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Title details for Ah-Choo! by Jennifer Ackerman - Available

Ah-Choo!

The Uncommon Life of Your Common Cold

by Jennifer Ackerman
Emily Durante
Audiobook
1 of 1 copy available
Borrow Listen to a sample Listen to a sample
1 of 1 copy available
Scientists call this the Golden Age of the Common Cold because Americans suffer up to a billion colds each year, resulting in 40 million days of missed work and school and 100 million doctor visits. They've also learned over the past decade much more about what cold viruses are, what they do to the human body, and how symptoms can be addressed. In this ode to the odious cold, Jennifer Ackerman sifts through the chatter about treatments—what works, what doesn't, and what can't hurt. She dispels myths, such as susceptibility to colds reflects a weakened immune system. And she tracks current research, including work at the University of Virginia at Charlottesville, a world-renowned center of cold research studies, where the search for a cure continues.

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Release date

    September 7, 2010

  • Formats

    • OverDrive Listen audiobook

      • ISBN: 9781400198733
      • File size: 202955 KB
      • Duration: 07:02:49

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • AudioFile Magazine
      This story of the common cold starts with a mere sneeze--which narrator Emily Durante can do in several languages. Author Jennifer Ackerman begins at the source of all colds, the 200 or so nasal viruses that cause them. Ackerman then surveys the literature, looking for the cures that work and those that don't. We won't spoil the surprise. In an effort to keep the report both simple and accurate, the author's vocabulary swings from slang like "snot" to sophisticated terms like "single-nucleotide polymorphism." Durante brings a lot of fun to a book about illness with her chatty voice. When faced with some poetry in the epilogue, she shows another aspect of her versatility. J.A.H. (c) AudioFile 2010, Portland, Maine
    • Publisher's Weekly

      July 5, 2010
      God bless you!—and this thoroughly delightful compendium of facts, fiction, and down-to-earth advice about the pesky viruses (200 and counting) that knock you down and drag you out two to four times a year. Ackerman (Sex Sleep Eat Drink Dream: A Day in the Life of Your Body) parses the variety and durability of the cold, its well-known miseries, paradoxes (a highly active immune system may actually make you sicker with a cold), and myriad mysteries (why do poorer people get more colds? what roles do stress and sleep play? is our clean obsession making us more susceptible to sickness?) with the thoroughness of a scientist, the doggedness of a journalist, and the verve of a thriller writer. Look for debunking of modern snake oils like echinacea and vitamin C and some rock-solid advice: wash your hands regularly, and keep them out of your eyes and mouth. And at the very least, Ackerman argues, enjoy the forced break a cold mandates. There's a nifty collection of comforting recipes as well, including a nonalcoholic hot toddy (and a delicious sounding boozy one, too), banana pudding, and yes, chicken soup. Gesundheit!

Formats

  • OverDrive Listen audiobook

subjects

Languages

  • English

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