Achoo!
Yes, I’ve got a humdinger of a head cold. I never get sick, but a combination of spending two days in court and weeks in preparation and all the other junk that is work have combined to lay me low.
And am I low. I am just hyped up enough on ibuprofen and ginger tea to write this.
So many have told me to take this, or drink that. Cold-eze, or vita-C, or whatever. Each has some kind of magic mixture of minerals, vitamins, and other things to get you better faster.
Bull. Including red.
Our bodies can do a lot on their own. After all, how did the old-timers handle these things? Did they die?
Nope. We have pretty good records for when people did get colds, and they lived just fine.
As I lay here feeling sorry for myself, I sneezed. And I realized what the answer is.
Sneezing. Yes, the lowly sneeze is our cold medicine.
Turns out sneezing is something all mammals do. Heck, it may be that all animals sneeze, maybe even fish!
The sneeze reflex starts in our nose, detecting invaders.
Then it travels to an ancient part of our brain. The part that we share with LOTS of other animals.
And we sneeze. And in sneezing we’re getting rid of those invaders. Lots of them.
So next time you have a cold, think about sniffing some dust, or pepper.
Why? Because it’s natural. It’s cheaper. And chances are it’ll work better than anything else.
Gesundheit!
PS – Let me know if you want details on the court case. It’s a doozy!
Behavior, study of... 