Mother (Mostly) Knows Best
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In an article in the Kansas City Star, an M.D. went toe-to-toe with motherly advice about treatments for colds, tummy aches, and the flu, confirming what we knew all along, that you should listen to your mother. Here’s the break down.
INFLUENZA, commonly known as flu
Symptoms: headache, fever, the old rattly cough, fatigue, various aches, runny nose and chills
Mom’s advice: rest in bed, drink lots of water (hot with a dash of lemon, honey and cinnamon), drink hot tea, and, you guessed it, drink chicken soup. The more garlic and onions in that soup the better, although the resulting odor may leave you lonely for a time. The recurrent pattern here is liquids in large doses.
Doc’s analysis: The doc echoes Mom, noting that cinnamon helps us produce saliva and nasal secretions (that’s doc talk for you-know-what) that clean the nose and stimulate lung action making our coughs more productive. The doc adds that you should also take appropriate chemicals, such as acetaminophen (Tylenol-types), ibuprofen, aspirin or naproxen (Aleve-variety). However, hold the aspirin for young kiddos, as it can cause Reye’s syndrome, something far more serious than flu. The best approach is to avoid the flu altogether with a shot.
UPSET STOMACH, commonly known as a tummy ache
Symptoms: pain in the stomach area (heartburn, nausea, digestive tract discomfort)
Mom’s advice: drink water with a bit of soda, which will make gas, so you’ll burp. If you still have the ache, drink some flat cola and eat soda crackers or dry toast, the theory being that stomach acid will be absorbed. A cool washcloth on the face is good for almost anything that ails you.
Doc’s analysis: Mom is right on, except for the baking soda. It can neutralize stomach acid, but may interfere with Ph balance, as in acids versus bases (Remember high school chemistry?). Also, a heating pad on the tummy may help more than the cool cloth.
COLD, commonly known as miserable
Symptoms: We can all recite these, because we’ve all suffered the sneezes, aching throats, snotty noses and headaches that add up to the common cold
Mom’s advice: humidify the air to soothe that scratchy throat and dry mouth and nose. Drink your O.J., or carrot juice, or pop some vitamin C and Echinacea (find it in the vitamin section of the store) to shorten your suffering. Gargle with real salt in warm water and also squirt it up your nose, but gently and in small amounts. Liquid ingestion rules yet again, as in drinking lots of water and tea. Don’t forget to breathe in the steam as you drink. And wash those hands!
Doc’s analysis: What a surprise: Mom is right yet again! Liquids are key for diluting and thinning those secretions. If you must medicate, don’t take antibiotics unless you have sinusitis that produces the thick green gunk. Those medicines don’t act against the cold virus, and when not used for appropriate reasons, they can promote development of super-germs, the kind that become resistant to treatment. If you want chemicals, stick with antihistamines. Washing hands and surfaces, like telephones used by lots of people, can help prevent your sharing your joy with others. Ditto for covering your mouth when you cough and sneeze.
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POSTED IN: A Mother's Wisdom, Food, Media, Misc., Prevention, Treatment
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