I was down with a fever on the last day of January, surprisingly. After becoming a vegan, I seldom get sick. I don’t remember the last time I had a fever or cold. I stay strong even if people around me are down with some nasty virus left and right. Whenever I got sick these few years, it’s because of two things – stress and lack of sleep. I got some tense muscles and bad back in December because of the stress from moving and lack of exercise in general. Since I started working out four times a week at the gym and getting a back and shoulder massage once every two weeks or so, my body is back to equilibrium. This time, I know it’s stress and lack of sleep again.
While I always wear short sleeves or sleeveless in the office during winter, I was shivering even with a sweater and coat indoor on Tuesday. I went home and measured my body temperature. To my dismay, it was 103 degrees. Two of my close friends asked me to go see a doctor. I hate to see doctors, unless it’s absolutely necessary. To be honest, what would they prescribe me to cure the fever and cold that I can’t get off the shelf? The only reason I will go see a doctor is because I need a doctor’s note for sick leave at work. Sometimes I don’t even bother anymore. It’s a waste of time and money to see a substandard doctor near where I live.
My cure? I took out the Chinese medicine my mom gave me a while ago. It’s meant to be in my toolbox, to be used for emergencies like this. It’s called Ganmao Gegentang Chongji (感冒葛根湯) by Beijing’s Tong Ren Tang (同仁堂). It’s granules for treating cold and fever, using all Chinese natural herbs, such as radix puerariae (葛根), ledebouriellae (防風), semen armeniacae amarum (苦杏仁) and folium perillae (紫蘇葉). It says the main purpose is “inducing diaphoresis and relieving exterior syndrome, expelling wind and cold pathogens. It is used to treat common cold with fever, headache, coughing, nasal obstruction or rhinorrhea.” What you do is to simply dissolve the contents of one sachet in a small cup of boiling water, three times daily, and drink it while it’s hot. Best of all, it’s sold for only HK$16 (US$2) in a local pharmacy.
The result? I went to bed at 9:30pm for a change as my body just couldn’t handle the shivering and headache, after drinking one dose of Ganmao Gegentang Chongji. I woke up at midnight, finding myself sweating all over. The instructions on the medicine do say it’s supposed to make you sweat. I was too exhausted and then fell back to sleep until the following morning. I got up and measured my temperature immediately. To my delight, this time was less than 100 degrees. I felt much better too, now that the shivering and headache were gone, though I know I need a day or two to recoup.
My advice? Go see a doctor when you need to. I trust my instinct more than anything now. If I have to play doctor and treat myself, I will. I thank my dad and mom for always putting something magical in my toolbox.
