Thursday 21 February 2013

Preventing colds...

...is difficult. But I have for some time sworn by echinacea if I think I feel one coming on. It usually works.

But. I have one imminent at the moment, and I really, really don't want it at the moment (birthday party - yes, that again - on Sunday).

Obvious answer - the internet. This tell me that "colds are often caught form people you've never met". Really? Tips include dancing with yourself (?) , singing in the shower, and/or  gargling with salt water (that always makes me feel as though I'm drowning). Oh, and people who have sex at least twice a week are less likely to get colds than people who don't (these researchers don't seem to take into account that people who are too tired to have sex may also  be too tired to resist colds). And garlic.

I opted for garlic. This, I was informed, can be done by finely cutting up a clove of raw garlic, and mixing it with a spoonful of honey. I tried this last night, and rather foolishly got tangled up with the problem  of whether to put the honey in the spoon and then stick framents of garlic to it, or fill the spoon with the garlic first, and then risk polluting the honey with stray fragements. It didn't work terribly well until a friend, amid gales of laughter, pointed out that it would have been more sensible to mix the two together first.

I've just done this. Not sure whether it works or not, and I probably smell terrible. But I'll keep you posted.

PS Any other cold cure ideas welcome!

19 comments:

  1. You may not get rid of the cold but there will certainly be no vampires going near you tonight!

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  2. I would just drink a hot lemonsip with a spoonful of honey before going to bed and having a early night.

    May I ask what is the name of your new horse? I'm sorry that I have forgotten. I hope he hasn't been upset by this latest news. But I'm just glad I'm a veggie unless they have been put 'it' in our meals too. :-(

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    1. The horse is called Fairfax, Paula. Occasionally Fairy for short (although he's huge!).

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  3. Belated Birthday Greetings...hope the day itself was fun and you feel better and well for the big party.

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  4. My Mum gave me a bottle of pills for Christmas, they are called Engystol (homeoepatic stuff, prescription-free) and apparently they help your immune system to fend off the invaders if you take two every few hours when you feel the first signs of a cold. Well, I had a cold in the first half of December, but not since I've had those pills, so I can't really say whether they work or not.
    But you probably will have difficulties applying the "sex twice a week" cure if you keep eating garlic (unless your partner undergoes the same treatment).

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    1. I think you're right. The smell of garlic seems to,be outliving the cold!

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  5. I rarely have colds and I eat a lot of cake. I don't know that the two things are related but as it's nippy out today I'm going to bake myself something for medicinal purposes.

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    1. I'm not a fan of cake, sadly. Perhaps that's the problem...

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  6. I always know if I have a cold on the horizon because I get a yearning for a Whisky Mac (whisky and green ginger wine) which is something I would not usually entertain. I then take large doses of vitamin C (most of which is excreted anyway). Between the two I seem either to avoid the cold or perhaps just don't notice it after taking all that stuff.

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  7. Hope your cold goes away before the birthday! I've had a bad one this week, for the first time in ages. I used to suffer badly from sinus problems but since drinking a glass of warm water doctored with freshly squeezed lemon juice, fresh sliver of ginger and a little bit of manuka honey every single morning I usually shake most things off quickly now - or don't get them at all. (I've always started the day with water and lemon for as long as I remember, but the additions have greatly helped!)

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  8. Spinach soup is my cure for all ailments. After the first two spoonfuls you start to feel better.

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  9. Just listen to me opting for soup rather than sex!

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  10. I find Vicks First Defence effective if taken when cold symptoms first occur - but maybe it's a placebo effect...

    Anna :o]

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    1. My doctor son says that in trials, placebo drugs work even when people KNOW they're placebo! So bring them on!

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