March 13, 2013
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Cog in the machine (2)
So. Still hacking up bloody phlegm and still really mad at that doctor who said I wasn’t sick.
I forgot to mention the doctor’s remedy for how to get through the week: just use over-the-counter meds! She admitted that it wouldn’t actually cure me but it would relieve my symptoms.
You know how in over-the-counter medication (OTCM) commercials, the tagline is always “So you can get through your day!” The delivery of said tagline is always accompanied by a newly symptom-free actor who now skips happily through fields and blue skies and throngs of dancing admirers.
The thing is, when the rest of us self-medicate with OTCMs, it’s not so that we can have a picnic in the sunshine. It’s so we can drag our sorry asses back to the cubicle and through another 8 hours of work.
My kinesiology/nutritionist professor recently confirmed what is, for me, a central tenet of Chinese home remedy theory: OTCMs don’t work and you shouldn’t take them. In striking contrast to my Caucasian partner, I was rarely given medication growing up (unless I was really very sick). Yes, OTCMs are effective at masking your fever, cough or congestion, but expelling phlegm and snot is exactly what your immune system needs to do in order to get rid of harmful pathogens from your body. Fevers are for “cooking” the pathogen to death.
Mask the symptoms, and you may get on with your day, but the illness stays with you for longer because your immune system doesn’t get to do what it needs to.
Why does my doctor operate from such a different paradigm, one that substitutes the illusion of health for the real thing? Why does the field of kinesiology and nutrition take such a different approach? My prof actually recommended – get this – that we take care of our bodies when sick. As in, take the day off to sleep, take in plenty of liquids and good nutrition, and your immune system will take care of you.
That’s actually what you should do when you’re sick. The only reason why you would need OCTMs is if you don’t get sick leave benefits (students, people on contracts, people with deadlines, etc), and if you’re forced to work through your illness. Just like how the electric light once extended the number of hours you could work in a day, OCTMs extend the labour force power. OCTMs are another formula for good capitalistic workers, and for some reason my doctor is in on the scheme.
So what’s this sick stuff you’re going on about? Just pop a pill and get back to work!
Comments (8)
you got it. that’s the drill. being sick is natures way of telling you to rest up.i don’t take OTCMs either and have worked myself into a niche that allows me to take a break when i’m sick. this of course means i get sick less often than your typical wage slave. you’d think an economic system would figure this out and accomodate humans being humans, right? that treating people with respect for their humanity will actually increase employee well-being and hence overall performance. you’d think capitalism, concerned as it is with the “bottom line” would let people be sick when they’re sick, right? well i don’t have to tell you, WRONG. why? because capitalism can’t see past the end of its own nose, that’s why. in every regard. this is just another example of how its inherent shortsightedness screws things up; not just for itself, but for everything it touches.
so get well, ok? the world needs you out there.
@complicatedlight - We can be GRR FISTSHAKE friends
i love that. let’s.
oh yeah so…how you feeling?
@complicatedlight - I’m almost all better! Thank you kindly for asking ^_^
Very mad at my body still though because the amount of snot and phlegm I am producing cannot be proportionate to the amount of pathogens in my body. It’s completely inefficient!
No birthday updates from you?
Your “flu” looks serious .
Is Aspirin part of OTCM and paracetamol ? I joke and I should not ! In the past the old people (hm !) took aspirin for all remedy!
Citrus is also a good fruit rich in Vitamin C
In friendship
Michel
@fauquet - Toutes les bonne idees merci! Je suis finalement en sante maintenant
ryc / JE SUIS CONTENT DE SAVOIR QUE TU VAS MIEUX ;
Oui le jardin est une bonne école pour apprendre à travailler !! mais les efforts doivent être progressifs !
Amitiés
Michel