高帽 Being sick and the Chinese cure!

感冒 （gan3 mao4) being sick and having a cold

So of course after running the the 14K race in the beginning of November - wearing only running pants and a long sleeve - I get sick. I've been sick for the last two weeks with a sinus infection/cold and a bad cough. I am very thankful to say I am completely recovered. : )

A friend of mine who is a doctor here said running outside in the cold probably isn't what caused me to have the cough for so long, but that it was most likely the cause of the pollution here. There are some clear days here (especially in the spring and summer) and he said it would be okay to run during that time. However, where I live, during the winter all the buildings are heated by coal. There are coal stacks all over the city that burn coal 24hrs a day from Nov 15th to mid March. Therefore, it doesn't look like I'll be running outside for awhile.

In China there are two types of medicine. 中药 （zhong1 yao4) and 西药 （xi1 yao4) Chinese and western medicine. Here, you can't get your over the counter sinus headache medicine or Tylenol cold medicine like you can in the states. Thankfully, my mom sends those. However, I can get some cold medicine here that I found that seem to really help (both 中药 and 西药). The 中药 is all natural - when I asked the pharmacist what was in it, she said leaves and plants.

I feel like the Chinese are very concerned about taking care of their bodies and encouraging others too. When I'm outside, if a person on the street doesn't think I'm wearing enough warm layers or that I should be wearing a heavier coat they will 却我 ( que4 wo3 recommend ; encourage) me to put more on. I've seen this play out many times on the streets between strangers and even children.

Also, people will come up to me and start recommending traditional medicines/methods to try. One of the ones I learned about my first year here I still continue to use. Its taking 李子 (li2 zi pears), cutting them up into small pieces, and adding 冰糖 (bing1 tang2 crystal sugar) to boiled water. Its drinking hot juice. Chinese say 李子 (pears) are very good for your 嗓子 （sang3 zi throat) and 肺 （fei4 lungs). Last week when my roommate and I were both sick we made this juice and drank it.

Another very important thing I've learned while being here and being sick, is that you should only drink hot water. My friends 却我 (strongly recommend me) that when sick you shouldn't even drink warm temperature water.

Chinese cold medicine