The Common Cold

Everyone knows the misery of a summer cold--sniffles, coughs, and the chills, all in 90 degree heat. When you catch a cold in Singapore, it is always a "summer cold."

In the U.S. everyone gives advice: chicken soup, vitamin C, mentholated rub, herb teas, orange juice, steam shower, garlicky food. In Japan, people always suggest gargling.

In Singapore, there are many over-the-counter medications, and the most common everyday advice is to sip warm or hot water - never cold water. And against all the advice I heard growing up, the doctor told me to stop drinking fruit juice, claiming that the acidity would bother my throat. It makes it hard to know who or what to believe. I suppose we're all inclined to favor the advice we grew up with, but since there is no "cure" for the common cold, I guess one person's advice is as good as another's.

Seven prescriptions in two doctor visits.

The first time I visited the doctor here with a cold, I simply went to make sure it wasn't more than a cold. I have learned that one catches a cold from contact with others, not from a change in the weather or getting caught in the rain. As I already said, there is no "cure" for the common cold, or people wouldn't continue to suffer from them every year, and people wouldn't keep inventing new "cures." The best one can do is to simply wait out a cold. The only reason to take medicine is to relieve the symptoms while waiting for the cold to run its course.

But try telling that to the doctors here. When I visit the doctor in Singapore, I get 2-3 minutes of conversation with the doctor and a handful of medicines, one for each symptom. And the system makes it hard to avoid taking the drugs. The doctor prescribes a bunch of things and sends you away, and the total cost of the visit is less than US$5. With no alternate advice, you end up taking the medicines and hoping for the best. 

I guess the upside is that it isn't freezing cold outside, and I don't have to shovel a walk or scrape a windshield while sick. And I can still find something close to chicken soup, which always makes me feel better.

For more on the common cold, I like this collection of info:
NY Times - the common cold