Sandy Supposes....

Cold Weather Here in Canada

PROMPT: What is the weirdest way you have ever heard of someone trying to cure a cold or a headache?

          Thankfully, a good many of my headaches vanished never to return to torment me once my three mitochondrial DNA offspring moved into their own permanent homes. I highly recommend this purge to other parents.

         In all reality, I rarely entertain, or experience a cold. If on the off chance the virus successfully invades my defences, I seem to banish it in short order. My immune system doesn't suffer interlopers. Germs are expelled quickly, and efficiently. No boiling tar, or alligator-infested moats required. This isn't to say that I haven't heard about the soothing wonders of chicken soup, tea, and lozenges. Many cold sufferers swear by these miracle aids.

          Yep, I Googled a solution, and I discovered this informative site: http://www.besthealthmag.ca/bestyou/cold-and-flu/7-unusual-cold-remedies...I did find some alternative cold treatments. "Soak a pair of socks in cold water, put them on your feet and cover them with a pair of wool or thermal socks." Hmmm, drastic, uncomfortable, chilling... I propose a more efficient method that freezes, perhaps, the cold virus, and serves a more practical purpose. Here, In our snowy winter, a Canadian struggling in the callous clutches of a cold need only venture outside to prance/roll/play in the snow, or shovel it. While busy with this, their boots will become sodden and soggy, and their tender tootsies will be soaked with the requisite cold water. The pushing, piling, and re-locating of stubborn snow works up a guaranteed sweat which is touted as moderate exercise that elevates virus-busting body temperatures. The snow both aggravates, and alleviates as all weather does.

         Some home-'remediers' insist that swaddling the feet in sliced onion will ward off the common cold. Bah, what a waste of a perfectly tasty raw onion. I'm wrinkling my nose here, but isn't foul foot odour already an irksome problem for some?

          Memories are now resurfacing of a home remedy gone wrong. My father is a tall, burly, hairy sort... picture Viking'ish. He has to be at Death's door before he'll even consider visiting a doctor, or an emergency room. My mother was frantic because Dad had a terrible chest cold with wheezing, and barking. She felt she had to do something, anything, and take matters into her own hands. A friend of a friend suggested a solution. Mom was instructed to create a poultice from dry mustard which to my mind seemed strange, mustard was a cooking condiment. She tore an old bed sheet into strips and smeared a hot mustard paste on the rags. She then tied these around my Father's chest, and hoped for a miracle. The 'remedy' did cause my stubborn sire to reconsider his no-hospital stance. The hot mustard poultice burned a substantial section of his chest, and Mom unintentionally discovered an all-natural hair remover. At the hospital, Dad was diagnosed with pneumonia. I suppose the tears in his eyes were from relief?