Dagnabit!

I just got over bronchitis, and I feel myself getting a cold again. I had one in the very beginning of January, then the last part of January, then into the first week of February, and now I fear I'm succumbing again. I really don't get it. I don't know any adults who get colds as frequently as I do. This will be the third cold for 2009, already. What gives?

Doggone it!

I've got myself a cold again. Blech. This one's deep in the chest, and I feel like I'm hacking a lung. A few times I almost fainted after a coughing spasm. What's up with that?

General Malaise

I've got the first cold of the season. Not a terrible one, but it's a lingering one. Do you ever suspect someone to have given you a cold? I mean, if it's someone in the house, close to you, that makes sense. But last week I was at the library and the women checking me out was sniffling away, hacking up a lung at every turn, then wiping her snotty nose in between checking out my books.

Alas. They say colds come fewer and fewer as we grow older, because we've built up immunity for them all, but it seems to me I've never met a cold bug that doesn't want to move in--and bring its friends.

Fighting Again

A cold that is. Don't you hate spring and summer colds the most? Blech.

I've finally succumbed

It's the first cold of the cold season...which isn't that bad. I've been really trying to stay on top of the symptoms this year, and take preventative measures at the first sign of trouble: scratchy throat, watery eyes, sneezes, etc. I guess this cold is actually confirmation that my regimen has been working well, since a few days ago I had a few telltale random sneezes that were my body telling me that something was coming...and I didn't do anything about it like I did throughout the rest of the year. I'd say I've fought off about four colds this season, and in past years, I would have gotten three of them.

I think losing 50 pounds has been good for my immune system as well, and I've been really trying to take a one-a-day vitamin. But most of all, I think staying healthy is a matter of listening to your body. When you're 37, you know what your body feels like when it's on the cusp of catching something. I've become convinced that if you get rest, plenty of vitamin C and make a few other healthy choices, you can stave off most colds. I just wasn't vigilant enough this time around.

My current cold fighting triumvirate starts with mega doses of vitamin C at the first sign of something funky. According to my natural health book, the body can utilize and handle about 20,000-30,000 grams of vitamin C, which is the amount you need to put into your body for vitamin C to be effective. The kicker is that vitamin C is really only helpful in the prevention stage. Once your cold sets in, vitamin C isn't very helpful. Beyond the vitamin C, I use Zicam faithfully--I'm believer! Finally, on top of all of that, I like to use Airborne.

I'm planning on this being the only cold I get in 2008. We'll see how things progress.

My New Favorite

Hot drink, that is. I'm not a coffee drinker, as many of you know and tea is only an occasional thing. Hot chocolate doesn't do much for me, and when I have apple cider, I prefer it cold and unadulterated with spices or alcohol. That doesn't leave many options for hot drinks.

Since I'm fighting a cold, I wanted something hot to drink so I decided to heat some water and add lemon juice. It was tasty, but nothing very earth shattering. However, last week I bought some legendary lemons, lemons that I've never been able to find before. They're called Meyer lemons and apparently are a cross between lemons and mandarin oranges. Think of the tartness of normal lemons tempered by a floral citrus flavor, with just a hint of sweetness. I bought some of those to make a Meyer lemon/buttermilk ice cream for New Year's Eve, which was very tasty, by the way. Since I had a few leftover, I decided to heat some water this afternoon and add Meyer lemon juice instead a normal lemon.

Wow. If you can find some Meyer lemons, you won't believe how tasty just a glass of hot water is with a few squeezes of the juice from these tasty, tasty fruits.

Fighting the fight again

Fighting a cold today. I'm gonna post this in here every time I'm in the battle, since I'd like to really know how often I succumb to the darn things.

Are exchanges accepted?

I'm considering applying for a refund, or at least an exchange, on my immune system. I'm sicker than a dog, and it's hit me like Katrina.

I was sick for two weeks at Christmas, and then finally got better, though I was never completely over it. I went in to the doc last Wednesday to check on the cough that never really went away, and then over the weekend, I felt it taking over again. Now, I can hardly talk, I'm hacking up a lung, and I have what they would call a general "malaise."

I did a little googling on the common cold, and I read that most adults have three or four colds a year, at the most. Some guy at work told me that he hasn't been sick for six years. I get between eight and ten colds a year, and they stick around! It mystifies me.

I'm wondering if I have too much dust floating around the house, and so it gets my allergies going, and thus wears down my immunity. I think I'm going to have the ducts cleaned, and then get an air purifier.

I might have to call in sick to work this week, if this keeps up, and that's a real bummer. I've been really looking forward to this concert, but if you start hacking every time you breathe, that becomes a deal breaker for brass players.