News Stuff

My lovely wife Viv just had a bad cold. Talking with her about this very simple health condition made me realize there is knowledge I need to pass on to others. It’s easy to forget something as trivial as the common cold, while we are pontificating about bigger things, like heart disease, diabetes and cancer. But a cold (often called the “flu”, though of course it isn’t), is surprisingly vicious while it lasts, making the patient utterly miserable and sometimes laying him or her low for a few days. Here’s what you can do: First tip: don’t get colds! I never do. It’s all about good immunity. Also, see item 4, about losses. Second tip: NEVER USE A HANDKERCHIEF! To blow your nose when it’s dripping or bunged may be very tempting. But it’s absolutely counter-physiological. What happens when you blow your nose or sneeze into a hanky is that there is a sudden violent positive pressure in the nasal passageways. That forces infected mucus (snot) into the sinuses alongside the airways. Once that happens you’re going to get sinusitis, and a simple 2- 3 day cold will now become a week-long prolonged struggle. It may even need antibiotic to shift it. You don’t want that. Similarly, when you sneeze, don’t sneeze into your nose. It causes the same sudden positive pressure. Instead open your mouth and “sneeze” through your mouth. It doesn’t relieve the itch nearly as well. But if you avoid the yellow-green mucus stage, you’ll be glad you did it right. Remember, animals sniff and swallow the mucus. That’s what we should do. Dear Viv wouldn’t listen to this at first and was revolted by swallowing snot. But I reassured her is doesn’t get past the stomach. This time she did as I told her (she doesn’t always!) and for the first time it didn’t move down to her chest and become a nasty, hacking cough. So she’s learned a better way.