Self-Medicated

When it comes to being sick, I'm actually pretty much a sissy. If I'm good and sick, I like to be taken care of. But I'd rather just not get sick. Sometimes, all it takes is informing myself that I'm not going to get sick. Sometimes, it's not that easy.

I think whatever it is I caught sneaked home from school with my wife. Unfortunately, it wasn't good at sneaking. It clogged her sinuses and gave her a sore throat (real subtle there, germs), and then went to work on making her cough. And while I was sleeping, defenseless and angelic, it sneaked across the pillow and jumped me.

Yup, I woke up with a real sore throat Tuesday. After a quick mental groan, I started my ultra-health regimen: drink water like a camel. I lost count of how much water I went through. The cup I use at work holds about 20 ounces. When I went for a refill--which happened at least once an hour--I'd fill it, drink half of it before heading back to my desk, and top it off again. How much water did I drink? Well, I happened to weigh myself after guzzling water just before bed. After only water and carbon dioxide losses overnight, I weighed nine pounds less in the morning. Yikes.

Even with the water to keep my immune system working hard, my throat was bothering me, especially before bedtime. We've got sore-throat spray, which does work well. I decided to skip it and go with a more natural approach: honey. I don't know how it works, but a spoonful of honey was excellent at soothing my throat, so I could sleep.

Last night, I headed for bed worried that I'd have to call in sick tomorrow, after less than two weeks at my new job. This morning, I woke up feeling great. My throat is still a bit sore, but my head was (and still is) clear. So here's to hoping that I kick this tonight, and tomorrow I'm able to properly take care of my still-getting-over-it wife (whom I medicated with actual medicine, because she was sicker than I was).