Common Cold, Cure

In addition, whatever method medical science tries to use, whether by medicine or otherwise, such procedures may have other detrimental effects.   In the same way that overuse of antibiotics has inspired the new emergence of resistant bacteria and microbes, a similar effect might occur regarding any method of trying to eliminate the common cold.

Such scientists and doctors are being short-sighted, just looking for immediate benefits, without considering the long term consequences of their actions.

Yes, they would alleviate a lot of discomfort if they could achieve this.   But there are long term consequences that are very dire.

Each of us has a complex system of immunity built into our body.   This system, as every other body function, must be "exercised" from time to time.   Just as we must use our muscles, or else have them atrophy into very weak devices, it is critically necessary to allow our body's defense system to "practice" at reacting to such invaders as cold germs and viruses.   If we chemically accomplish those defense roles, then the immune system will lose it "tone" and then be less prepared when some new invader appears.

The equivalent would be, after breaking a shin bone, to forever have a cast supporting that part of the body.   Even in a few weeks, the muscles in the area degrade tremendously.   If continued for months or years, they would nearly disappear entirely.   Even the bone structure would not re-develop virtually the original strength at the break locus, and the bone itself would become more fragile.

Modern doctors would never keep such a cast on any longer than absolutely necessary, because of concerns about such degradation.

Our immune system equally needs to be exercised, by practicing its reactions to relatively innocuous invaders.   Without such practice, it will be significantly unprepared when it actually becomes needed.   At that point, the body will have virtually no defense at all, which would certainly have very grave results.

It is important to allow our bodies to respond naturally to such minor illnesses, as well as minor infections and minor injuries.

If we proceed to the point of having doctors prescribe medicine and or treatment for every minor cold, that individual body will eventually become susceptible to the first illness not treatable by present methods and medicines. We have witnessed a similar effect in the reduced effectiveness of antibiotics, due to extreme repetitive applications of them. At least in those cases, the body still had its own immune system to fall back on. If we incapacitate that immune system, then even very minor illnesses will kill many people.

This cannot be allowed to happen.

July, 1995

Addendum of October, 2001

There have been some individuals, notably Howard Hughes and Michael Jackson, who have gone to extremes to avoid being exposed to common germs. Given the above thoughts, that may be a very poor idea! After a number of months of remaining in his "antiseptic" room, it seems likely that Mr. Hughes natural immune reactions must have become severely degraded, and my guess is that he was eventually extremely susceptible to serious illness from even the most mundane of germs.

Addendum of December, 2005

Interesting!

Addendum of October, 2009

Other Health-Related Web-Pages in this Domain

index.html

index.html

C Johnson, Theoretical Physicist, Physics Degree from Univ of Chicago