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To understand the relevance of this image to my cold….read on
I have a cold…or rather I had one
Earlier this week I started with the usual (for me) scratchy throat, followed by progression through the process of a streaming head cold, accompanied by a general sense of grottiness.
Patient appointments were cancelled or postponed, and I settled down to the few days of head-cold misery that seem to come round once a year at most.
E-mails needed catching up with, and one was particularly relevant – as will become clearer, just as my head became clearer…..
Some of the self-help books that I wrote back in the 1980s are long out of print, and rights have reverted to me.
This means I’m free to try to hawk them to another publisher, or to publish them myself, neither option being of particularly interest.
But a few months back I was contacted by my old publisher, and told that they wanted to re-aquire rights to 5 of my old self-help books, to be published by their Asian subsidiary, for the Indian market in particular.
There was no payment offered, and a miserly royalty based on income from sales was suggested, based on very low priced paper back editions. In other words I might just look forward, in a year or two, to receiving a few hundred pounds!
However, since these books were stone dead, even this slight flicker of life was welcome.
The email that is relevant to this posting carried a message from the publishers telling me that 2 of the 7 (yes seven) books they were republishing had already been issued, and the others would be soon.
I had a Poirot moment as my cold-addled brain sensed something was amiss.
………5 books had become 7. I emailed back asking for the republished book titles, and when this information arrived I compared them with last year’s agreement…… and lo and behold the publishers had simply taken 2 titles that were mine and published them without consent. After a quick call to the legal department of my wonderful ‘trade union’, The Society of Authors, I triumphantly I informed the publishers of their error(s), which led to a small interchange of messages, ending with a slightly better deal for me on the royalty front.
And then I thought…. what about the other titles?
What about the ones that also deserved to be republished, but which had been ignored?
I took one of these down from its place on the shelf and – as my cold progressed, and my head became ever stuffier, looked through it.
Hydrotherapy was first published back in the 1994, and while it is long extinct it certainly (as of today) is still available on Amazon, second-hand at under £2 a time.
It’s a jolly good little ‘consumer’ book, compact, informative, an easy read…. and as I browsed through it, I spotted the wet-sock treatment for the symptoms of the common cold.
Was this roundabout, convoluted teasing, involving the email correspondence with my publishers, all a synchronistic ruse by cosmic forces to eventually get my attention onto something I should have remembered anyway?
Whatever cyber-string-pulling all this entailed, here I was, with a head full of cotton-wool and mush, but with the solution in my hands (or feet)!
I went to my clothes drawers and located the equipment : a pair of cotton socks, and a pair of woolen socks.
After a hot bath, I wrung the cotton pair out in icy-cold water, and put them on, immediately covered by the (dry) woolen pair….. and hopped (or more accurately, collapsed gratefully) into bed.
The socks soon warmed up, my head cleared, and I slept like a baby.
In the morning the socks were dry and my head was 70% better.
Was it the sock treatment – or would I have been better anyway?
I don’t care, but the sooner I can get the water therapy book republished, the sooner you can find out. On the other hand, because my cold is better…here’s the protocol, taken from the Bastyr University website:
“ A natural method of stimulating the immune system and zapping a cold or flu is called the ‘wet sock treatment’.
The treatment, which is commonly prescribed by physicians at Bastyr Center for Natural Health, involves putting on ice-cold socks and … are you ready for this? … sleeping in them! It may sound strange, but it works because it rallies the body’s defenses, according to Jamey Wallace, ND, clinic medical director at Bastyr Center for Natural Health, Seattle.
And the best part about it is that it uses the healing power of nature and doesn’t cost anything. The treatment is known as a “heating compress,” meaning that it’s up to the body to heat the cold, wet socks, says Dr. Wallace. “The body reacts to the cold socks by increasing blood circulation, which also stimulates the immune system. You have to ‘rev up’ the immune system, so it’s ready for battle against the affliction or condition.” This treatment acts to reflexively increase the circulation and decrease congestion in the upper respiratory passages, head and throat. It also has a sedating action, and many patients report that they sleep much better during the treatment. The treatment is also effective for pain relief and increases the healing response during acute infections. The wet sock treatment is used in conjunction with other modalities to treat inflammation, infection or soreness of the throat, headaches, migraines, nasal congestion, upper respiratory infections, coughs, bronchitis and sinus infections. It’s best to start the wet sock treatment on first day of an illness, ideally repeating it for three nights in a row. People with chronic conditions or a compromised immunity should consult with a naturopathic doctor before starting the wet sock treatment.
Dr. Wallace also points out: “The wet sock treatment is only one component of an integrated treatment plan that includes hydration, proper nutrition and immunity-boosting supplements.”
At Bastyr Center for Natural Health, practitioners can work with you to formulate a comprehensive immunity-boosting plan.
Wet sock treatment Supplies:
1 pair of very thin socks, liner socks or polypropylene socks
1 pair of thick wool socks or thick polypropylene socks 2 sets of sweats or pajamas
1 bowl of ice water
Directions:
1. Soak the pair of thin socks in the bowl of ice water. Then wring the socks out thoroughly so they do not drip.
2. Take a hot bath for 5-10 minutes. This is very important for the effectiveness of the treatment. In fact, it could be harmful if your feet are not warmed first.
3. Dry off feet and body with a dry towel.
4. Place ice-cold wet socks on feet. Then cover with thick wool socks. Put on the first set of pajamas. Go directly to bed. Place the second set of pajamas next to the bed. Avoid getting chilled.
5. Wear the socks overnight.
During the night, you may wake up with your whole body wet from sweat. If so, change into the dry pajamas, but leave on the socks. You will find that the wet cotton socks will be dry in the morning”
This information is for educational purposes only.
Consultation with a licensed health care practitioner is recommended for anyone suffering from a health ailment.
….. enjoy!