Fighting a pre-semester bug, with mom's advice

CONNECTICUT -- After my first full day in Connecticut, (Confused about why I am in Connecticut when school starts Monday? Read my earlier post. In a word: W-E-D-D-I-N-G) it's apparent that I am jet lagged. And probably sick with a sinus infection. I woke up in a slight panic, concerned most that I shouldn't go to the wedding at risk of making other guests sick (or sick because they figured they should be after being in close proximity to an infected one).

So, I sucked in my pride as a scientist-in-training and tried all of my mother's homeopathic remedies. There is probably a perfect balance to science and alternative medicine, after all. Here are my reviews:

1) Oil of Oregano, 5 drops in a cup of boiling water, sniffed
 Painful as hell for the nostrils. This may result in a placebo effect, but I don't know. Oregano is rumored to have anti-viral properties, but aren't most herbs these days? I don't know what to believe. Don't go drop $10+ on the little vial of essential oil unless you're desperate, or get confirmation on oregano's god-wielding powers.

2) Peppermint herbal tea with sliced ginger root and manuka honey added
Well, because I've been subject to this treatment for as long as I can remember, I can tell you for sure that this works. And it recently got more palatable with addition of manuka honey (this really thick stuff from New Zealand that has anti-microbial properties). Even if it didn't work, it was
a soothing way to introduce more liquids into my system. Win-win.

3) Cold-eez tablets
Definitely the easiest method. Pop one of those suckers and be comforted that they are "clinically proven to reduce the length of the common cold".

4) Vitamin C, pro-biotic, and some other capsule snuck into the mix
Let's hope that the last capsule isn't the miracle one, because for the life of me I can't remember what it was. Anyways lots of science says vitamin C boosts your immune system. I guess I should have taken that BEFORE my cross-country plane flight, eh? The pro-biotic... I need to get further into dietetics before I feel comfortable giving an in depth answer on that. All I can say is there are positive things buzzing around pro-biotics. Let's hope it's not a fad (like that fad in ye olde days of pouring boiling oil on a wound to stop the bleeding - and I thought sniffing oil of oregano was painful).

Lastly, if you notice yourself getting sick right before school starts, tell everyone you are near. Don't risk getting them sick too. Drink a lot of fluids and sleep all you can. Go to the Student Health and Counseling Center (south side of Rasmuson Hall) and/or seek medical advice from a trusted source.