Not officially mind you, that happens on the December 21.
The time of year I am blessed with the joys of snow, Christmas and lots of pie!
While the season was approaching I was getting excited to enjoy warm, delicious espresso based drinks like peppermint mochas and eggnog lattes!
There was only one problem.
I had a cold, a common cold.
Instead of moping and complaining, I started to think.
If the common cold was so common, why wasn't there a cure?
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| Photographer Unknown |
At the very least, I was determined to find a remedy for the common cold so my holiday season won't be ruined!
Will it be Coffee, Tea or Me(dicine)?
The Events.
Coffee?I had just finished the coffee my husband left in the pot before going to work. A little less than half a pot. Just enough to stimulate the energy needed to get my son to school on time.
Tea?
Walking into the house from the garage the bright blue kettle on my stove catches my eye. I fill it with water, set it down and turn the burner on high. Shuffling out of the kitchen I head to the coat closet. After hanging up my coat, stuffing my hat and mittens into the bin, and placing my shoes on the rack, I slide my raccoon faced slippers and pad back to the kitchen to select a tea bag to brew with high hope of alleviating my sore throat.
Me(dicine)?
I can no longer even whistle a bit of air through my nose. I never appreciate my nose until I can't use it anymore. My sinuses are so stuffed my eyes have swelled making wearing contacts an impossibility. I don't like wearing my glasses. They are uncomfortable on a good day and unbearable when my head has become inflated with mucus like a water balloon.
They only cold medicine in the house is "green death", the green colored NightQuil.
It tastes makes bile taste good.
The Observations.
Coffee:It gave me energy to get moving, but coffee is a diuretic. It made me slightly dehydrated and once the caffeine wore off, I crashed.
Tea:
It made my throat feel better. The herbal aromas rose with the steam and helped to clear my nose temporarily. While I still had to tinkle a lot, it didn't leave me feeling dehydrated like with coffee.
Me(dicine):
Worse than the flavor of the one cold medicine in the house is the medically induced coma it will put me in within 5 minutes of gagging it down. I can't. I have to pick up my son for pre-school in an hour.
After making some observations I recall some pertinent facts.
My husband was sick with this cold for 2 days. My son was sick for 5 days.
I have MS (multiple sclerosis) which means my autoimmune system is busy fighting against my body, so my immune system has less time and resources to fight off germs efficiently.
The Math.
If I take the number of days my husband and son are sick and add them together, then divide that sum by the number of people involved and finally multiple the quotient by 5 and have I the number of days I was sick.In this case: ((2+5)/2)*5=17.5 days.Like any scientific equation there are variables that need to be included.
In this case study those variables were Coffee, Tea and Me(dicine).
Each variable is assigned a number in the order of it's effectiveness and multiplied by the number of cups or doses I ingest.
Coffee gave me energy (.1) but dehydrated me (-.3).So if I commit an act of desperation and omit coffee from my diet while I am sick, increase the amount of tea I usually drink from one cup to four and use medicine only at night for 5 days (the length of time my son was sick) I wonder what effect it will have on my cold.
Tea caffeinated tea gave me energy (.1), herbal qualities (.3) soothed my throat and temporarily cleared my nose.
Me(dicine): Medicine alleviates symptoms and induces sleep. Sleep is good when your sick, but not at the cost of my son; daytime use (-.5), nighttime use (.5).
(((2+5)/2)*5)-((((.1*4)+(.3*4))*5)+(.5*5))=If I were to extended that logic to 7 days what would the outcome be?
17.5-(8+2.5)=1
17.5-10.5=7.5
(((2+5)/2)*5)-((((.1*4)+(.3*4))*7)+(.5*7))=
17.5-(11.2+3.5)=1
17.5-14.7=2.8
The Conclusion.
It has been proven I have too much time on my hands to have random thoughts when I am sick.I also think it is safe to say I have not found a special remedy for the common cold.
However, I have learned to value of tea.
When you are sick, put coffee aside and drink tea instead.
I prefer mine in the traditional English style with a splash of (almond) milk and a sprinkle of sugar.
My husband prefers his plain or with a squeeze of honey.
