Saturday, March 1, 2008

Ahhhhhh--chooooo!!!


By Kirsten Scott

I don't know about the rest of you, but in my little corner of the world, this has been one of the worst cold seasons in memory. Everyone I know is either sick, or getting over being sick, or worried about getting sick. I am personally thanking the steroid-god who delivered me from the land of the endless cough, and my kids are grateful for their friend Zithromax, who, along with best buddy Cough-Syrup-with-Codeine, helped them sleep through the night and get over their own little germ fests.

The land of the living cold has me thinking about how we writers are always looking for new ways to crawl into the skin of our characters and understand them better. We talk about tormenting our characters alot, and what better way to do that than to give them a cold? The way a person reacts to physical stress--be it an illness or an injury--tells us a lot about them, and the way a writer handles illness tells you a lot about how deep they are digging to get their characters right.

For example, you'll often see the stereotypical alpha male refusing help when he's sick, or being stoic when injured. But more interesting to me is the guy who falls apart when he's sick and has to accept being vulnerable and needing help. Or what about the powerful leader who can apply his own tourniquet but panics when the heroine has a fever? Now that's a real human being, one with flaws and weaknesses along with his strength.

Along those lines, forget the perfect heroine who martyrs her way through her flu, cold, and discomfort. I'd much rather read about a real person who gets whiney, or feels sorry for herself, and has to be teased out of her funk. Isn't there a great scene in You've Got Mail where Tom Hanks visits Meg Ryan when she's sick? Anyone remember that one? Or what about all those Catherine Coulter historicals where it seems like someone always gets a fever and has to be nursed back to health. I love those. There's something wonderfully real and timeless about a fever, or a cold. I don't care if you're in the Regency or the good-old-US-of-A--having a cold sucks, and we all know exactly what it feels like.

But back to me.

A little part of me likes the idea of having a cold. Unlike migraines, which I get a lot, a cold is something tangible. Snot pours out of you. Your nose gets red. Your voice gets scratchy. Then there's the cough. Add it together and what do you get?
Sympathy. Lots of yummy sympathy.

That's cool for about...oh...24 to 48 hours. Then I get pissed. I hate being sick. I hate not sleeping. I hate coughing. I hate all the healthy people around me who have the audacity NOT to be sick when I'm suffering so miserably. I get bitter. I huddle at my desk with a cup full of theraflu and try not to yell at everyone who is unfortunate enough to enter my office.

Things get ugly fast.

Of course, eventually I just become pitiful. I drink cup after cup of tea (which exacerbates my problem with finding time to go to the bathroom) and stand in the shower so long the room fills with steam and the walls drip. And then, after a few weeks, I finally break down and go to the doctor. Eventually, though it seems like I'll never be healthy again, I start to sleep through the night. Life returns to normal.

So what about you? Been sick lately? Do you hate being sick, or secretly enjoy the sympathy? What's your being sick ritual? Hot tea, warm bath, netti pot? My cough could return at any moment, and I want to be prepared!

55 comments:

Fedora said...

Colds are the pits! My baby has one right now, and that's worse than having one myself!

Fedora said...

Anyway, the GR has nothing to worry about--I doubt it's the avian variety!

Back to the interesting and timely topic at hand, Kirsten--I haven't been lately but am keeping everything crossed since the kids have been swapping germs like it's going out of style... I don't mind some sympathy when I'm sick, but would just rather not be in the first place--blah! I'm probably a terrible patient (not having much patience...) and think I'm a bit of a whiner, so being sick doesn't exactly show off my good side ;p Hot beverages and hot showers or baths are all excellent being-sick rituals. If I'm feeling well enough, the beverage with a good book is even better! Glad you're feeling better (for the moment!) :)

Helen said...

Congrats flchen1 on the GR I am sure he will cheer everyone up.

Kirsten I hope you are feeling better now. We are just about to start our colds and flu season and I hate having a cold or flu because it always go to my chest and I cough all the time I hate being sleep deprived.
I work in any industry that seems to cultivate colds and everyone knows that it just keeps getting passed around. When I am sick I like to be left alone I read and drink hot beverages and eat chocolate that always makes me feel better but more often than not I still have to go to work and get the normal things done around the house that I have to. I don't whine I just do it then sit and read, good books always make me feel better and if a character in the book has a fever or is ill then I don't feel so bad.
Hubby is good at making coffee and getting things for me when I am sick and my daughters are wonderful as well about time they all looked after me after all the times I have looked after them I do love some sympathy.
Great post Kirsten
Have Fun
Helen

Caren Crane said...

Congrats on the GR, Fedora! Make sure he's taking his echinacea...

Kirsten, I'm so sorry you and the little ones have been sick. Hooray for modern medicine! I am currently on major antibiotics to shake the sinus infection I've been flirting with since November. Its charm wore off long ago!

I LOATHE being sick. Really despise it. I also detest sympathy--not the fact that people are sympathetic but that they think I NEED it. Ack! My battle has been learning to go to the doctor early on (don't wait!) and to really rest while I have the chance. These are not things that come naturally to me (nor you, it sounds!). But age has made me tireder, if not wiser, so I have to rest in order to get better. Dangit.

My husband, on the other hand, is a big baby and takes to the bed as soon as he gets a sniffle. It's maddening! I try to be sympathetic, but after about 24 hours, I just want to kick him out of bed and tell him to pull on his big boy pants. *eg*

I'm horrible, I know!

Caren Crane said...

Helen, all my co-workers have had the flu. Somehow I avoided that, but have nursed the sinus stuff instead. I'm sure a sinus infection is easier than flu! I got my flu vaccine early and it has helped me avoid it, I'm sure.

Stay away from the germy co-workers! But how sweet that your daughters want to look after you. Such loves you have!

hrdwrkdmom aka Dianna said...

Congrats flchen1, I hope the GR is a good little rooster for you. He tends to be naughty at my house.

Oh, I so, so hate being sick, I have had a couple of rounds of a nasty virus this year. I hate to be behind at work and if I get sick, no one picks it up so ever how many days off I take is how far behind I am. I am not a very nice sick person either. I just want to be left alone so I can gather myself together and get over it.

Andrea said...

I hope you are feeling better, Kirsten!!

I had the stomach flu last week (first time in my life) and it was horrible!! Seeing or smelling any kind of food made me sick to my stomach, ugh! Luckily, it only lasted two days. Other than that, I've been sick-free this winter. *knock on wood*

~Andrea

Anonymous said...

Fedora, there is no doubt that having a sick child is worse than being sick yourself. I think it was brutally unfair that no one warned you before you became a parent --"your child will be sick about half the time between October and March, at least until age five, and it's going to suck. You'll worry incessantly, sleep little, and miss work/school/social events by the dozens. Just get used to it."

Sort of like a disclaimer. I think we parents deserve that.

But I hope your baby feels better really soon! I hate when my kids are sick. Especially fevers. Fevers are the worst.

Oh, and congratulations on the GR! I hope he doesn't give the family any germs! :-)

Anonymous said...

Helen, here's hoping your cold and flu season will be lighter than ours! They got the wrong strain of flu in the vaccines this year, so there are lots of flu cases around. Maybe they'll get yours right.

I think curling up with a good book is definitely the best medicine for being sick! Thank goodness the Banditas provide you with an endless stream of new authors to try! ;-)

How lovely that you have a good husband and daughter to take care of you. Forget being left alone--why not let them cater to your every need? How often does that happen?!

Anonymous said...

Caren--

"Rest"? What is this "rest" word you use? I am unfamiliar with it. Please explain.

-Kirsten

Anonymous said...

But seriously, resting is something that is so hard to make yourself do, isn't it? We would probably all get better much faster, and spread less colds to other people, if we just stayed home from work and spent a day in bed, instead of plugging on and trying to keep up life as usual.

Maybe your husband has the right of it--staying in bed and being a big baby may be the key to all this. ;-)

Anonymous said...

Dianna, I never take days off either. Who can afford to do that, right? Seems like when you are off for a day, you just have twice as much to do when you're back. We do need to cultivate that resting thing Caren mentioned, though. I suspect it might help.

I hope you don't catch any more nasty little viruses this year. Maybe spring has arrived, and the colds will be no more!

Anonymous said...

Thanks Andrea! And I hope your stomach flu is well and gone. But those things seem to linger mentally, don't they? Like, anything you ate while you were sick gets tainted.

There's a burrito shop in my old neighborhood I got food poisoning from once years ago, and I still feel queazy when we drive past. As if the little salmonella germs might travel through the air and into the car! Yuck.

I bet you do something right to keep the sickies away--vitamin C? echinacea? exercise? hand-washing? what's your secret?

Susan Sey said...

Kirsten--

You are SO right--children ought to come with a disclaimer about the amount of snot they'll produce & the number of fevers they'll spike before age 5, along with maybe a warning about how much sleep you'll lose lying on the carpet next to their beds.

But when it comes to being sick, I have to say, the biggest stressor in our family is that we can't agree on how to comfort the sickie. My husband is of the opinion that sick people should be pampered. Like Posh's DH, he takes to his bed for entire weekends & expects that I'll drop in at least every hour or two with something for him to eat, read, drink, or entertain himself with. Or at least just to see if he's still breathing. I, on the other hand, believe in hibernating. If I'm sick enough to take to my bed (extremely rare) I don't want to be disturbed. I don't want a cup of tea, I don't want a magazine, & I certainly don't want a d*mn sandwich. I WANT TO SLEEP. PLEASE GO AWAY & TAKE THE CHILDREN WITH YOU.

It's taken a few years to work out the kinks, but we finally understand one another. Now our big stressor is what to do with the kids when we're both sick. And they're sick, too. We all spent one miserable weekend in january barfing, & I'm here to tell you, those were dark, dark, days. I can't even say we learned anything from the experience. Just surviving was enough.

jo robertson said...

Great, universal post, Kirsten! Everybody gets or has gotten a cold or the flu at one time or another.

I confess to being much more fond of running fevers (used to regularly run a 104 temp) than doing the runny nose, coughing thing. I'd just curl up in my quilt and let my body heal itself. Plus, my husband, who runs a sub-normal temp, thinks I'm dying with a 104 temp, so I get lots of sympathy.

I always imagine the fever as tiny soldiers fighting the virus in my body. Pow! Kazoom! Take that, you dirty germ!

Andrea said...

Kirsten asked: I bet you do something right to keep the sickies away--vitamin C? echinacea? exercise? hand-washing? what's your secret?

I'll tell you what, Kirsten, I am a little compulsive about washing my hands (and it's rubbed off on my kids). My hubby laughs at me, but it seems to be working, so I get the last laugh. HA! ;) I also take a multi-vitamin and vitamin C.

~Andrea

Victoria Dahl said...

I just got over the mildest cold ever. Felt under the weather, a little stuffed up, and BEST OF ALL... I lost my voice!!! The perfect cover to curl up in my bed with my laptop and write all day! Total sympathy. Ahhhh!

Then it got a little worse and I had to bust out the codeine cough syrup at night. Mmmmmm. So lovely.

No doubt I've cursed myself now. It'll definitely turn into a sinus infection. *g*

Gillian Layne said...

Poor Flchen! Send the GR to the store for you so you can get some rest. Have you used those suction balls on the baby's nose? That's the worst--then they scream and cry, and their nose runs more....never ending.

Kristen, it HAS been a dreadful season. Everyone is sick. Chicken soup does help with congestion, and in a crock pot also makes the house smell good. You need to put loads of onions in it, because they'll also make you better. And klenex makes this super thick tissue now, which is a god-send.

Caren, my dad suffers from constant sinus infections. A specialist told him that once you've had a really bad one, it never really goes away, a bit of infection just hibernates up there, waiting to re-appear. Just a really lovely thought.

I am all for an early summer and heavily chlorinated pools. I think between that and sunshine maybe we can kill some germs.

Suzanne Ferrell said...

Oh poor Kirsten! I don't mind all the mess with delivering babies because I HATE respiratory patients....(can we say the word sputum gives me the willies?)

But I was chuckling about the kids and the cough syrup. When mine were little I gave them a spoonful of Benadryl and one of Cough syrup with Codeine or Alcohol. My theory was, if God made them sick, he meant for them to sleep! (Being a nurse has it's advantages when it comes to mixing meds!) :)

As an individual who has had pneumonia 5 times in the many years I've been a nurse, (always thanks to the really sick pregnant patients...grrr), I tend to go to the doctor a little earlier than most people, and I STILL have to strong-arm them into powerful antibiotics. Luckily for me, there is a pneumonia vaccine now! Had it last year, supposed to last 5!! Whoohoo!!

Hope everyone at your place is feeling better soon.

Farrah Rochon said...

Hate, hate, hate being sick. At one time, the only upside was that I could use it as an excuse to take it easy, but my looming deadlines don't have a clear understanding of the "take it easy" concept.

This has been a horrible season for the cold and flu. Knocking on every available piece of wood that it all passes me by (which, of course, means that I'll probably be sick by next week. That knocking on wood crap never works for me).

Joan said...

Kirsten, glad you and the family are feeling better.

I don't do sympathy....personal or otherwise. I DO do empathy...much more dynamic.

But even if I craved sympathy when I'm sick, I rarely get it. My brother, my friends, even the other nurses at the hospital when I'm hacking and sniffling jump back twenty feet and say "Don't get near me!"

Humph...fine thanks for me running to THEIR aid as a nurse!

Once about 3 years ago I got the mother of all stomach flus. Not even the heavy duty Phenergan could slow down the emesis. At one point I called my friend to ask her to call me later in the day to see if I was alive. (No, it was not melodrama...it was the real fear I had that I was going to pass out).

Called the brother to ask him to stop by and get me Sprite, popsicles. Literally, stood at the door and tossed them in to me where I lay on the couch!

Three days later I was barely drinking and starting to eat. Went to my local chapter meeting where we had a CSI investigator speaking...with pics...

*Urp*

I'm like Suz...you have to strong arm the docs nowadays to give you the antibiotics that you know is the ONLY thing that will knock the cough. I'm a firm believer in "They make pills for that".

Oh, also they discovered that this year's flu shot in actuality is only covering about 25% of the flu that is running amok in every state. The worse strain? One named for Australia!

Loucinda McGary aka Aunty Cindy said...

Yes, Kirsten and I were in sick bay together last week and it was not a pretty sight (though the cabana boys turned nursing assistants WERE)! :-P

Victoria, I almost lost my voice too, which in my case would be a fatal condition!

Mostly I want to be left alone when sick, except I do need someone to fetch the 7-Up if my tummy is bummy or the chicken soup. Otherwise GO AWAY! My son is the same way and has been since he learned to talk and actually said, "Mama leave me alone." HA!

Hope everyone gets over their crud with no lingering after effects (that sinus thing sounds TOO ICKY for words!) and Suz, I had the pneumonia shot too, about 3 years ago. Talk about a GREAT THING!

AC

Jane said...

Hi Kirsten,
Codeine really takes the hurt away. Not easy to get Codeine these days. I remember when mom used to rub Vicks on us when we were sick. I would breathe easier instantly after that stuff was applied. Has anyone ever tried Thera Flu? Does it work? Does it taste nasty?

Joan said...

Thera Flu? Does it work? Does it taste nasty?

Yes and Yes

Minna said...

If I get a cold, I drink tea that is laced with honey and eucalyptus candies that contain real eucalyptus oil. Unless I manage to get honey that contains eucalyptus oil. And if it's so bad I can't breathe through my nose, I boil some water, put a handful of those eucalypus candies in the water and just inhale the fumes.

Christine Wells said...

Kirsten, loved your post! You're so right--sickness is a very interesting test of character.

Sorry you've had such a bad time. Last winter was like that for us in Oz--everyonoe was sick. The doctors' surgeries were bursting at the seams with patients. Our whole family except the baby came down with a terrible virus--fever, shakes, the lot. We were all lying around the lounge room dying--except the baby, who was merrily creating havoc--and my husband looked at me and said, 'happy anniversary'. I hadn't even realized what day it was, but as anniversaries go, it sucked. Somehow, the virus made me deaf in one ear and I had to go to the RWAus conference and chair a panel while partially deaf. That was interesting!

Unlike you, if I'm sick I don't want anyone else to get it, because then I have to end up looking after them, instead of the other way around.

Congrats on the GR, Fedora!

Kate Carlisle said...

Poor Kirsten! I really hope everyone's over the worst of the colds by now. I've been getting a flu shot for the last few years but before that, I used to get so sick every winter and it always turned into bronchitis or pneumonia. Horrible! And almost as bad as the illness itself was the aftermath, with the lingering wheeze and the hacking and the coughing til your stomach muscles are groaning in pain. Good times. :-)

Farrah, LOL on knocking on wood!

Congrats on winning the GR, flchen1! If he sneezes, just slip him a little brandy and honey. ;-)

catslady said...

I'm just getting over the flu - not well exactly but definitely better. I haven't been this sick since before I had kids (they are 21 and 24 almost). But I'm wondering now if I had been this sick but when you have kids to take care of you just suck it up and do what you have to do. This time I had the luxury of just staying in bed when I wanted to (and I did want to). I even had my daughter get ME a few things when she was around!

Anonymous said...

Suz, I think I'm in your husband's camp--I like the pampering! Course, it doesn't do any good when you're so sick you can't think straight. But when you're just a little achy, sniffly, feeing-sorry-for-yourself, a little mothering sounds great to me.

But not when you're throwing up. Ew. That's a private thing.

Anonymous said...

Jo, do you mean my post about going commando because I forgot I had black underwear and a white skirt ISN"T UNIVERSAL? Doesn't everyone do that now and again?!?! ;-)

The fevers...(shudder)...I hate fevers. They seem very primative somehow. I can totally imagine the fight with the germs! I agree with your husband, though. I'd be terrified if my dear one had a 104 fever!

Anonymous said...

Andrea, my little one had a throwing-up virus a month or so ago, and I went crazy on the hand-washing. We all had eczema and cracked skin afterwards, but at least no one else got sick! I think you may be onto something there!

Anonymous said...

Victoria, how lovely to see you still hanging out in the Lair! :-) Sounds like you and I may be soul sisters in reveling in the mild cold. :-) There's nothing better than having an excuse to gain sympathy while getting to stay in bed and drink tea with honey. And the voice! Awk! My absolute favorite part of the cold is the sexy, throaty, I'm-really-sick voice!

But the sinus infection sucks. I hope you don't end up with one.

Anonymous said...

Gillian, you just mentioned my two favorite weapons in the cold battle: chicken soup and kleenex w/lotion! I love those tissues. Can't do without 'em. And the soup...ah...I make it from scratch and let it simmer all day long.

In fact, I may just have to duck out to the grocery store for a fryer right now. Yum.

(uh...no one tell the GR where I am! poor little guy, he'll probably panic!)

Anonymous said...

Suz,

I had to laugh at your comment about the sick pregnant ladies--I was horribly sick when I delivered my first. Coughed my way through 24 excrutiating hours of labor.

Pneumonia does not sound like fun. You are very smart for getting that vaccine! Hope everyone in your neck of the woods stays healthy!

Anonymous said...

Farrah, lovely to see you again! :-) And I have to agree. Unfortunately, knocking on wood ain't what it's cracked up to be! ;-)

It would be nice if those deadlines had a heart, wouldn't it? Sigh. And somehow, those colds KNOW when we have deadlines. How do they do that? Sneaky little buggers.

Anonymous said...

Joan,

That flu sounds truly horrible. Are you sure you wouldn't take any sympathy for it? Even a little? (I'd throw some your way, even if you weren't lookin' for it!)

Last year my daughter got the flu and it was two weeks of hell, so this year I got her vaccinated--of course, that's the year the vaccine doesn't work! Ug. I've got fingers crossed we make it through the end of flu season without that monster coming to live on our doorstep.

As for antibiotics, I know you don't want to overuse them, create the superbugs, all that. But I'm glad my pediatrician isn't scared to throw around the Zithromax when she thinks it might help. ;-)

Christie Kelley said...

Sorry you haven't been feeling well, Kirsten.

It's tough when you have little ones bringing home all the germs.

I take echinacea one week a month during the winters. And olive leaf every day. I haven't had a cold since a year ago fall (2006). (And I probably just jinxed myself.)

If I feel a sore throat start, then it's echinacea several times a day and two tablets of olive leaf. Hot tea with raw honey.

I hate being sick. Hope you stay well!

Anonymous said...

AC, your son said "leave me alone"? Hard to imagine. My kids still want to be hovered over when they're sick. They're big moaners, whimperers, and wailers. But I don't really mind. I like to mother, and my husband won't even let me bring him a cup of hot liquid when he's sick, so I have to get it all out on my kids.

I thought about you when I was writing this blog and your battle with the Mother Of All Colds. I'm so glad you're feeling better! Can't have Auntie C losing her voice!

Anonymous said...

Jane, I have been lucky enough to find a doctor who is VERY liberal with the codeine (at least the cough syrup enhanced kind). Thank GOODNESS for that.

I don't know if you have little ones, but there was a whole stink this year about kid cough meds, which they found don't work any better than HONEY. Honey, I tell you! Well, that's true except for codeine.

The codeine works.

Anonymous said...

Minna, those eucalyptus candies sound pretty amazing. where do you find them?

Anonymous said...

Christine, I remember when you were all sick and you still had to take care of the poor baby! That does tend to take some of the fun out of the sympathy and being pathetic thing, when you can't get anyone to pamper you because of it.

My husband and I got food poisoning once when our little guy was about a year old. We took turns crawling to the bathroom. Horrible part was, we couldn't get anyone to come help because they were all too scared to catching whatever it was we had!

Anonymous said...

Kate, you just described to a T my cold experience. First it seems okay, just a sniffler, then comes the cough, then the wheezing, then the hacking out a lung and pulling stomach muscles. I got my flu shot this year and it didn't help a lick! Grr!! Hope our PNW germs don't make it down to southern california.

we're coming south for some sun in just three weeks! Can't wait to rest and soak up all that lovely vitamin D!

Anonymous said...

Catslady, you just described my dream of the future! Not the getting the flu part (that sucks) but the getting my daughter to wait on me! That part sounds AWESOME! :-)

Hope you get all better soon, and you've got some good books to read while you're recuperating.

Anonymous said...

Christie,

The olive leaf is a new one by me! Where did you hear about that? is this a supplement you get somewhere? Sounds like a miracle cure to me. :-)

doglady said...

Sorry to be so late. Had to work in a place that is full of sick and grouchy people - Wal Mart on a Saturday!

Congrats fichen1 on nabbing the GR. Make him behave. He will probably request a hot toddy if he gets sick.

Kirsten, I hope everyone at your house is hail and hearty soon. Being sick is a just a real pain in the butt for me. I live alone so there is nobody to wait on me, BUT the good side is I'm alone so I can be sick in peace! My dogs and cats are very sympathetic and crawl into bed to keep Mom warm.

I can recommend Chinese hot and sour soup for a bad cold. If it is made correctly it will definitely clear your sinuses.

I take echinacea throughout the winter months. I also use Zicam at the very first sniffle. It works for me.

The women on my mother's side of the family (Cherokee and Creek Indian)mix up a salve of natural ingredients that looks like gelled green diarrhea and has the consistency of cocoa butter. We have always called it "green junk" It is all natural, doesn't smell too bad and works on a number of ailments including chest congestion. Rub it on the affected area and in twenty four hours there is a huge difference for the better. I use it for myself and for my pets. I have not learned how to make it yet, but I do know it is very old medicine.

The funniest patient I take care of is my 17 year old German shepherd / Rottweiler mix dog. Every year for the last 4 years she has gotten a hacking cough and cold after the first cold snap and it plagues her off and on until the temperatures warm up for good. Her vet tried a number of things, but what works best is Nyquil. Yes, Nyquil. She gets a medicine cup every night before I go to bed. She sleeps like a baby and the cough stays away. She will drink it right from the cup. (Cherry flavor only. She hates the green!) My brothers have decided she doesn't really have a cough. She just does it to get the Nyquil. When they call me they will ask "Is the old rummy alive?"

Anonymous said...

Pamela, I wish I could have you set some of your green diarreha mix on my chest when I was sick! I bet that old medicine really works. I actually see a Chinese medicine doctor who does cupping on me when my cough is bad. Cupping is not for the faint of heart, but it really seems to work for me.

That is just too funny about your dog and Nyquil. Who DOES like the green flavor? Why do they even bother making it?

I'm glad you have all your friends to crawl up around you and keep you warm when you're sick. Perhaps that's the best of all worlds--comfort and sympathy, but no talking. Sounds heavenly.

have a good night! :-)

Keira Soleore said...

So, Blogger ate my previous comments claiming it was a duplicate of the ones I'd already pubished. And lo and behold, there's not here. So, I'll attempt to recreate what I said then.

Inara, you get as many hugs as you want plus two more from me. Get well soon. Being sick is just ick.

Ibuprofen, gargling with salt water, and steam inhalation with Vicks in the steaming water works marvels.

Keira Soleore said...

Hey Suz, what is this marvelous pneumonia vaccine that you're talking about? Is it available only for nurses, doctors, seniors, kids, AIDs patients, etc? Or can anyone take it? Thanks!

Minna said...

Kirsten, I don't know if they sell those eucalyptus candies in the U.S.A., but here is one place in the internet where you can get them:
http://www.suomikauppa.fi/product_info.php?products_id=1151&language=en

Minna said...

I also recommend xylitol sweets they sell in Suomikauppa. They are VERY good for your teeth.

Anonymous said...

Keira, I'm so sorry I missed you last night! Thanks for the well wishes and the hugs!!

Minna, are you from Finland? What an interesting online shop!

Minna said...

Yeah, I'm from Finland.

Keira Soleore said...

Hope you're on the mend, Kirsten!!

Minna, those candies sound delicious! Out here, we only get menthol lozenges.

Minna said...

We have menthol candies, too, but eucalyptus candies do taste better. Well, not if you mix them in a cup of hot water like some people do. =P I tried it once, but I prefer those other 2 methods I mentioned earlier.

Cassondra said...

I have never had the flu. Okay, I'm lifting my eyes to the sky and saying THANK YOU to God for that.

I have had some seriously sucky colds though. Not this past month of January, but a year before that I had the cold from h*ll.

It started in November, lasted through Christmas getting worse, and all the way through January I was feeling okay, but was blowing my body weight per hour out my nose.

One of my critique partners was with me once when it happened in the car. I just kept blowing and yanking kleenex out of the box. I had a trash bag full by the time I was done. She said, "OMG, where did all that come from?"
I said, "I think I've grown sinuses in my feet."

No green stuff though, so no actual infection. I just accidentally got in the line about six times when they were handing out snot last year. I guess I thought it was the line for the bathroom.

I do not ever want to go through that again.

My husband had the actual flu two weekends ago. Short lived, but his fever spiked to 104 and I couldn't get it down. His normal temp is 96.9, so that's a seriously dangerous fever. Lucky for us he works in the medical field and all our buddies are doctors or physician's assistants. I called one.

"How much Ibu and aceto can I give Steve without killing him."

They told me. I had the formula. Up every three hours (set the alarm but made him stay on the couch) with my calculator and my note pad adding up milligrams. It was not a good weekend, but I kicked the fever in the butt. (pumps fist in air)

Kirsten this was a great post. I know a few people who've never been sick, and I don't get sick much, but almost everybody has had a cold and felt rotten. Sorry I'm late to visit!