The temperature drops 50 degrees in Austin and every germ heads its way to my house. I am not very sick... yet. I will be soon. I've always had good luck with taking lots of Vitamin C when I feel a cold coming on, but this time it doesn't seem to be working. Do you have any homemade cold remedies?

-- Anonymous, October 09, 2000

Answers

My mom used to make us "Hot Toddies" which I don't think was the actual recipe for the real thing: hers consisted of lemon, honey, jack daniels and orange juice, heated up. As a 7 year old, it made me really drunk.

I also used to have an aunt that told me to chew on horseradish to get rid of an allergy that made me sneeze. Of course, it'll burn off the nerve ends in your nose, but you won't sneeze anymore...

I'd like something a little gentler, please

-- Anonymous, October 09, 2000

I'm taking the preventative tack. I've been taking 700 mgs of Echinacea, 1000 mgs of Vitamin C, a multivitamin and drinking lots of water daily. I also try to be conscientious about eating enough fruits and vegetables, getting enough sleep, and washing my hands near-obssesively. I'm the type of person who gets run down pretty easily. I'm rehearsing a play 15-20 hours a week on top of my full time job. Our director rails us about being disciplined and staying healthy. He's fervently pro-garlic, but I'm not going that far. If I do get sick, I'll probably pump up the Echinacea and water and take a day off from work to rest.

-- Anonymous, October 09, 2000

Chicken soup with a very large shpritz of Tabasco.

Hot chocolate with Amaretto.

Both of these always seem to fix me right up.

-- Anonymous, October 09, 2000

Stay away from elementary school kids. I agree with Alison. I know someone who doesn't touch her face unless she washes her hands first. She is under horrible stress, but she never gets sick. Eating right, getting plenty of sleep. All the things I should be doing. I've been sick for months.

-- Anonymous, October 09, 2000

When I feel a cold coming on, I hammer it with Celestial Seasonings Echinacea Cold Care hot tea, which has echinacea, zinc and vitamin C in it. That and additional vitamin C tablets (timed release) usually does it for me. Be careful about echinacea, though, it normally comes with a warning not to take it every day without your doctor's permission.

When I start to feel nauseous, I can usually stop it with iron and vitamin C supplements, and zinc helps, too.

-- Anonymous, October 09, 2000

I wanted to echo Paul's warning about the echinacea. I understand that if you take it daily your body grows too accustomed to it. I think it's better to only use it when you feel a cold coming on.

-- Anonymous, October 09, 2000

Gardanna, we must be related. The ol' boy used to dose all us kids with the same thing - same recipe. I mentioned this old favorite to a nurse I dated before I met THE ONE, and she said it made sense to her. Honey coats the scratchy throat, orange juice and lemon for the vitamin C and the likker made you sleepy... to get the bed rest the body needs to whip the cold.

-- Anonymous, October 09, 2000

Y'all are right about the Echinacea. The bottle says to take it daily, but it doesn't seem like something you should take long term. I'm quitting as soon as my plays are over.

-- Anonymous, October 10, 2000

bubba, my sister is a nurse and while she also had the same theory (as to it's helpfulness), we both agree: Mom's Hot Toddies were nasty.

I succumbed this week to whatever horrible germ bug is going around and I can tell you that echinacea doesn't do diddly if you're already sick. I'm sure it has wonderful preventative properties, though.

-- Anonymous, October 13, 2000

Yes, I agree - echinacea won't make a cold go away any faster. I always feel like it keeps my colds from getting much worse. I've used it at the very onset of colds and it's damn near miraculous the way it chased them off. Echinacea is a catch-22: it's a preventative, but you're not supposed to take it every day. Weird.

-- Anonymous, October 13, 2000

My trouble is, those over the counter cold medicines don't work on me. I ran my own ah, freelance chemistry test lab in the late sixties, (so to speak) and medicine has to really pack a wallop to get through the resistance I built up.

-- Anonymous, October 13, 2000