Sorry folks, just gonna use you as helpless victims for getting rid of my frustrations. Deal with it. [img]tongue.gif[/img]

So could anyone tell me what the hell I did to deserve such bad karma?? Seriously, I seem to roll in and out of illness. As soon as I've recovered from the latest cold or flu, BANG there I go again. [img]graemlins/madhell.gif[/img]
Since yesterday, I've got an immensely sore throat and a fever, even though I've only just recovered from a bad cold, which in turn succeeded a longer bout of the flu. It's so annoying because I keep missing classes, work days and choir rehearsals this way.
For those who've known me longer I'm sometimes scared that my chronic illness is coming back full-force again. :( But I do push those thoughts back of course, I've been doing so much better (healthwise) in the last year that I simply refuse to get ill again.
Sooooo anyway... whine whine whine moan bitch gripe gripe. There I feel better now. No wait dammit, I don't! [img]graemlins/crying.gif[/img]
Anyone have any tips on how to alleviate sore throats that I haven't yet thought of? ;) I'm drinking fluids like crazy and took two ibuprofen pills (400 mg each) yesterday. Oh and I take extra vitamins in any case because of my weaker immune system. I really hope this'll be the last cold in a while.
OK that was it, I'll go back to being my normal stoic self now. ;)

Hey, you're not getting any sicker, it's just that all those bacteria and viral micro-organisms are getting to like you just as much as we all do [img]smile.gif[/img] So feel happy, your new friends are multiplying by the million every minute. They're having a party inside you (uh huh huh, huh huh huh), right now they've probably drained the first three kegs and are trying to find out which one of them is sober enough to drive to the liquor store to get more booze. Of course, this means that they'll probably be hitting the tequila soon, which means that things are gonna get a whole lot more raucus, which means that your white blood cells are gonna have one HELL of an after-party mess to clean up. Viral puke stains like nothing else, and it takes weeks to get rid of the smell. But that's their problem, not yours.

So don't sweat it man (although your fever will probably force you to do this anyway), think happy, fun thoughts. If you can't beat the parasitic little f**king bastards then join them in their wanton, viral revelry.

[ 04-22-2004, 12:22 AM: Message edited by: The Hierophant ]

ROTFLMFAO!!!
Oh dear.... *wipes tears from eyes, takes deeeep breaths*
Thanks luv, that did help!!! [img]graemlins/thumbsup.gif[/img]

How about moving to a warmer climate ? Sounds to me like your system is having a hard time dealing with our lovely Dutch weather.

Nah, I doubt that's it Johnny. [img]smile.gif[/img]
I sure would like moving to somewhere warmer though.... maybe Greece or Italy *goes all dreamy-eyed* Maybe in a couple of yea... decades. *sigh*
I do know one thing - I'm truly craving summer weather!

Zout water gorgelen ?

That's something from the old book, you know, the kind of things grandma's tell you to do when there's something wrong. Not sure if it's any good, but you never know if you don't give it a shot. ;)

That means gargle salt water right?
My God, my affinity for languages knows no bounds! *does his little Homer-Simpson victory dance*

How the hell did you know what that was, Hiero? :rolleyes:

That means gargle salt water right?
My God, my affinity for languages knows no bounds! *does his little Homer-Simpson victory dance* </font>[/QUOTE]Goed gedaan jochie. [img]graemlins/hehe.gif[/img]

Good guess *something*?

Something like "well done lad". :D

Ah, see, that's what I was *about* to say. I knew it all all along, just figured I'd keep you guessing. Y'know, keep things lively and all that ;) [img]smile.gif[/img]

Ta Johnny, will try. I've heard that helps, so it's worth a shot. [img]smile.gif[/img] And it's much less bothersome and messy than what Hiero advised me to gargle with. [img]tongue.gif[/img]

True. But you'll be missing out on all the natural protein my dear! ;) [img]tongue.gif[/img]

LOL [img]smile.gif[/img] I'm not too sure that will help a lot, Aaron [img]tongue.gif[/img]

Oh Sarah! I hope it's just a random bout of problems and nothing serious or long term!!

I know it seems impossible some days but think positively as much as you can! [img]smile.gif[/img] You've been having a good run til recently, so maybe this is just a coincidence and not part of the chronic illness? I sincerely hope and pray it's nothing more. [img]smile.gif[/img]

Thank you Amber, I hope so too. [img]smile.gif[/img] [img]smile.gif[/img]
Actually I'm thinking really positively, I'm a little ray of sunshine really. I just wanted to gripe because being ill all the time is so bloody annoying. ;)
On the downside, I've been having more pain in my joints and much more bouts of cold/flu than normally (which sounds an awful lot like what I had before) but on the plus side I'm feeling pretty good apart from that, have a much higher level of activity (i.e. I can do pretty much everything I like [img]smile.gif[/img] ) and I need less sleep than before. So it's probably safe to say it's just temporary bad luck. [img]smile.gif[/img]
Thanks for the well-wishes!

The thing about zout water gorgelen, errr,
salt water gargling is that, in addition to cutting the secretions from your sinuses that are irritating your throat (and they are quite irritating, contaning lysed and live bacteria, white blood cells, antibodies, interferon, histamine, and ruptured mast cells) salt water, especially if warm, actually shrinks swollen mucous membranes, taking tension off the nerves that cause the pain. Look in the mirror, too, Mel, and mke sure you don't have a strep throat. Are your lymph glands in your neck swollen? Are you having fever or night sweats? Are you coughing? When you pinch your nose and swallow, do your ears pop? P.S., you can take up to 800 mg. of ibuprofen every eight hours, if it helps. ;)

LOL :D

Wow, thanks for all the info Attalus. I went to fetch my pot of sea salt from the kitchen immediately.


I don't think so! I thought a strep throat was pretty rare and more serious than simply a sore throat. I think I'm fine, really. [img]smile.gif[/img]

Er, check. A little, I think. They sure do hurt, anyway

Check, on both counts. Not a bad fever though, and only at night I think. So that should be OK.

Nope. [img]smile.gif[/img]

Yeah.

I haven't taken any today, since I had to take painkillers earlier this week for migraine and I don't want to take em too often or become too dependent on them. But I'll take a 400 mg one before I go to sleep. [img]smile.gif[/img]

Thanks for your help mate. [img]smile.gif[/img]
PS. Oops, I think I just did the dreaded and much frowned-upon "hacking-posts-to-quoty-bits" thingy. :D

I hope you feel better soon Sarah! Always seems like Autumn and Spring are the worst months to get sick with colds and flus, I've had a few migraines the past few weeks and now a cold myself. I've probably been sick in the past year more than I have in the past 10, no idea why, but it does suck big time and I feel for you. I hope the salt water helps, sore throats are the worst but usually go away within a day or two for me and I hope it is the same for you. Take care of yourself *Hugs* [img]smile.gif[/img]

I don't think so! I thought a strep throat was pretty rare and more serious than simply a sore throat. I think I'm fine, really. [img]smile.gif[/img]

Er, check. A little, I think. They sure do hurt, anyway

Check, on both counts. Not a bad fever though, and only at night I think. So that should be OK.

Nope. [img]smile.gif[/img]

[/QB]</font>[/QUOTE]All right, then, you probably have a virus. Gargle your salt water, drink plenty of fluids, especially orange juice, and get plenty of rest. Hope that you feel better, soon.

Amen. Attalus has spoken!!

Thanks Wendy! *hugs*

You too Attalus, for the professional take ;)
I do have to go to class tomorrow... oh well. I'll rest as much as I can. [img]smile.gif[/img]