Newspapers / The Echo (Pisgah Forest, … / Sept. 1, 1952, edition 1 / Page 11
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AND YOU It’s that time again, and the odds are 90 to 1 that before very long you’re going to be a sneez ing, sniffling victim of the Nation’s No. 1 disease —the Common Cold. What! You never catch cold? Well, either you’re mighty lucky or you just aren’t human. (Our apologies to all chim panzees or orangutans who may be reading this. Science says they’re the only animals besides man who can catch the common cold!) Over the years one survey after another has piled up plenty of proof that up to 94 per cent of the population comes down with a cold in any given year. And as though that weren’t bad enough, the pollsters point out that two out of eight have FOUR colds in a twelve-month period! Lest you get completely discouraged and refuse to read further, let us say right here that some peo ple are less likely candidates for the sniffle-sneeze brigade than others. For example, after peering down the nation’s throat at periodic intervals, the aforementioned survey experts passed along the interesting news that (a) people in the country catch more colds than their city cousins (b) youngsters under ten years old are the most susceptible age group (c) the twenty to twenty-nine age group is least susceptible (d) the fair sex are half again as likely to catch cold as their boyfriends (e) fat people have fewer colds than lean ones (f) lower income groups have more colds than the well-to-do (g) workers in vinegar factories and war gas plants seem to be pretty much ignored by the cold bug. Geography plays a part, too, they say. Colds are slightly more prevalent in the West Central states—with the Far West and Pacific Coast next, and New England and the Middle Atlantic states not far behind. Why you catch cold is something else again— and it’s a real medical teaser. The problem all seems to hinge on, of all things, the definition of a cold. Now there are colds and colds—some are and some aren’t—and just because your nose and eyes are running and you’re racked by coughs and sneezes, you may be suffering from a "reasonable facsimile,” and not the real thing at all! Whuddoo we bead? Well, it’s been pretty well established that the real McCoy, a genuine cold, is an ailment caused by a virus (or perhaps several viruses), a tiny particle so small that it cannot be trapped in the finest laboratory filter nor seen in the most powerful microscope. This invisible trouble-maker travels around on a sneeze, a cough, and even bits of conversation. One of its favorite means of transportation is a kiss. In fact, the virus’s meth ods of getting around from one piece of dirty work to another are practically limitless. But to get back to the problem of defining a "cold.” Besides the bona fide virus-caused cold, there seem to be other conditions which look for all the world like the real thing, but are what doctors call "mechanical upsets.” Further investi gation shows that these may be brought on by strained emotions — worry, unhappiness, mental conflicts, financial concerns, unrequited love, dis satisfaction with your job, spouse, or next door neighbor. Avoiding this kind of "cold” is easy— just get yourself into a happy frame of mind and stay that way. If you can’t manage this feat your self, then get some counsel and guidance from an expert in mental and emotional problems. Science has proved beyond a question that an unhealthy condition of the mind can be the cause of many a bodily ailment. But what about the happy, well-adjusted person whose troubles are caused by the cold bug itself.^ How to foil the virus? Right here we might as well let it be known that, again this year as in the past couple of thou- Continued on page 15 9
The Echo (Pisgah Forest, N.C.)
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Sept. 1, 1952, edition 1
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