The Best Cold Medicine in The World...And It's Free

It's cold time. I just had my once-yearly cold. I could feel it coming on--the signs are familiar--a little scratchiness in the throat, a little ache in the ears--and 24 hours later, the temperature goes up, the coughing starts, the sinuses start dripping...well, you know the rest.

I did not go to a doctor. A doctor can't help you with a cold, because a cold is caused by a very specific virus and though doctors can slaughter bacteria right and left with antibiotics, there is no shot, pill or nasal rinse that will wipe out a cold virus. The only thing that will do this is our own immune systems, helped by time and the best cold medicine in the world...

...rest.

Honest. The best thing you can do to fight a cold is rest, and by rest I mean crawl into bed, pull the covers over your head and sleep as much as you possibly can.

It's may be a cliche, but it's true. When we do go to our doctors, most of them will say, "Go home, get plenty of rest, drink plenty of liquids." Unfortunately, in our "sleep is at the bottom of my priority list" world, we tend to ignore or completely reject this advice. We insist that our doctors give us something to get us up and running at full speed again, to the point that many doctors now give their patients medicines that don't actually help them get well.

"Oh, come on," you say. "There are plenty of over-the-counter cold remedies that work. I know. I've tried them. I feel better."

You're right. You will feel better, but only because these concoctions mask your symptoms. They bring down your temperature, they ease your cough, they dry up your sinuses. But the cold virus is still rampaging through your body, and the danger is that, feeling better, you'll fail to do what you really need to do and that's rest.

You think not? How many of us have colds that drag on for weeks? We guzzle the cough syrup or the "nighttime cold relief" for a few days, feel better, think we're cured, ease off on the medication and up goes the temperature, back come the aches, and it's time to reach for another tissue...and another dose.

Medicines don't cure colds. They only make us feel well enough to ignore our doctor's advice and get back to the type of frantic rushing around that weakened our immune systems in the first place.

I'm sure you've seen this commercial. Mom is in bed, sneezing, sniffling, suffering. Meanwhile, the kids are trashing the house and Dad's scorching the clothes he's trying to iron. But not to worry...Mom chugs a little of that famous "cold relief" medicine and she's up and back to work, cleaning, cooking and ironing, with a smile on her face and a song in her heart. Ain't modern medicine grand?

Except that, in the real world, what could have been a few days of being sick will turn into a few weeks, and maybe even a bad case of bronchitis, because Mom didn't rest.

When you have a cold, go to bed. Yes, I realize that some of you may have bosses who demand you come in sick, and if you have a choice between going to work and losing your job, take the OTC stuff and go to work. (But first, try reminding your boss that colds are very contagious...does he really want you to come to work and spread it around?)

But the second you come home, go to bed.

Single parents with small children may have to spend time looking after the kids. But you do not have to make cookies for the back sale. You do not have to clean the bathrooms. You do not have to vaccum the floors. If you have a spouse, figure out a way to have your spouse handle as much of the necessary work--taking the kids to school is necessary, scrubbing out the bathtubs or mowing the lawn is not-- as possible.

Go to bed and stay there. Don't sprawl in front of the TV. Don't sit at a computer. Every possible second that you do not have to be doing something, sleep. Get up a few times a day to gulp down as much chicken soup and water and apple juice as you can, because colds will indeed dehydrate you. (Don't drink coffee or, soda or anything else caffeinated.)

Crash. Give your marvelously competent immune system a chance to do its job. Save money on doctor's bills. You can use the OTC stuff to make you comfortable enough so that you can sleep. Stay in bed. Ignore the idiotic idea that you're being "lazy."

You're not lazy. You're smart.

Get some rest. It's the best cold medicine there is...and it doesn't cost you a dime.