Has the weather got you down? Got the sniffles? Does your head feel like it’s about to explode? Does that itchy throat have you coughing so much your ribs hurt?
I know the feeling. For the better part of the past month, I’ve dealt with the walking crud known as bronchitis. Two antibiotics, one allergy and dozens of restless nights later, I’m finally emerging from my cocoon to reestablish a bit of what passes for normalcy in my not-so-normal life.
Many of you probably have old family cures for those winter blahs. Tea with honey and/or lemon, perhaps. Maybe a steaming bowl of chicken noodle soup. Or a secret concoction passed on from one generation to the next. We don’t have those in my family. We were more of the drink-plenty-of-fluids-and-rest type when I was growing up.
There are many more options these days. Just check out the cold remedy aisle in your neighborhood supermarket or drugstore and try to make some sense of it.
When I recognized my first signs of a cold last month, my visiting daughter-in-law offered a bit of advice. “Want some Airborne?” she asked. Soon my son chimed in, “How about some Emergen-C?”
This globe-trotting couple is obviously much better equipped for dealing with the common cold than I was at their age. But when I was their age, cold remedies took up a much smaller section of that drugstore aisle.
Modern medicine is great, but is it really any better at dealing with a perpetually nagging ailment like the common cold? Do you deal with a cold more like your parents or more like your children?
Larry Lehmer is a personal historian who helps people preserve their family histories. To learn more, visit his web site, send him an e-mail or follow him on Twitter.
Larry,
This is a very interesting topic. My Grandfather was a small town doctor, he always prescribed Buckwheat Honey for cough and sore throat. He claimed that because the Buckwheat Honey was darker it had more medicinal properties.
Fast forward 60 years... now people typically use medications for cough and sore throat. Interestingly the latest research shows that children's cough and cold medications do not work better than placebo, and a recent study from Penn State showed that Buckwheat Honey out performed modern children's cough medicine.
It turns out my grandfather was right al a long.
I tried prescribing Buckwheat Honey to my patients, but it is very hard to find now a days. So this year my wife and I started a company packaging buckwheat honey in pre-dosed packets and putting it in pharmacies. It is also for sale on Amazon.com
You should check out our website to read more. It just might help your cough.
www.honeydontcough.com
Jeff Chamberlain M.D.
Family Doctor
Posted by: Daddydoctor | January 26, 2009 at 07:53 AM