Sunday, February 22, 2009

Feelin' Froggy?


With the sting of winter easing into balmier but v-e-r-y dry, gritty with dust and no rain for months on end weather, colds and sore throats seem to be the in thing these days. I'm no exception. And my colds are usually always long-drawn-out affairs with a couple of days' painful sore throat and then just one side of my nose starts running, and after it's mended in about 2/3 days, the other side starts its own little process. I caught my sore throat a couple of evenings ago and spent yesterday feeling like I was being slowly done in by an invisible Boston Strangler but this morning I woke up with the constricting pain gone. My head remains woozy and the old body like it's been hammered but at least my throat doesn't feel like it's being scraped raw anymore.

The secret to my vanquished sore throat comes from my sister. Many years ago, when her three kids were still small and catching childhood illnesses right, left and centre, she found a great way to zap away sore throats. Called the cold compress, it works like this -

At bedtime, take a face towel or a large hanky, wet it in cold water, wring it out well and fold it lengthwise so you end up with a longish strip. Wrap it all around the neck with the overlap in front. Then wrap a warm, woollen scarf over it and pin securely into place. Re-wet the compress after every 8 hours. This hydro-therapy usually cures a sore throat in a day, two at the most.

Forget about saline gargles, ginger tea, lozenge sucks, warm honey and lemon drinks and the rest. This remedy works like a charm every time.

17 comments:

  1. Great advice

    Must try it next time.

    Good to see your interest in F W Boreham Calliopia.

    Blessings

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  3. even me i trust it!{like the previous comment:)}

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  4. Dam dam, khua hi a ro a ni. I thil in khi a tui hmel ka lo ti a.

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  5. I don't know if it's the weather or the place but everytime I come home I always get the sniffles. I would stuff down my throat a whole lot of pills and would remain woozy for a couple of days. For the sore throat saline gargle's always been my best bet, but never worked out much for me because it makes me gag. Maybe I should try your sister's remedy the next time, even though the thought of a wet towel around my neck for 8 hours is quite frightening.

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  6. Dr Pound, thank you so much for dropping by. Sometime last year, I came across the beautiful lines Someday my life's little day will soften down to eventide. My sunset hours will come ... and when I looked up the writer online, I found your site. Bless you too for giving me easy access to this deeply inspiring man.

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  7. Picturesquer, try water therapy - it's great, trust me!

    azassk, try it and let me know.

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  8. vana, hotupa thin hi oooo. In tur lam a ni loooo

    mesjay, yep, let me know if it works as well for you as it does for me.

    ambs, saline gargles make me feel ok for about 5 minutes and that's it. The towel doesn't remain wet for 8 hours, don't worry. The way it works is the water absorbs the heat of your throat while cooling you down so after 8 hours, the towel's totally dry. And I can think of a lot more frightening things around your neck than a wet towel!

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  9. Best not to catch cold/sniffles in the first place by building up your resistance. I used to be down at least once every month if not more. Not anymore.

    All thanks to a simple off the cuff advice of Dr. Gopinath. He used to be the head of cardio-thoraic department at AIIMS and was the first surgeon to do open heart surgery in India.

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  10. And the simple, off the cuff advice was to build up your resistance? Me I catch a cold just twice a year and that's when the weather changes from hot to cold and back again.

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  11. :P. hehe. min kai, ka hrawk a thip, ka hahchhiau, i blog atanga ka kai a ni hrim hrim :(. boruak inthlak kan tuar tlang a ni e, taksa a young tawh tlat lo :(

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  12. lo update leh khiau tawh mai...! huiha helam pawh khua ro leh tan tawh..rilru lam ro bawk..hahthlak bon..:

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  13. vana, nia ka blogah hian virus a ruk tein ka phum alom, ron bih dek² apiang chu an hahchhiau chhuak trat² zel ania :D Hei kpoh ka hrok chu a zia toh viau a mahse ka hnar lam a fan. Young tawh lo te i in tih ve ngawt. Kei ai feee chuan i la zuang sang zak² khop ang hehe.

    hruaia, nia ka blog hi theih hram chuan kar tin update hi ka duh thin a. Nang pawh ti ve rawh aw? Hmaaana izawl.com a i chetchhiatna i ziah te kha chhiar leh a chakawm ngot mai :))

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  14. Fortunately for me, I rarely ever fall sick or catch a cold but when I do, it's always quite severe. I'll keep this remedy in mind next time I have a sore throat! I love home-made remedies.

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  15. sawmte, i rawn uiii a ka lawm tho e! I zin chu nuam bok em?

    joonbird, me too. But I tend to not remember them when the need arises :(

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