Monday, December 15, 2003
Sickness
I didn't get a flu shot this year. I haven't had one in years, as I always ended up getting it anyway, so I figure that there's no need to use up a vaccine that someone else could use for its placebo value (not to mention saving $20). On Friday evening, I could tell that I was about to get sick, with some light coughing. On Saturday, I was somewhat achy and tired all day, with a bit of a cough, but nothing serious. Yesterday was miserable. I was always freezing cold, except when I was burning hot. I went to bed around 11PM, and then woke up around 2AM this morning to find my bed drenched with sweat, my fever gone, and even most of the exhaustion gone (I didn't get back to sleep until about 7AM).
I guess that was the flu. I figured that if I was getting sick, the best thing to do was to get a lot of vitamin C. Over two days, I drank over a gallon of orange juice. I also had some Cold-Eeze zinc drops and ate some chicken, both of which are supposed to be very good for fighting colds (and, presumably, for flu as well). I had read a TS O'Rama's suggesting ways to beat the cold or flu, and while some seemed to make sense, the idea of drinking alcohol is a bad idea, at least in my case. I've never had a hangover while healthy, but after having an O'Doul's (.5% abv) last time I was sick, I woke up with something monstrous the next day. So, no alcohol for this Hokie when he's sick.
What's the moral of this? I don't know. Drink lots of orange juice (or Tang). Get your rest. Pray some. Watch sci-fi or action movies (I watched four over the weekend: Stranded, Blade II, Pitch Black, and Basic). Don't get bogged down, and you'll be fine.
I didn't get a flu shot this year. I haven't had one in years, as I always ended up getting it anyway, so I figure that there's no need to use up a vaccine that someone else could use for its placebo value (not to mention saving $20). On Friday evening, I could tell that I was about to get sick, with some light coughing. On Saturday, I was somewhat achy and tired all day, with a bit of a cough, but nothing serious. Yesterday was miserable. I was always freezing cold, except when I was burning hot. I went to bed around 11PM, and then woke up around 2AM this morning to find my bed drenched with sweat, my fever gone, and even most of the exhaustion gone (I didn't get back to sleep until about 7AM).
I guess that was the flu. I figured that if I was getting sick, the best thing to do was to get a lot of vitamin C. Over two days, I drank over a gallon of orange juice. I also had some Cold-Eeze zinc drops and ate some chicken, both of which are supposed to be very good for fighting colds (and, presumably, for flu as well). I had read a TS O'Rama's suggesting ways to beat the cold or flu, and while some seemed to make sense, the idea of drinking alcohol is a bad idea, at least in my case. I've never had a hangover while healthy, but after having an O'Doul's (.5% abv) last time I was sick, I woke up with something monstrous the next day. So, no alcohol for this Hokie when he's sick.
What's the moral of this? I don't know. Drink lots of orange juice (or Tang). Get your rest. Pray some. Watch sci-fi or action movies (I watched four over the weekend: Stranded, Blade II, Pitch Black, and Basic). Don't get bogged down, and you'll be fine.
