Curing a Cold by Mark Twain. Short summary

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The author caught a cold. He listened to the advice of his buddies, and eventually his illness progressed to pneumonia. The author lists some particularly killer «folk remedies.

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The hotel where the author was staying burned down, causing him to lose his suitcase and then his health. When he first started sneezing, he was advised to take a hot foot bath and go to bed. The sick man did so. But a second friend showed up and informed him that an ice shower would cure his cold.

Later, the author lists «folk remedies» for the cold. Among them, there was not a single one that recommended going to the doctor. All of the patient’s friends posed as experts in the treatment of colds. And the author simply trusted them, having tried all the methods — from wrapping himself in a sheet soaked in ice-cold water to clearing his stomach with English salt.

As a result, the disease moved from the nasopharynx to the lungs. But the author enriched his experience with the common cold. And if you get sick, he will be able to advise you on many «effective remedies.