Cold Pills

Recently our family has been hit by a nasty cold.  Everyone became a victim of it, including Grandma Judy.  Body aches, runny nose and general malaise were the common symptom.  Most of us recovered within a few days, some of us are not quite over it yet.  The worst hit was Grandma Judy.

Nadia and Nicole both had runny noses and body aches.  VapoRub and a humidifier soothed their symptoms and helped them sleep.  Us grown ups relied on cold pills and nyquil to ease our aches and pains.  After a week of getting continually worse, Grandma Judy saw her doctor.  She was told she had a sinus infection and was given antibiotics.  Her doctor also told her that cold pills can actually increase your chances of infection.

This got me thinking, if I am unwilling to give my children these medications, why are my family and I taking them.  These medications do not cure the cold, they only mask the symptoms.  Runny noses happen to help flush your body of the virus.  If your body is unable to remove the virus in its normal manner, the virus sits around and festers and can cause a secondary infection. 

Our society has become so dependent of medications to fix everything and these medications are breeding superbugs and increasing our dependency on them.  When we were young, saline solution was a fantastic fix for congestion.  As adults, we take medication that is also used to make methamphetamines.  This makes no sense to me.

While there are times when medications make sense (if you have to function for work or childcare), usually you do not need these medicines.  Allowing your body to fight off the virus on its own will increase your immune system.  If the cold gets worse, it is best to see your doctor for antibiotics, but give your body a chance to fight it off first.