Home remedies都是old wives』tales?

加拿大都市网

傷風感冒季節,大家進入戒備狀態,加緊預防,希望可以避過染病。

對抗流感,可以打流感針。流行性感冒是influenza,或簡稱flu。例如︰I was down with the flu last week.(我上星期流感病倒了。)打預防針是injection,但簡單說shot也可以。流感針通常叫flu shot,例如︰Have you gotten you flu shot?(你打了流感針沒有?)

傷風是cold,或common cold。 Catch a cold 就是害傷風,例如︰Dress warmly or you will catch a cold.(穿得暖一點,否則就會害傷風。)Common cold或cold和flu不一樣,美國Centers for Disease Control and Prevention(疾病控制及預防中心)解釋:

Flu and the common cold are both respiratory(呼吸的) illnesses but they are caused by different viruses(病毒). Because these two types of illnesses have similar symptoms(病徵), it can be difficult to tell the difference between them based on symptoms alone.

In general, flu is worse than the common cold, and symptoms are more common and intense(劇烈的). Colds are usually milder(溫和的) than flu. People with colds are more likely to have a runny or stuffy nose(鼻塞、流鼻水). Colds generally do not result in serious health problems, such as pneumonia, bacterial infections, or hospitalizations. Flu can have very serious associated complications(併發症).

無論如何,大家都有一套預防和治療傷風的方法。但這些真的有用嗎? “Cold remedies: Old wives’ tales … or legitimate science?”一文就討論這個問題︰

There are few experiences as universal(普遍的) as catching a cold. And while there are around 200 viruses that cause it, there seem to be almost as many home remedies to combat it.

Remedy是名詞,解治療藥物。 Old wives’ tales是a superstition or traditional belief that is regarded as unscientific or incorrect,無稽之談、愚蠢的迷信。香爐灰開水可以治病很難相信不是old wives’ tale,但常見的remedies又如何呢?

From orange juice to zinc lozenges(鋅錠), chicken soup to garlic capsules(大蒜丸), there are plenty of home remedies for the common cold. But is there any evidence that they work?

文章引述一些研究,指服用Vitamin C預防傷風其實作用不大,飲橙汁作用更小,因為橙汁的維他命C含量其實不高。但有研究就發現,維他命C可以縮短兒童的傷風患病期。有研究發現︰”if started within 24 hours of the first symptoms, 80mg daily zinc acetate lozenges may help treat the common cold”,但也有人擔心zinc lozenges會有副作用。

安慰劑也有治療功用

不論這些remedies是否在科學上證明有效,心理卻有很大的影響。有時只要病人相信,就算明知服用的是placebo(安慰劑),竟也可以發揮治療的功用。 University of Southampton的醫療心理學教授Felicity Bishop說:”Open-label(標明的) placebos, when a doctor tells the patient something is a placebo but that it’s helped some people, can still make patients better.”

所以難怪患病時飲了媽媽送上的chicken soup,就立即感到好了一點! 《讀者文摘》的1,801 Home Remedies: Doctor-Approved Treatments for Everyday Health Problems,收錄千多種醫生都贊成的古方remedies。