Evening star., 1934-03-05
THIS AND THAT
BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL.
The common cold:
!. Is surplus food disease.
2. Is associated in some way with

The common cold:
!. Is surplus food disease.
2. Is associated in some way with
fat.
These are the practical conclusions
of an observer who has spent many
years pondering on the mystery of
this malady.
The medical profession seems to
know really little about it, or, If they
do. they are keeping it pretty dark.
Nobody yet has come forward with
a solution applicable to every one.
Perhaps there is none.
1t may be that there are as many
different kinds of colds as persons
who ''catch" them.
Certainly the symptoms are never
exactly the same in any two sufferers.
Even when they appear to be the
same, the sequence will vary greatly.
Different years the prevalent colds
change their symptoms.
This Winter. maybe due to the un-
usual cold here, many colds seem to
60 just so far. but no farther.
This result also seems to follow the
use Of various remedies, most Of them
we'll known to most persons.
If the cold is not stopped. at least
it is mitigated. which seems quite
gain to the person susceptible.
There Is one big fat fellow the OBJ
server sees frequently on the bus in
the morning.
Almost invariably he is smiling, or
sneezing, or manifesting some other
open symptom of the comomn cold.
He appears vigorous enough on all
scores.
Why is he so persistently afflicted
The observer knows another chap
who. since taking on what used to be
called bay window" comes down
with a cold every month or so.
On the other hand, he knows a
very thin man who sneezes as much
as the next one. Such sneezes may
not be due to catching cold" OF
course. Some Sneeze when they 60 out
into the sunshine, and say that their
ancestors displayed this habit.
One can draw no scientific con-
clusions from a number Of personal
observations, no matter how extensive,
or how long continued
The point is, for personal use. one
does not have to be scientific in the
least, but only practical.
Something of no scientific standing
yet may be very useful in everyday
application.
That is why cold remedies" abound
on every side The writer here has
read certain recent books In which
several we'll known remedies are
"panned" as being fakes, or nearly so,
yet in his own experiences these very
remedies produced good results.
The medical profession. for in
stance, will not grant that the sun
shine lamp" so-called, is remedy
for colds, no matter how much cry
thema, or sunburn, It produces. Yet
many persons who have used them
would be willing to go before jury
and swear, as the result of extensive
personal experiments, that such arti-
fetal sunshine has been very helpful
to them in preventing colds.
~
Thus 1t comes about that there
is no human being who catches
cold and is there really any one
who does not, at some time or other?
who does not build up his own list
of favorite remedies
Most of these. of course, will be
along the line of lulling symptoms to
rest. Since this is precisely, in the
main, the line of attack of the doc
tors. there can be little complaint
against that, especially if the sufferer
employs rest as a part of his treat
ment. Unfortunately. too often he