Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1902-02-10
THE "CoLD" SEASON.
An English Doctor Suggests Allevis.
tons for Its Terrors.

From the London Chronicle.
Almost everybody one meets is afflicted
with that trivial but annoying ailment a
cold" This is one OF the minor troubles
of life. but it is a singularly perverse af-
lection all the same, and one decidedly OBJ
stinate as regards its tendencies toward
cure. Perhaps the cold in the head is
one OF the most troublesome forms OF the
ailment. II is also the opprobrium medl-
cinae. in that you ere told by your pro-
fessonal adviser that It must run its
course, and that you must stay indoors in
an even temperature IL you wish to get
well with fair speed. Nobody follows this
advice, unless. indeed IL be persons OF
leisure and affiuence, who can afford to
nurse their affiiction. But with running
nose and watering eyes. and a general
sense of malaise, the man with a severe
coryza, as ii is termed, is really an object
for pity and commiseration. Doctors are
telling us that the cold in the head Is an
infectious trouble. therefore, l suppose. we
are to regard Il as another triumph for The
ubiquitous microbe Doubtless they are
right, and the spread of cold through n
household may be accounted for on the SCI
entifc principle of ordinary infection. The
means of cure are many. i believe person.
ally in taking an opiate to start with in
the shape of fifteen or twenty drops OF
chlorodyne in water. repeating the dose in,
say, four hours. A Dover's powder at bed
time Csay ten grains) and hot drink, by
way of encouraging skin action. is also an
excellent remedy, provided risk of cold and
chill is avoided. The man who moves about
may find much relief from shifting up a
little menthol snuff now and again, while
my experience of colds in the head-a lair
ly large one personally-accords to cubeb
cigarettes high measure of success in
treatment. OF course, you must bring tho
smoke down the nostrils II 1t is to have any
good effect.
How to prevent colds is another and a
m nnrta ant
the chest is often the prelude to more Sc
rious troubles, and for neglect of a cough
we have often to pay very smartly and
dearly later on. Many of us are foolish in
the matter of underciothing and footgear,
forgetting that warmth OF body and dry
ness of feet are safeguards that nobody can
afford to neglect. There is yet another
point which most people overlook In this
matter of cold prevention, and that Is the
matter of food. In winter our diet should
Include larger proportion of fat than in
summer, and our own tastes lead us to a
menu that Is more liberal in this respect in
the cold season. A great many colds might
be avoided were the system braced up by
additional fat taken as food. We may make
such addition agreeably enough In the
course OF our ordinary diet, but many per-
sons, and children especially, would be well
ADVISED did they employ, after meals an
emulsion of cod-liver oil or some allied
preparation. 1 have been fortifying myself
OF late days by taking Virol, which is pleas
ant to the taste, and which. as regards its
composition, offers fat in an agreeable and
easily assimilated form. The long and
short OF the story Of cold prevention is the
certifying of the bodily citadel, and a
generous dietary. with an additional modi-
cum of fat, Is probably our safest means
OF erecting this desirable end.