's a good thing though right?)
most of this list was derived from public health schooling and
wiki backed me up and filled in the blanks
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4 comments:
I find the only things that help are naps, tea with lots of sweetener, and a video film festival (pick a theme, any theme -- like, slacker movies, restaurant/chef movies, and then blog about them). Also, contrary to popular myth, chocolate ice cream.
Hot showers do wonders too.
I feel like if humans have gone to the moon, we should have figured out a cure for viruses by now. It actually sort of pisses me off.
1- We like you wacky.
2- That bacteria is totally wearing a beret.
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