About ten minutes ago I took a swallow and, ow, it was a little rough on one side of my throat there. Like something swollen. Or sore. Like a…oh, man. Like a sore throat. As in a cold.
I opened up our Drawer o’ Pills and took one of each, more or less. C, E, Zinc, even some crazy hippy homeopathic shit (how did that get in there?) I think I’ll go back for another round in a few hours.
6pm Update: Yup, definitely sick. It’s a cold if I’m lucky, flu if I’m not. Looks like a few days of quality time with the couch, and the Tivo. I’m in the phase of getting stuff ready to prepare for full-blown blah. PJs? Check. Bathrobe? Check. Scrubbed the wheel of the big white bus? Check. Wife? Check.
You kids be good.
02/06 Update: Wow, that was the lightest cold I’ve ever had. Was it the Zicam? Was it the Umcka? Was it coincidence? I’m just happy to feel, if not better, not particularly bad.
Zicam. I recommend the “Oral Mist” kind rather than the “Up the Nose” kind because there are rumors that the UtN kind can perhaps destroy your sense of smell, though that’s probably just people whining.
Zicam. That may be crazy hippy shit too, but people smarter than me swear by it. I’ll ask Amber to pick some up on the way home.
I am so sorry if I gave you my cold! Mine started exactly that way – horrible sore throat. Although two brief hugs probably weren’t enough to infect you (or make Amber jealous). In my defense, this crud I have has been going around the GA.
Rob swears by Cold-Eze lozenges, and I have fallen in love with Zicam. I’d recommend either, along with some hot tea to soothe your throat. I hope you feel better!
Dude, you can’t take Zicam! It really does cause people to lose their sense of smell (allegedly).
http://www.azstarnet.com/news/114219
Cathleen, I shook a lot of hands yesterday. It wasn’t you. :) Funny you mention Cold-Eeze — I’m sucking on one of the foul little buggers right now. They’re nasty, but study after study has shown that zinc taken in lozenge form significantly reduces the severity and duration of a cold.
Dave, it’s funny you’d mention the smell thing. Just last week I pointed that out to Amber, after we passed some in the store. Since it’s only the nasal gel that causes the loss of smell, though, I feel good about it. Plus, the odds of me “putting a zinc-based gel into the nose with a pump” are slim-to-none.
I have to agree with Mr. Geiger, Zicam has stopped oncoming colds in their tracks for me on many occasions.
It’s that same Richmond crud. I got the same thing on my last visit to the grand GAB and Patrick Henry building. Mine mutated into an awful sinus infection that’s still not gone after three weeks and lots of drugs. Keep the Sudafed PE close at hand.
On the bright side, you can watch Battlestar Galactica tonight.
My roommate kindly gave me hers yesterday. With any luck we’ll be able to play ill-tag for a few weeks. ;)
Hey, at least your wife plays nurse. Mine quarantines me.
Do not take Zycam. It did in fact destroy my uncle’s sense of smell and he’s having serious troubles now because of that.
Water. Drink lots of it. Yeah, I know everyone says drink lots of fluids, but few actually do it. Drink at least a gallon of water a day. (You should be drinking at least half your weight in ounces every day anyways.) Rest – get lots of it too. Watching TV is okay but sleeping is better.
EmergenC is great stuff. One packet every three hours. I swear by the Oscillo stuff, which I suspect the homeopathic stuff you had in the drawer. One vial four times a day for the first day. I also swear by Wellness Formula, which you can get at the IY or Whole Foods. Not cheap, but last week when I got a fever and the beginnings of the cold / flu from hell, that and all of the above got me healthy within 48 hours. Dan, who was not quite so vigilant is still sick.
Since we are doing this virtually, I don’t mind sending you lots of hugs. :-)
Oh yeah, I forgot this wonderful tea recipe. Honey, fresh grated ginger, cayenne pepper, lemon juice and boiling water. Put in as much of the ginger, cayenne, and lemon juice as you can stand and then flavor to your liking with the honey.
Seems everybody else has the advice angle covered, so I’ll just add that it’s a good thing we just had lunch last thursday, and not any hot blogger action.
Aside from the difficult lifestyle changes that would imply, I’d be sick now, too. And I’d really hate that.
Hope you get better soon.
my young brother,
do all the above and your cold will be completly gone in a week.
do nothing and i will be over, for sure, in seven days.
be well – soon,
b
Bummer. I was sick last week, some mondo cold/flu hybrid is going around. Watch your ears. My doctor said some cold is going around and she’s seen a lot of adults in the last few weeks getting the first ear infections of their lives, so if you get that you might end up needing antibiotics.
Feel better!
02/06 Update: Wow, that was the lightest cold I’ve ever had. Was it the Zicam? Was it the Umcka? Was it coincidence? I’m just happy to feel, if not better, not particularly bad.
Obviously it was the Zicam, since that was my suggestion. Duh. Glad you’re feeling better.