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Tuesday, March 11, 2008

The Snot Factory

I have a terrible immune system. I get colds about 3-4 times a year. They pretty much sap the life out of me for at least 3 days and then another 7-10 days of sniffles, coughs, and scratchy throat. My asthma and allergies compound the problem and are likely the cause of my susceptible immune system.

Of course there is no cure for the common cold. The best relief I can find is to drink abundant amounts of hot liquids to keep my throat soothed and my sinuses clear. But in some ways the treatment feels counter productive. I drink so much liquid that I end up in the bathroom every 15 minutes. On top of that, all the water makes my stomach hurt. I'm a pretty miserable character when I'm sick. My normally anti-social demeanor becomes even more unfriendly as I beg you not to touch me and accept my grunts and sighs as the best conversation you'll get out of me.

So there isn't much purpose to writing all this except that I like to complain. Since my head hurts, I don't feel like talking, but with the power of the information super-highway my fingers can complain to all the unfortunate souls who happen upon our blog. So thats me right now. Hoping its not the flu, mounting and shedding layers as fevers come and go. Very slowly working on overdue assignments.

Does anyone have any good home remedies for head colds?

5 comments:

happychipmunk said...

since you mentioned you have allergies... I tend to not get sick very often, but as soon as I feel a cold coming on (like last week for the first time in over a year), I go straight into the generic allergy meds... generic claritin, I'm pretty sure. And this time, I popped an echinacea/vitamin c blend once a day and three 200mg of vitamin c every day... and I was almost 100 percent in two days. Make sure to blow everything out of your nose. But not too hard (blow gently - someone taught me this... I can't remember why it's important). Going to the bathroom every 15 min is a good thing... you're cleansing your system. Oh, and get an extra hour of sleep every night. But honestly, with the way you sound... I think allergy meds and/or decongestants are key to you getting well. peace out, johnna

Anonymous said...

Well, I sympathize with you, Matt. Brett came down with a cold, and now I have it and I am feeling pretty miserable right now. I am drinking lots of fluids also....mainly hot tea with lemon and hot lemonade or just alot of water. I should just set up my work desk in the bathroom, I think.

Something must be going around, since my boss was also down in the Twin Cities last weekend, and he ended up with strep throat and has missed the last two days of work.

I have made it to work the last couple of days, but it has not been fun.

You will be in our prayers.

Love, Gayle

Kh. Patty said...

If you blow hard you can give yourself a sinus infection. My crazy doctor says not to blow at all.... He also says to take 1000 milligrams of Vit C every 2 hours at first sign of a cold. Do this along with zinc lozenges (follow instructions on the bag -- they want you to take about 5 over the course of a day). You can do this for up to a week, but after that you have to stop so your body doesn't get addicted to that level of Vit C. I get chewable Vitamin Cs from Trader Joes or Whole Foods (the neon colored cheapo ones from CVS are disgusting!!) because I don't want to swallow pills all day. I think it helps when I've remembered to do it!

Anonymous said...

How have you been the last couple of days, Matt? Hopefully on the mend. I have been sick ever since we got back from the Cities. My boss has not been into work all week. On Tues. night, I could not sleep since I coughed so much...which made have to go to the bathroom all the time. So I just took a shower at 4:30 am and went into work and worked for a few hours. Our former boss is going to fill in for Steve and I tomorrow.

Continuing to keep you in our prayers. Hope Nicole has not caught it. So far, Marv is doing alright. He is popping alot of zinc lozenges.

Brett has a cold also, but does not seem too affected by it, thank goodness. He is his usual cheery shelf....kind of like in that picture.

Gayle

Gayle

Nicole said...

Mom, sorry to hear you're feeling so awful! Glad though, that Brett isn't too bad and that Dad is OK sa far. Have you guys ever used Airborne or its generic equivalent? Its a tablet you put in a glass of water and it has all the vitamins and minerals that are supposed to ward off colds. Some people swear by it. I just bought some for Matt last night (along with a bunch of coughdrops!).