A Cough Lasts 18 Days, No Matter What You Do:
Here's something important to remember when you inevitably get a cough in the next few months. You can take cough syrup, drink herbal tea, take antibiotics, and visit your doctor DAILY . . . but it's not going to make a difference.
According to a new study out of Georgia College, a cough lasts 18 days no matter WHAT you do.
Dr. Mark Ebell led the study. He says, quote, "Patients will come to me and they've been coughing four or five days, so they ask for an antibiotic. After eight or nine days, they're still not feeling better, so they ask for a stronger antibiotic."
But more than 90% of coughs are VIRAL, not bacterial. It's probably just a cough, not bronchitis. And viral coughs can't be treated, they just go away on their own.
Ebell says you should really only get your cough checked out if it lasts more than two weeks without getting better, or you're having more serious symptoms like shortness of breath or bloody mucus.
You Can Avoid the Flu If You Just Stop Touching Your Face So Much:
You probably don't realize how much you touch your face. I just touched my face while I was saying that. And during this particularly NASTY flu season, you really SHOULD try to pay attention.
Apparently, a good way to keep yourself from getting the flu is to stop touching your face so much.
The average person touches their face three times an hour. And since you're not washing your hands three times an hour, you may be infecting yourself with the germs on your hands without even realizing it.
