I have a cold, NOT ALLERGIES

    I was at a drugstore a few days ago, and the person in line behind me was a guy whom I guessed to be a high school senior or perhaps a recent graduate. He had that not-quite-a-kid-not-quite-a-grownup look where he was growing into his beard and body. The poor guy didn't feel well, and just as I was handing over my money, he put his cold medicine on the counter and coughed without covering his mouth. It was a loud, gooshy, hacking cough, and it was aimed right at me. The clerk and I looked at each other, exchanging an eye-roll for a grimace. I felt sorry for him. He had to make contact with the kid: taking his money and giving him change. I made a mental note to take my Echinacea/Zinc/C cocktail as soon as I got home. It's not really a cocktail, but it sounds much more lethal than "capsule."

    Two days later as I headed for bed, I knew I had the gift that keeps on giving: a good old fashioned head cold. I spent Thursday resting, and by Friday I felt human. I think I dodged the bullet.

    I've told you before that this is my usual tactic when I feel as if I am coming down with a cold. Depending on the nature of the virus, I have been able to get around a cold in 2-5 days. This is not news, and I strongly encourage you, my friends, to try this combination. Several products are good: Airborne, ZICAM, and my favorite, Echinacea/Zinc/Vitamin C capsules from Super Supplements.

    But the question is this: what do you do when you get sick? I understand that most people can't stay home when they come down with a cold, but it really annoys me when someone swears they have allergies rather than admitting that they have a cold. It's not a flaw, a lapse in your character, or a moral failing to have a cold: it just means that you were the one who was coughed on at the check-out counter. We have to become honest and serious about disease in our culture, because someday our life may depend upon it. If we warn people, they can take precautions to lessen the impact that a virus may have on their lives and the lives of their loved ones. I don't fault that kid for going to the store to get something to treat his symptoms. I just wish he had covered his mouth or worn a mask.

    There are some nasty diseases making the news lately. Two couples that we know almost lost their older teens this summer to pernicious staph infections. It was frightening as both boys got sick out of the blue. They both survived, but not until they endured months of tremendous pain, surgery, and the potential of amputation.

    Now that kids are in school, and we are all spending more time indoors, public health officials are warning us to take some simple precautions:

1. Clean your hands. Use hand sanitizer if you are not able to wash adequately.
   
2. Keep cuts and wounds covered. This is especially important for kids in sports.
   
3. Get a flu shot. People who contract influenza are more susceptible to staph infections.
   
4. Stay home if you are sick, or at least, try to limit personal contact with others. Don't go visiting Grandma. Call her on the phone.
   

    I'm home, with a cold this weekend. Sorry, Rebecca, I'm going to miss your big party tomorrow night, but I hope you understand.