How Italians Deal With Illness

This winter has been one of the worst winters in recent memory. Close quarters on public transportation, everyone staying home and inside, and the constant fluctuations between hot and cold makes it very likely that you will get sick very soon. This is how Italians get through the cold and flu season.

1. No Doctors!!

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We have been sick plenty of times throughout our lives. There is no need to get a doctor involved. Sit back relax and watch The Price is Right.

2. Chicken Soup Can Fix Anything

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Chicken Soup is the elixir of life in an Italian house hold besides wine, tomato sauce, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, coffee....never mind never mind you get my point. At the first sign of a sniffle go to the store buy a chicken throw it in a pot with some vegetables and water and boom instant cure. Nothing makes you feel better than moms chicken soup. Also for emergencies there is always left over soup in the freezer.

3. Hot Steam

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You need to loosen up all of that stuff in your chest and head. Take a hot shower? No, Neti pot? ewww NO! Sit at the kitchen table with a bowl of boiling water, and a towel over your head? Yes of course!!

4. Ginger Ale and Saltine Crackers

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Nausea, heartburn, indigestion, upset stomach, diarrhea? Well of course you drink Ginger Ale and eat saltine crackers. A combination of food so delightful that as a child I would fake stomach issues just so my mother would get me Ginger Ale and Crackers.

5. Flat Soda

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Thats right you have a good old fashioned stomach ache? Take two cups pour soda into one cup and mix it back and fourth until the soda is flat. Any soda will work but of course ginger ale is preferred.

6. Anything and Everything Over the Counter

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Don't let anyone fool you. Over the counter drugs are just as good and just as powerful at combating a cold as anything a dumb doctor can give you. Again what the hell do doctors know? Plus who doesn't love taking Nyquil when they are sick?

7. Apple Cider Vinegar

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Got a sore throat? Not if you gargle with Apple cider vinegar!! If you have a sore throat gargle with apple cider vinegar once an hour and you feel as if you can sing opera. Some people say tea works just as good but Italians tend to disagree. Go with apple cider vinegar you wont regret it.

8. Garlic

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What the hell could be more Italian than garlic? This one I personally don't endorse because of the odor involved. I mean you are sick there is no reason you should smell like you are sick. Anyway old school Italians when they are sick will eat as much garlic as possible going as far as chopping it up and making a tea out of garlic. Sounds disgusting but most Italian grandparents live to an average age of 110 so there might be something to consuming large quantities of garlic. If you live alone and don't have a significant other give the garlic cure a try.

9. Orange Juice...Alot of Orange Juice

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Everyone knows to drink plenty of liquids especially Vitamin C. However like almost everything else Italians to take it up a notch. Think about how much orange juice you can possibly drink, triple it, and thats how much orange juice you need to drink to get over your cold. Italian mothers orders. Try fighting I dare you.

10. Mother Knows Best

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You don't know whats wrong with you, call your mother. Whether you live at home or not, consult your local Italian mother and chances are, just when you thought you knew everything about how to treat yourself, she will still come up with some crazy "cure" that honestly and truly works.