TREATMENT OF COLDS

Otago Daily Times, Issue 21978, 13 June 1933, Page 14

TREATMENT OF COLDS

Some people get in a panic if they have a heavy head cold and a temperature of lOOdeg. Now, that temperature and no cold might justify alarm, but the condition is simply normal when accompanied by a cold. Some people run a temperature quicker and higher than others, but most colds bring some fever, and it should not be an alarming symptom. At the beginning it is hard to diagnose the kind of cold one is in for, but they should all be treated at the onset in the following manner:—• Have a hot bath at bedtime, and when in bed take a drink of hot lemon and water, with sugar or honey to sweeten, and an antipyretic (aspirin) and aperient. Next day do not coddle, but get plenty of fresh air, avoiding draughts, fog, and east wind, Take a light, nourishing diet and plenty of fluid, such as water, barleywater, or lemonade, in between meals, not with them, and try to avoid crowded rooms and over-fatigue. If your cold does not answer to this treatment but you develop a “tight” cough and pain in your chest or side, or aching limbs as well as an aching head, you had better go to bed and stay there, as you are probably in for influenza. It is advisable to keep the room at a temperature of 60deg and have the windows open day and night. Avoid solid foods until the temperature is normal. Take plenty of fluids and a diet such as soup, eggs, baked custard pudding, and stewed fresh fruit, if possible, and a little steamed fish.

The temperature > should be taken night and morning, and it is advisable to wait for 24 hours after normal is reached before getting up. Lemon and honey taken in small spoonfuls is soothing for a cough that tickles, Constipation must, of course, be avoided, and a dose of salts each morning will probably be necessary for this.

When children take cold rub the chest ami back with warm camphorated oil at bedtime. Vaseline_ put up each nostril and across the bridge of a tiny baby’s nose is a great help and comfort, and older children may inhale the steam from one drachm of Friar’s Balsam in one pint and a-half of boiling water. There are several excellent new cold disinfectants on the market, and a drop or two on the pillow and handkerchief often gives relief from that “stuged-up” feeling.—Glasgow Weekly Herald.