Happy In Bag

Wednesday, February 20, 2008

The Best Defense










I'm surrounded. Sick people are unavoidable this winter. Their hacking, sneezing and sniffing can seem like a deliberate plot to infect me. Yet I've managed to avoid contracting the revolting plague. My secret? I guzzle this Airborne product whenever I detect a slight scratch in my throat. And even though I don't care for the inferior produce available in this wintry area, I choke down as much citrus as my stomach allows.

posted by Happy In Bag @ 9:40 AM  

6 Comments:

  • At 3:32 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    Me, too! I also break out the Zicam swabs the instant I start to feel a little cold-y. It's worked so far. (Knock on wood.)

     

  • At 3:54 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    Waz up with this post?..I thought you were tapped and we would not hear from you for a couple of days.

     

  • At 9:11 PM, Blogger Ruralgurl said…

    I second AJ on the Zicam. Absolutely. It's worth every overpriced penny. And if you do catch it, the symptoms are not as bad. Just have to put up with the people at work who catch me in the bathroom...."What ARE you sticking up your nose?!?!?"

     

  • At 9:42 PM, Blogger Mark said…

    I shouldn't even say this, but I'm too foolish to stop myself. Zicam is a "homeopathic" remedy, which is a polite way of saying its only active ingredients are pixie dust and wishful thinking. Isn't anybody the least bit curious about what the word homeopathy means?

     

  • At 8:25 AM, Blogger Happy In Bag said…

    Maybe so, Mark. But even if it's a mere placebo- which I don't believe based on the results- it's effictive nonetheless.

    Good to hear from you RG and AG.

    I did take Tuesday off, Anon. But it's like a siren song...

     

  • At 11:18 AM, Blogger Mark said…

    That would explain why this stuff costs so much. The high price would contribute to the placebo effect. I'm definitely in the wrong business.

    I think the results are exaggerated, though, because if someone gets better after taking it -- whether the treatment is responsible or not -- they will tell everybody they know, but if it doesn't work they're either sheepish about using it or they think they did it wrong. So you get a strong confirmation bias.

    If the treatment worked, controlled tests would show it. They don't. The ethics of marketing placebos as strong medicine, and charging for them accordingly, are a separate issue, and one that leaves a lot of people completely untroubled.

     

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