Cure for the Common Cold

If you'll all remember I ended up going to the doctor's on Saturday because my glands had swollen so badly from singing that I could barely swallow and I could see little white blobs on them. Kurt and I were really bummed because we were looking forward to the lunch. Mongolian BBQ is one of our favorites. Plus we were interested in seeing what Hillary's kids concocted and then didn't eat.



Anyway, the doctor ran some tests and said it was only a virus. While I was grateful it wasn't strep or mono, I wasn't thrilled because I had always been told there wasn't a way to treat a virus. Well, the doctor told me about a new study by Harvard Medicine that is a variation on something my grandma used to do. He had me gargle 3 times a day with a solution of 5oz. warm water to 2 tsp salt. I gargled for 10 seconds and repeated four times. It was amazing how much better my throat felt the next day. I did take a Motrin before going to church to make sure my throat didn't swell up again but I haven't taken any medicine since. He said that when you have a cold you have approximately 1 million viruses living in your throat. Each time you gargle you kill 100,000. By doing the repetitions and gargling three times a day you can get ahead of the viruses. It worked great for me and I know I'll be trying it again next time I feel a tickle in the back of my throat. He also suggested 15 minutes in a bathroom with the shower running on full hot. Don't get in the shower, just breath in the steam. It is hot enough to kill some of the viruses, too. And, of course, plenty of water and rest. The rest was why we went home on Sunday. We were both beat and the whole family took turns napping and we all went to bed early. (Sounds like the ending to one of Harvey's books).