Sick and tired of being sick and tired

 

Usually I try to be a glass half full kind of gal but seriously having a cold for 10-plus days can really dampen a person’s spirits. And how do Tylenol Cold tablets know exactly when four hours have passed? I swear I could set my clock by my cold medicine wearing off—2:00 a.m. and 6:00 a.m. to be specific. My oldest son has also had a rough winter with colds, flu and a serious case of Epstein Barr Syndrome. (EBS is a really long name for mono.)

The upside to all this is that the hospital lab tech, after drawing his blood on three separate occasions, adopted our naughty little Chihuahua and they now live happily together in Orono.

The other day I opened all the doors and windows for a full 25 minutes just to air out the house. It didn’t matter that I had to crank up the fireplace, as it was only 16 degrees that day, it sure felt a lot fresher. We are all just sick and tired of being sick and tired!

 

I remember my parents’ home remedies for colds and fevers. They thought it was best to sweat it out, so Dad would pile a bunch of quilts on top of us while mom whipped up a cup of her “cold killer”— hot lemonade with a touch of brandy. Yuck!

God forbid if you were caught sticking a toe out from under the blankets.

Another remedy was to grease us down with Watkins Menthol Camphor Ointment rub she bought from Mrs. Lewis across the road. Mom would spread it on our backs, throats, and chests and put huge gobs of it under our noses where we had to smell it. I have read now where rubbing Vicks on the bottom of your feet and putting socks on will work to clear up a sore throat. Who knew?

I found some great home cold remedies in an old book last week. I thought I would share them with you in case you are brave at heart. Minced fresh garlic spread on toast. Cayenne pepper tea. Hot red wine with a dash of black pepper. Drink a mixture of garlic oil and onion juice. Plaster warm fried onions on your chest.

My personal favorite was to place your hat on the table and drink from a large bottle of whisky until you see two hats then get into bed and stay there.

Some of these cures sound worse than the disease! A sure-fire way to feel b better is to have a sense of humor. Did you hear about the man who went to see his doctor because he was suffering from a miserable cold? His doctor prescribed some pills, but they didn’t help. On his next visit the doctor gave him a shot, but that didn’t do any good. On his third visit the doctor told the man to go home and take a hot bath. As soon as he was finished bathing he was to throw open all the windows and stand in the draft. “But doc,” protested the patient, “if I do that, I’ll get pneumonia.”

“I know,” said his physician. “I can cure pneumonia.”

Let’s hope we all feel better soon!