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Posts: 13

Governor

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Q: Cold weather and consequences

 

Is there any efficiant way to explain why you should not open windows when temperature outside is lower then 20 degrees? It is like Mario level 5 all over again. I fail each time I try, it is 15 degrees now and people at work always open windows so I constantly catch cold. Finally when I blame opened windows they just say "You are weak, windows have nothing to do with it. It is healthy to let fresh air in", really?! Have not you noticed me wearing a coat, scarf and three layers of cloth on the working spot? I can support that theory if the air temperature is higher then 20 degrees! It is my second cold this month and I can not even get a real medicine for sore throat without doctors' prescribtion(I've been to several pharmacies and each of them refused to sell pills, I was not asking for antibiotics or cancer treatment, just common candies for sore throat). I mean I am strong and independent woman but this situation forced me to call mommy to whine. I guess they got used to cold weather and no central heating but for me it means constant running nose and sore throat and piles of dried hay which they call "medicine" or just mint candies from watsons which for some magic reason can cure sore throat. Btw, does anyone know a pharmacy you can get strepsils or similar pills without prescription.

9 years 17 weeks ago in  Culture - Shanghai

 
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Posts: 1098

Shifu

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HUH? You must be Chinese because I have only heard Chinese complaining about foreigners opening windows and blowing air on people's belly's and making them sick or whatever.  But surely no foreigner was asking for the "fresh air" of Shanghai so.... Actually this story doesn't  make sense and there's no real question.  Are you really using this site to find a pharmacy in Shanghai? I would check a Shanghai expat site or ask your employer for that info.   And from the sounds of it I highly doubt you are a strong and independent woman... 

Scandinavian:

also, remember one doesn't get a cold from being cold, people with access to the real internet can find that info. 

9 years 17 weeks ago
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DrMonkey:

Easy, people can have very different tolerance to cold. Vietnamese friends, who grew up in a perpetual summer, felt like frozen by 10c. A Thai friend was feeling the same during her first winter in Suzhou, despite many layers of clothes. If you grew in a place with cold winter since you are kid, never with tons of clothes, of course 15c feels very comfortable.

9 years 17 weeks ago
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9 years 17 weeks ago
 
Posts: 1845

Shifu

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Are you talking about 20.c or 20.f?

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9 years 17 weeks ago
 
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Emperor

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Pharmacy not selling pills for throat... In Suzhou, my wife buy cold medicine (ie. it does not cure anything, it just smooth out the symptoms) without problem. You might try with a friend or colleague who speak Mandarin, to explain that you want relief for a sore throat. There is such a thing, powders to dilute in hot water. You can make you own, boil water with lots of ginger, sugar, lemon/orange juice. For the headache, paracetamol will do

 

15 degrees, 20 degrees... We speak of Celsius degrees, Fahrenheit degrees, or Kelvin degrees ? In China, it's Celsius, and 15c it's not freezing cold for many people. In Europe, people might wear a shirt and nothing more, not feel uncomfortable. In China people dress a lot, with tights under their pants and 3 layers of clothe, so 15c feels comfy to them. And yes, the idea that fresh air from outside is good is common here, even if it's -5c outside.

Stiggs:

I like fresh air, even if it does get a bit colder. Of course, with the smog 'fresh' isn't quite what you get but even so...

9 years 17 weeks ago
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sorrel:

boiling water and lemon/citrus/ginger/honey cheap and effective.

9 years 17 weeks ago
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9 years 17 weeks ago
 
Posts: 9631

Emperor

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How many times was I asked today if I am cold. Who knows, all the energy spent on asking this question is enough to heat most of the country if only the windows were kept shut

 

 

READ THIS: 

http://www.mindthesciencegap.org/2012/10/29/does-being-cold-give-you-a-c...

Scandinavian:

or this

http://edition.cnn.com/2014/01/07/health/upwave-colds/

9 years 17 weeks ago
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Scandinavian:

or this

 

http://theconversation.com/mondays-medical-myth-you-can-catch-a-cold-by-getting-cold-2488

 

9 years 17 weeks ago
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immaomao:

I read it, but to be honest i think that his kids are just lucky to have a good health. People in my country believe that there few reasons cause catching a cold, the most common ones are infection and cold weather. So even if it is slightly cold(25 C) outside we dress a sweater instead of a T-shirt. 90% of people I know will have a running nose or a sore throat after they felt cold or there were drafts in the room. Of course there are 10%  with really good health but mostly because their parents were not very concerned about them dressing a lot or washing hands with warm water and soap etc. Sometimes it looks like the less you care the healthier they grow. So I think it is all about getting used to cold, and yes this seems like a good thing to remember since I don't want mine kids to suffer like me. 

 

9 years 17 weeks ago
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DrMonkey:

@immaomao If 25c feels a bit cold to you, it's warm for anybody used to temperate or cold climates. Are you from a tropical country ? As a kid, being in shorts in the middle of winter for sport was the norm, and no we had to wash our hands, daily showers, etc. It's just cold tolerance, part nurture, part nature. I think your colleagues don't even imagine that someone can feel cold at 15c. I had to see people shivering at 10c to believe it, as  for me a T-shirt with an opened thin vest are enough.

 

@Scandinavian Ha ha, same here. How many time I made people touch my arm, to show them that no, I'm not feeling cold ! And running outside in shorts in January, people took pictures.

9 years 17 weeks ago
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tbh66:

25c cold?  Please answer what do you consider hot?

9 years 17 weeks ago
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Scandinavian:

@immaomao: It doesn't really matter what people in your country believe, it matters what science sees as evidence based facts. In South Korea people believe that you can die from sleeping in a room that has a fan on, to a degree where there are even government regulations in place about fans. 

9 years 17 weeks ago
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9 years 17 weeks ago
 
Posts: 2488

Emperor

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You should thank your co workers. Cold weather doesnt give people colds. Germs do. People get colds in the winter because everyone stays inside. Think about how many colds you would of had this month without your thoughtful co workers. Stop being ungrateful.

immaomao:

That's just another cultural difference. We are taught that what causes Cold is cold weather and draught. It is different in your country and I respect it. I would also appreciate if you could do the same for me. 

9 years 17 weeks ago
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ScotsAlan:

I agree with Mike.

 

It's a science thing, not a hocus pocus cultural thing.

 

If you cold and wet, you body shuts down it's extremities to save the core. The germs get a foothold in the weak parts and when your in a warm and comfy environment you feel shit because your body is overloaded with nasty shit.

 

Door handles are the biggest cause. The butterfly effect.

 

Some old dear empties her lungs onto the pavement. Ying and yang... better out than in.

 

An untied shoelace is trailed through the toxic packet of deposited flem.

 

A polite westerner indicates to a stranger that his shoelace is undone.

 

Transfer from throat to ground to shoelace to hand to doorhandle.

 

I have yet to see an ayi wash a door handle with tea. Tea being the cure for all ills of course.

9 years 17 weeks ago
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9 years 17 weeks ago
 
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Emperor

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Psst...iwolf tip: you catch a cold from a virus.

Wash your hands with soap regularly. The best prevention.

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9 years 17 weeks ago
 
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people can catch colds any time of the year: summer or winter.

They are not caused by the outside temperature, but more by being in poorly ventilated spaces with people who cough and sneeze and don't cover their mouth/nose when they do so.

public transport is one of the main danger zones at times for infection.

Also, anyone i know opens their windows to freshen the air (ha ha if they can), a few times a day.

nor are colds as debilitating as many of my Chinese colleagues seem to think.

for me, 20-25 degrees is approaching hot - every summer in China is a near killer.

sitting working in a cold draught is not healthy, and if you are a strong and independent woman as you say you are, why not just ask your colleagues to close the window?

getting a doctors prescription for something like a cold is TOTALLY unnecessary - overkill, if you will and the misuse of medication.

A cold is a VIRUS so an anti-biotic is useless, and the main method of prevention is hand-washing.

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9 years 17 weeks ago
 
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You are clearly Chinese what is the purpose?

immaomao:

Another failed Sherlock Holmes

9 years 17 weeks ago
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