Bleh, Colds

I picked up a cold somewhere in the last week or so. Happens pretty regularly to me in the spring and/or fall each year.

The cold virus might look something like this.

Hard to say exactly where you got something like a cold. I've been to movie theaters, public parks, grocery stores, gaming stores, a few restaurants...lots of places where germs can hang around. I make
some effort to avoid poor hygiene - wash hands before eating, don't sit by the guy coughing a lot, etc - but there's only so much you can do while still being out in the world.

I've probably had this cold for a while, though at first I just wrote off my sinus and nose troubles to allergies. No matter what medicines I try, hay fever allergies always hit me every year. I wouldn't be surprised if the colds tend to show up during this time because my immune system is busy with allergies. When I start to get headaches, sore throat, and chest congestion, then I know it's more than just the usual allergic reactions.

Fortunately, I'm able to do what works best in getting over a cold...rest. The only time I've gone out this week is my trip to the dentist. (And I called ahead to warn them I had the cold, but they said to just take something to suppress coughing and come on in anyway.) The rest of the time it's been stay inside, sleep 10+ hours a day, drink lots of fluids, and eat chicken soup.

It's been about a week now since the worst of the symptoms showed up, so I'm probably past the worst of it. At least, that's been my experience in the past: the worst lasts 3-4 days, then gradual improvement for another week or so. Assuming I avoid picking up another cold on top of this one, it should be mostly gone sometime next week. Looking forward to that!