Every once in a while, somebody gives you something you have absolutely no expectation will become part of your life. That is how I discovered Umcka ColdCare. A friend gave it to me—I actually think it may have been a birthday present—because I kept getting sick. I was dealing with allergies, my throat continually seemed to hurt, and I was one of those people who could feel something coming on and know exactly where it was headed. She gave me Umcka. I swear, I have never wanted to be without it since.
The version I use is Nature’s Way Umcka ColdCare Kids FastActives, little individual packets of cherry-flavored powder designed for ages six and older. You pour the powder directly into your mouth, and there is no water, measuring spoon or medicine cup involved. Even better, it doesn’t taste remotely like the horrible medicine of childhood memory. To me, it tastes like somebody crushed up SweetTarts.
Apparently my cold-season preparedness now doubles as candy. The taste isn’t why I keep buying it. It’s what I have personally experienced when I take it.
I have learned to pay very close attention to my body, particularly to that first almost imperceptible signal that something isn’t right. Sometimes it is the beginning of a sore throat. Sometimes I feel that peculiar little lump or thickness in my throat. Sometimes I simply recognize that familiar sensation that tells me, Uh-oh. Something is trying to arrive. That is when I reach for Umcka.
I don’t wait until I’m thoroughly miserable. I take it when I first notice the symptoms. In my experience, again and again, they have simply gone away. The throat settles down. The sensation that something is developing disappears. Whatever seemed determined to turn itself into my next miserable week frequently goes no further.
I am not telling you that this will happen to everyone. I am telling you what has repeatedly happened to me. In fact, the only times I can remember actually getting sick after I began carrying Umcka were the times when I reached into my bag and discovered I didn’t have any or I had run out at home.
I have now solved that problem rather decisively. I just ordered ten boxes. Yes, ten. Fall is approaching. Cold and flu season will follow. People will spend more time indoors, windows will close, theatres will fill, and I have absolutely no desire to discover halfway through the season that I have run out of the little packets, because they sell out. I have come to depend upon. I want them at home. More importantly, I want them in my bag when I am out and about and first feel that telltale scratch in my throat.
There is also an interesting history behind what is inside those packets. Umcka contains Pelargonium sidoides, a plant native to South Africa whose root has a history of traditional medicinal use. Modern preparations of Pelargonium sidoides have also been studied for acute respiratory infections, although the research is not definitive and results vary depending upon the preparation and condition being studied. Umcka itself is sold in the United States as a homeopathic product, and Nature’s Way states that its homeopathic claims have not been evaluated by the FDA and that the product is not intended to replace appropriate medical care.
That distinction matters to me because there is an enormous difference between sharing something that has worked for you and announcing that you have discovered a universal cure. And if you know me, telling me something isn’t FDA approved probably makes me more likely to try it, not less. I have never confused institutional approval with the final word on what does or doesn’t work for my body. What I have discovered is something my body seems to respond to extraordinarily well.
We tend to wait until our bodies are screaming before we pay attention to them. We ignore the first scratch in the throat. We push through exhaustion. We dismiss the subtle signals because we have work to do, somewhere to be, an article to finish, a performance to attend or twenty other things that seem more important at the moment. Then suddenly we’re sick and wondering where it came from. The body usually speaks before it shouts.
Mine has developed a language I recognize. I know what that first throat sensation means. I know what certain kinds of fatigue feel like. I know when something feels transient and when my body is telling me that I need to stop and pay attention.
Umcka has simply become one of the things I reach for when I hear that first whisper.
I believe in sharing the things we discover along the way. A friend once shared this one with me. Now I’m sharing it with you.
As we move toward fall, I will have my sweaters, my boots, my soups, my blankets, my teas—and apparently enough Umcka to supply a small theatrical company.
Sometimes taking care of yourself isn’t complicated. Sometimes it begins by noticing the tiny signal your body sends before something larger arrives. Sometimes, wonderfully enough, the thing you reach for tastes like crushed-up SweetTarts.