Preventing Summer/Winter Colds

If you're subject to "summer and winter colds", i.e., getting a common cold like clockwork twice (or more) a year, there actually is a way to break the cycle, although it'll take a bit of effort on your part.  That is, if you consider moving 3,000 miles away for three years an "effort".

I used to always get a summer and winter cold.  Then, when I was 22, I drove across the U.S. and lived in New England for three years.

That was the last time I caught a cold for 13 years.

I had a few other ailments over the 13 years, like a few sinus infections, but that was it for the common cold and the flu.

At one point, back in California, I lived in a big house full of nine people for five years, including two school children who were constantly bringing home the latest bug and infecting the entire household — and I never got sick once.

Finally, I caught a sniffle, and that broke the string.  About ten more years passed and I again caught something, and then another ten years.  I had a nasty cough a few years ago, but nary a sniffle or sneeze during it.  And I've never had the flu again.  Nor have I ever gotten flu shots, for what that's worth.

I have since read about this phenomenon twice, once in Time Magazine, as I recall.  Both mentioned the same situation; getting completely away from every scrap of flora and fauna around you, from what's in the bare dirt, to every known insect, to every leaf, twig, branch, bush, flower, weed and tree.  It resets something inside the body and snaps that summer-winter cycle.

It probably doesn't actually have to be 3,000 miles, but doing it for two or three years might be necessary.  It might take a few yearly cycles to 'flush the system', then one 'blank' cycle to allow the body to re-adapt.  In doing so, some kind of proclivity toward getting sick when the seasons change, brought up from childhood, gets permanently washed away.

As far as just not getting sick in general, I guess I'd have to attribute much of that to the fact that I constantly rinse my hands (no soap), almost every time I do something outside, like get the mail or toss out the trash.  All good health books recommend frequent washing of hands.  The irony is that I'm not doing it for health reasons.  I'm doing it so I won't get the keyboard grimy.
  

Preventing Sore Throats

The reason people get sore throats when they catch a cold isn't because of the cold.  It's because of the mucous draining onto the back of your throat while you're asleep, irritating it.  You wake up and go, "Damn, I've got a sore throat!"

It needn't be so.

There are two steps.  Right before you go to sleep, take an antihistamine, like Sudafed, to dry up your sinuses.  Second, the 'trick' is that you have to set your alarm clock for 3:30 AM to take another pill.  The first one will have almost worn off by then.  Pop the pill, go back to sleep, and when you wake up you might still have your cold, but your throat should be fine.  This'll also keep it from traveling down into your lungs, producing a nasty cough.
 

Preventing Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

I was lucky, in the sense that I got into computers somewhat late (1987), so the first computer I ever bought was mouse-driven.  Thus, I was never in a situation where my hands just stayed frozen on the keyboard for hours on end as in the pre-mouse days.

Even so, I've met a few people over the years who, like me, got into computers after they became mouse-driven, yet suffer from CTS.

I ran a large BBS for nine years and spent every waking minute I could on the computer.  A few years after that, I opened up my video how-to site and spent endless hours writing guides, culminating in 650 web pages.  And apart from all the articles and help files I've written over the years, I've written thousands upon thousands of emails and blog comments and Usenet messages.

But not once…not once…have I ever suffered the tiniest pang of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome.  Not even a twinge.  Nor, for that matter, any body discomfort, like a stiff back.

Somewhere in the following is the reason:

• I use the mouse a fair amount.  Many computer 'experts' tend to disdain it, and I admit I went through a period when I did everything I could via the keyboard, but, overall, I enjoy using it and generally use it whenever it's appropriate.
   
• Whenever I use the mouse for a while (with my right hand), I drop my left hand to my lap or rest it on a knee or raise it to my chin.  I would guess that it's that constant change of hand positions that relieves that muscle tension and constant blood flow constriction that leads to CTS.
   
• When I'm reading something, I usually take both hands off the keyboard.  To skip down the page, I'll use my right hand on the down arrow key, then put it back on my lap or rest it on the edge of the table or hold it up by my head.  Again, the idea is to put them in any position except 'standard typing position' except when you're actually typing.
   
• I have a support for my right elbow when using the mouse for an extended period of time.  I have a card table immediately to my right, with a small pillow where my forearm goes.  This may or may not have anything to do with preventing CTS, but it enables me to use the mouse for hours on end (like doing graphic work) without my hand or arm getting tired.  Update: I recently moved, got rid of the table and bought an 'executive' chair with padded arm rests which support the right forearm quite nicely.
   
• I scoot around in the chair a lot.  I lean forward, I lean back.  I shift my weight over to one side, then the other.  I have a small suitcase with a bed pillow on top of it for a foot rest.  Sometimes I put one foot on it, then the other, then both, then none.  Sometimes I put my feet under the chair and hook them on the chair base.  Sometimes I swivel sideways and rest a foot on the crossbar that supports the table legs.  Sometimes I'll cross my legs, sometimes put an ankle across a knee.  I doubt I go five minutes without some kind of body shift.
   
• I always make sure my computer chair has good lower-back support.  The back should be high enough to provide shoulder support when leaning back, yet not so high you can't tilt your head back a bit and relax.  I also think arm rests are important, padded or not.
   
• I also bounce out of the chair about every 45 minutes to refill my drink, grab a munchie, hit the bathroom, whatever.  Now your hands are down by your sides, swinging a bit, forcing the blood through them and washing away the toxins built up from the cramped typing position.

If I were to sum it all up, I would use the word motion.  I rarely sit "frozen" at the keyboard.  Keep your hands in motion, keep your body in motion.  That's the key.
 

Preventing Allergies

I am living proof that allergy shots work.  But don't get your hopes up if you're past your mid-teens.  Like vaccinations for puppies, allergy shots are only truly effective during a certain period of growth.  I have no idea how effective they'd be for a middle-aged adult, but you could ask.  I present this here in case you or a friend have kids.

My family moved when I was 13.  The dust being kicked up from the move caused me to sniffle and sneeze for about three days afterward.  My mom brought me to an allergy clinic and they did the infamous "40 pinpricks on your back" test.  I wasn't particularly allergic to anything, just a few grasses and such.  Still, we went ahead with the program, and I got shots twice a week for about 6 months, then once a week for 6 months, then booster shots for a few years after that.

I never sneezed again.

Given the abject misery I've seen others go through over the years, it might have been the nicest thing my parents ever did for me.

Plus, as a small side benefit, it'll sure cure you of your fear of needles!
 

Healthy Gums & Teeth

There are three things that gums love: salt, citrus juice and vitamins.  Sometimes swishing with warm salt water does the trick, like if you have an exposed nerve.  If they bleed from brushing, floss them regularly and swish some lime or lemon juice around them twice a day for a week. If they're tender in general, take vitamin pills.  Rinsing with a mild boric acid solution also works wonders sometimes.

Yes, you want to floss.  I wish I'd paid more attention to proper dental care when I was young.  The thing is, in an extremely short span of time, a microsecond by evolutionary standards, we've doubled our life expectancy.  But the teeth were only made for 40+ years.  That means if you want your teeth when you're older, you'd better start taking real good care of them when you're younger.

A great trick is to keep the dental floss in the shower.  Buy one of those little stick-on shelves that fits in the corner.  Everybody likes taking an extra minute in the shower, right?  You'll also want to attach some kind of stick-on hook on the shower wall to hang the used floss over.  You definitely don't want to flush it down the drain or toilet.  Do it enough times and you'll find yourself in downtown Clog City.
 

Stopping A Sneeze

If you suddenly feel that little tingling that indicates a sneeze is coming on, touch yourself lightly on either side of the top of your nose, right about where eyeglasses sit.  It's a little lower and a tad further out.  A tiny bit of pressure on both sides will stop the tingling, but it has to be caught early.

Once you get that mastered, you can achieve the same effect by dropping your jaw and tensing the muscles around your nose, which likewise stops the tingling.
 

Stopping Hiccups

I'm not sure if this can be learned at an older age, especially if you've been plagued by hiccups over a lifetime, but here goes:

Hiccups are mental.

I know that sounds counterintuitive, since they're so obviously a body function, but not only have I been stopping them in their tracks mentally for over 40 years, but I've seen them stopped mentally using a completely different approach.

First me.  I'm walking along with a college dorm mate when suddenly I get the hiccups.

He stops me, looks at me very intently and says, "Relax your throat muscles."  I relaxed my throat muscles and the next hiccup never arrived.

Now, you're welcome to try this yourself in the safety of your own home, but I believe you'll find that you can't actually relax your throat muscles.

But you can think about relaxing your throat muscles.

And, to this day, if suddenly I hiccup once, I immediately (really an unconscious thought at this point) think about relaxing my throat muscles and the second hiccup dies in its tracks.

If that isn't mental, what is it?

As far as the other story goes, it was pretty cool.  I'm standing out in front of a friend's house with him, his wife, and some other guys.  Suddenly, his wife hiccups.  A guy I was with, who the wife didn't know, took out his wallet in plain view, fished a $20 bill out of it, offered it to her and said, "If you hiccup one more time, it's yours."

She absolutely froze, and, probably much like my method, along with that 'froze' went her throat muscles, and the next hiccup never made it to the light of day.

My friend later told me that the gesture had to be 100% sincere for it to work, but that he'd done it a half dozen times and it always got results.

Scaring people (popping a paper bag behind their head, e.g.) to get rid of the hiccups also falls into this category, as again the person is too froze to remember that they were in the middle of hiccupping.

On the subject, this isn't to say that physical measures won't work.  Before I learned the Great Secret, I used to slowly drink a glass of water.  Because of the danger involved, the body simply will not hiccup while drinking & swallowing.  And, if you don't hiccup for about 30 seconds, they're usually gone.

But thinking about relaxing your throat muscles is easier.  Give it a try the next time you hiccup once.  Concentrate on your throat, relaxing the interior muscles.  If you can do it once, you'll be able to do it every time.