Where’s My Asfidity Bag?
My cold/flu/cough/aches/pains/allergic reaction/whatever the hell it is, has been dragging on for over a week now and I am sick and tired of it. Some of the symptoms have dwindled over the last couple of days, but the persistent dry cough and the run-down feeling keep hanging on… and on, and on, and on. A couple of folks who have had something similar say it takes 10 days to 2 weeks to get completely over it. So if that holds, I’ve got a few more days to go. Great!
And now Roomie has it. She’s been dragging around all day, grouchy, upset about everything, and everytime I would say something to try to console her she would snap at me that she was really sick. Like I had been faking it all week and had intentionally infected her with this deadly ailment. Do I look like the neighborhood terrorist? NO — Don’t answer that… She finally told me she really didn’t feel good and was grumpy… Duh… No shit, Sherlock…
So, we have here a couple of grown adults who are supposed to love and comfort each other, both sick beyond repair (or so it feels), both sniping and snapping at each other, and a cocker spaniel who is smart enough to go to another part of the house and stay the hell out of our way.
Ever take so much DayQuil and NyQuil and throat lozenges that your taste buds no longer work? Roomie made a big pot of soup this morning and let it simmer all day. Thought it would do us good. And maybe it will. She always makes good soup. I’ve had two bowls of it and couldn’t taste a thing. My taste buds, not her soup…
When I was a kid, my Grandma always threatened to hang an asfidity bag around my neck to ward off colds and such. It also was thought to speed recovery. I smelled asfidity only once in my life (one of my country cousins actually had a bag of it on a string around the neck) and you do not soon forget it. The French call it Merde du Diable, which in Tennessee translates to The Devil’s Shit. It is made from the resin of the root of the Asafetida plant native to central Asia from Iran to Pakistan. How the foul smelling crud ever found it’s way to the rural South in the early 1900s is still a mystery to me. And how anyone could ever endure wearing it around their neck long enough to know that it prevents illness — go figure. Unless it was just that the strong sulphurous odor kept everybody away, healthy and ill alike.
But nothing else has worked, not even my traditional half vodka, half grapefruit juice with heavy dash of salt. So, since Grandma’s been gone for nigh on 50 years, if anybody knows where I can get some asfidity, let me know. If it doesn’t cure the crud, maybe it will at least keep Roomie at bay…
(Footnote: Asafoetida has been widely traded and used for several thousand years. Primary uses are medicinal and as a cooking spice. An excellent resource with much interesting information is here.)
10 Comments so far
Cripes Winston, I didn’t even KNOW about Asfidity let alone where to get it. You must be pretty desperate if you’re looking for that disgusting-smelling stuff as you described. It’s hard to maintain patience and a good attitude when you feel like s_ _ _! I hope you and roomie are cutting each other a little slack…considering.
I’m sending you quick healing vibes Winston. Now don’t be greedy…share them with roomie. ((((((Big Healing Hugs)))))))) -Joy
Oh dear.
I hope you and Rommie feel better soon, Winston.
I feel for you. We’ve finally gotten over it at our house. Every fall when the kids start school and bring home those nasty, germy things, hubby and I get to feel like merde for a good two weeks (why do the kids recover in just a few days?).
This year was different, my already being on drugs for the back. What to do? Spoke to Ms. Pharmacist, and I quote “I hate Nyquil, it’s just overkill.” Imagine my heartbreak; I’ve been a Nyquil devotee for years. She recommended plain old Sudafed along with the Robitussin of my choice. Who’d have known? She was right! I started feeling much better within an hour!!!! I’m no doc, but had to pass it on because the taste buds came right back to life (I always lose my sense of taste when sick with a cold — is there anything more annoying?).
Since it’s now the weekend, I hope you’ll get plenty of rest, drink those fluids, and eat some more soup. As one who becomes a complete grouch when ill (that’s the nice way of putting it), I sympathize with Roomie. Wishing her well, too.
(Post by Winston from email submission from Elsie.)
I am a big believer in Airborne at the start of anything as well as Zicam. Both are natural remedies available OTC and I think short cut anything I get. They have to be begun in the first 24 hours to be effective; so this information is only for the next time
I have never heard of that other whatever it was but the reason they think garlic worked around the neck is it kept other people at a distance…
Here’s my Gran’s recipe:
Fill a glass 1/3 full with Whisky (without the E).
Stir in 1/3 of a glass of runny honey.
Boil water and fill the glass with hot water.
Drink slowly.
Repeat.
You will still have the cold/flu/infection,
but at least you will be enjoying it
Oh you’re both poorly bad. Wishing you both better.
Love Stu’s remedy. Have copied.
Here’s mine.
Honey and raw Garlic. Eat.
And for the cough.
Crushed Fenugreek Seeds, pour on hot water and leave to infuse, drink. Helps loosen any phlegm.
Chicken Soup with loads of ginger root, garlic, really good idea, agree with Roomie.
Asafetida: Just a thought is that the root of the word Fetid? Usually use this in curries, and it is really good with Lady’s Finger vegetable.
BTW, the worst stinking stuff I know (of) is Tellurium. One breath of it and they put you in quarantine for a month
My mother always said you’d get over it in a week to 10 days if you took the medicine or 7 to 10 days if you didn’t.
Aw, Stu Savory has already given my cure-all. My father-in-law always says, ‘Whisky when you’re well make you ill; whisky when you’re ill makes you well.’ Doesn’t stop him drinking it everyday.
I’ve seen asfoetida used in recipes. Never tried it. Just the word is enough to deter.
By now I am sure you are doing well. I remembe the smell and the brown waxey color of asfidity. It was a small ball wraped in cheese cloth and hunf around the neck by a piece of twine…. This remedy was used by lots of folks in Texas. I never knew where it came from and lot’s of times wished it would go back to where it came from.Sorry I am not of much help. I do have another remedy. 2 large table spoons of castor oil and a 1/2 orange to kill the taste….then stay close to the out house. Hope this helps next time you are sick.