Use common sense to cure winter ailments

4:04 PM, Jan. 18, 2014  |  Comments
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It appears we are moving into the heavy part of the cold and flu season. At least that's the word I heard from the Ohio Department of Health. I'm sure most of us have heard old wives tales to cure a cold or even superstitions to help the ailing person. How about "an onion cut in half and placed under the bed of a sick person will draw off fever and poisons?" "Feed a cold, starve a fever." Or, "amber beads, worn as a necklace, can protect against illness or cure colds."

When it comes to colds, flu, stomach bugs and ear infections, everyone has a theory. Some have been passed down through generations, or are based on outdated science. A few just seem like common sense. All sick folks - kids and adults alike - need nutrients and liquids to get well.

I remember how difficult it was sometimes to get my kids to drink or eat when they were sick, but if you don't, then you become dehydrated - especially if you have a fever - and that often will mean a trip to the hospital for an IV. Water, of course, is the best fluid to keep hydrated, but you can also drink fruit juices. Coffee or caffeinated tea are taboo, as they serve as diuretics.

The jury is still out on the usefulness and healing properties of chicken noodle soup. Haven't we all had our mothers, or done so ourselves, encourage a sick person to eat some soup? If it truly makes you feel better, go for it.

The best therapy is bed rest to help your body fight off any infection. To help keep your body hydrated, take a steamy shower. If you don't feel up to a shower, run hot water in the bathroom lavatory, place a towel over your head and inhale the steam for a while. A humidifier, of course, is best, but the above suggestions can help.

To protect others around you, place your head in the crook of your elbow if you cough or sneeze.

Now, comes the hard part for me. I have a difficult time slowing down to let nature heal my body - so this winter if I catch a "bug" I need to practice what I preach.

As I write this, the Buckeyes roundballers just were handed their third straight loss. Time to get focused and Buckeyes and get back on a roll. Go Bucks!

Let me leave you with this quotation by Hippocrates: "A wise man should consider that health is the greatest of human blessings, and learn how by his own thought to derive benefit from his illnesses."

Until next week.

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