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The cold war
lay there, weak and defeated.
Defeated, because this was
the semester I wasn't going to
let it happen. This year, I was going
to do everything in my power to
avoid being taken captive by that
most abominable nemesis - the
campus cold.
So two Sundays ago, when I
woke up unable to speak above a
whisper or breathe out of my nose,
it was more than crushing fatigue
that kept me in bed until 5 p.m. I
had adopted a wide array of pre-
ventative measures at the first sign
of a sniffle. These safeguards had
seemed to stave off nascent bouts
of illness earlier in the semes-
ter. But despite all the best-laid
schemes, I was ambushed and
taken within a night.
Yet while my precautions osten-
sibly proved futile, I can't help
believing there was some wisdom
to them. Besides, I had let them fall
off in the weeks before I was hit,
perhaps I grew too confident in my
good health. In any case, after fall-
ing ill I immediately returned to
my regimen, clinging to the rituals
like superstition. They obviously
aren't miracle cures - after a week
and a half I'm still hacking and
dripping somewhat. But I'm abso-
lutely convinced I'd be worse off
otherwise. A girl's got to believe in
LAPTOPS
From Page 5B
"I was thinking, 'Oh gosh, this
is going to be awkward,"' said LSA
junior Katy Wallander, who ran
after me on the 2nd floor. "My heart
is still pounding a little bit."
In their approach, many students
used indirect language like "Excuse
me," "Is that your laptop?" and
"Someone asked me to watch that."
None of them were jerks.
HOMEWORK
From Page 5B
Results for the rest of the exper-
iments were quite similar. Seldom
was I met with a quizzical stare,
and never was I brushed off.
LSA sophomore Kendra MaT-
shall, who had taken the course
a year ago, was a bit flustered and
it seemed clear she was. trying to
something.
This is the story of hope and
despair, my fall from grace and the
road to recovery. May your path
keep you healthier than mine. But
take note, the methods outlined
below do have some scientific sup-
port for fighting colds.
My strategies run the gamut
from diligent use of hand sani-
tizer in the Fishbowl to folk medi-
cine. The first, which I employed
in early September, was heavy
dosages of Alka-Seltzer Plus and.
SmartWater. My thought was to
ward off the ominous tickle in my
throat by dissolving all four tablets
in a bottle of electrolyte-infused
super water to sip on through the
day. The concoction tasted like flat
Moon Mist and blew up on me in an
econ lecture, butI didn't get sick.
The next time mucus seemed to
be mounting an attack, I experi-
mented with a natural remedy on
the testimony of a friend. Sbe told
me that eating three full cloves of
raw garlic the first day you experi-
ence symptoms would return you
to health by the next morning.
A 2001.study by the Garlic Cen-
tre in England produced the first
conclusive evidence of garlic's
cold-killing faculties. In a 146-
person test group, the subjects
who took a daily garlic supplement
Schwarz said that if students
weren't in a place that they know
andfrequent,theresults wouldhave
been way different.
"People are more alert in a less
familiar environment," he said.
Almost allagreedthattheywould
be lesskeento asksomeonetowatch
their laptop at, say, a public library.
"At a public library, people
wouldn't be as trusting because
you know nothing about the peo-
ple there, but at the University it's
like, okay," said Engineering junior
Sumeet Vaidya, whose breath-
.. . . . ....... .... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
avoid the responsibility in the polit-
est of ways ("Is this in the book?"
she asked).
A table of three sophomore econ
majors went to town on the assign-
ment, deliberating over the answers
for nearly nine minutes.
"Would it be 70?" LSA sopho-
more Jennifer Bown asked.
"No, it couldn't be that," LSA
sophomore Beth Robinson rea-
soned.
Afterward, they said their mem-
pill contracted colds less than half immune system. Ehow.com has
as often as the group that did not. an interesting recipe for a tea that
And among the garlic-takers who requires mincing the cloves and
did get sick, the duration of colds adding them to boiling water, but I
was significantly reduced. opted to add diced bits to a plate-of
The Garlic Centre, which melty nachos.
My nachos were quite good and
the next morning I woke up with
All the more energy and less snot than
I had had in a while. Although, I
best-laid did have a moment during a lec-
ture that day when I thought to
schemes, but I myself "Ew, who's the smelly kid?"
and then realized "Oh, it's prob-
still got sick ably me." Every time I've done
the garlic remedy since I felt I had
improved the next day. Placebo
effect? Possibly.
My most recent method comes
investigates and publicizes the from the East, but also CVS. The
many miraculous medical func- neti pot.. My boyfriend swears
tion attributed to the spice, didn't by it. I'm new to neti, but from
provide anything to.support the observing him I can describe how
efficacy of a one-time garlic binge. best to do it. At least once a day,
But I bought several bulbs for that break a packet of saline solution
purpose, anyway. I had a few mis- into a nasal irrigation bottle filled
givings about the treatment - how with warm water. Squirt half the
it would taste and how I would liquid into one nostril and watch it
smell. I'm a big garlic fan in gen- spout out the other. Repeat on the
eral, but no amount of garlic butter other side. Spit out whatever got
will prepare you for a raw clove. down your throat by hacking so
After a bite that burned my loudly your roommates will com-
mouth, I decided to mix it with ment. And lastly, take a big, deep
something. You can't cook it with- breath with the satisfaction only a
out deluding the allicin, the. agent truly clean nasal cavity can bring.
in garlic that stimulates your The neti-pot system originated
in India, where I hear nasal irri-
gation is considered part of daily
hygiene and can be done on the
street. It sort of feels like jump-
ing into a pool and forgetting to
breath out, but less painful. The
saline solution nullifies the body's
natural reaction to prevent water
from going all the way up your
nose. The treatment is touted as
the ultimate prevention of sinus
problems more than colds. My
boyfriend and I have this idea that
it sort of swishes out any bad virus
or bacteria before it can take hold,
but neti more likely just alleviates
cold symptoms after you get one.
What I do know, though, is if you
take an anticongestant and use
neti before bed you'll be clean and
clear all night.
Again, it's true that ultimately
I must admit defeat in my war on
colds. I mean, I'm coughing up
a lung as I write this. But in the
student life, where a bad cold can
set you back all semester, who can
blame me for grasping at what I
can? While I still might sound and
look pretty sickly, I do feel much
better. And I'm sure I'll feel even
better tonight, after a big plate of
garlic nachos and a neti pot.
-Jessica Vosgerchian is the
Magazine Editor for The Michigan Daily
ing noticeably accelerated after
he thought someone's laptop was
almost stolen under his watch.
He intervened in time, butI asked
him how he would have reacted had
it actually been stolen.
"I would have probably flipped
out and run around looking for
somebody and asked everybody
around," he said.
-Daily News Reporters Kyle
Swanson, Julie Rowe, Sara Lynne
Thelen, Elaine Lafay and Jake
Smilovitz contributed to this report
ories of the class's arduousness pro-
pelled them to help.
"I'm just kind of like, 'Oh gosh,
101,'" Robinson said.
Even though Econ 101 has a
reputation for fierce competition,
all three students I found who are
currently taking the class put in
earnest attempts to help me.
"I feel like, in general, it's out of
empathy," Marshall said. "I think
people are more willing to help
than they seem."
BATHROOMS
From Page 4B
my bathroom," she said.
Schwarz said he wasn't at all
surprised by the results.
"If you're in a familiar envi-
ronment and people around
you seem like you, you're pretty
much in autopilot," he said. "As
long as you seem to share some
group attributes, people are
willing to trust you."
He said people are much more
likely to let their guard down if
they're in a comfortable envi-
ronment and the person they're
asked to trust looks like a stu-
dent.
"The more similar they are to
you, the more these things fly,"
Schwarz said. "If you moved
off campus, these things again
become more distant and formal
and people would be more cau-
tious."
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