Bud I nebber ged codes

[WClarkB]

Vit C and zinc are at best preventatives and do nothing to reduce the duration of a URI (cold).
Fluids are important just to keep your secretions more liquid.
Paracetamol (acetomenophen) sounds like a help for your head or fever if (when ) you experience it but you may well need a decongestant to open your sinuses (why your head hurts in the first place) Pseudoephedrine or Phenylephrine (if you have no hypertension concerns).
No one has mentioned getting a vaporizer but it helps keep the humidity in your room up and reduces the rawness to your throat. If you start having a cough, guafenisin helps thin out the secretions and dextromethorophan can decrease the dry cough.
All these are OTC and just look at the med labels to find them. Avoid those with paracetamol in them as you will get a double dose which may poison you.

It is important to treat colds as the duration without treatment can be as long as 2 weeks but the duration with treatment is only 14 days.

Drink scotch

[O'Callaghan]

Pretty sure I've got the flu. I don't know if it's the piggy variety, but it doesn't feel any worse than normal. I'm not often sick, so I suppose I'm about due.

[piperdbh]

Pretty sure I've got the flu. I don't know if it's the piggy variety, but it doesn't feel any worse than normal. I'm not often sick, so I suppose I'm about due.

If it's swine flu, you'll need some oinkment.
If it's bird flu, you'll need a tweetment.

My unsolicited advice is to invest in a new toothbrush once you're feeling better. One of my cousins reinfected herself with strep throat twice because of the germs/bacteria on her toothbrush.

Old movies can help you feel better. I recommend "The Crimson Pirate".

[WClarkB]

If it's swine flu, you'll need some oinkment.
If it's bird flu, you'll need a tweetment.

My unsolicited advice is to invest in a new toothbrush once you're feeling better. One of my cousins reinfected herself with strep throat twice because of the germs/bacteria on her toothbrush.

Old movies can help you feel better. I recommend "The Crimson Pirate".

While humans can get streptococcus infections again and again, we don't get the exact same VIRAL infection again. The cousins got the strep from the same place they got the original: other kids with strep.doesn't last long outside the body.

[EagleJCS]

It is important to treat colds as the duration without treatment can be as long as 2 weeks but the duration with treatment is only 14 days.

Ummm.... so treatment or no treatment, you're gonna be sick for 14 days or two weeks, whichever comes first?

In that case, just make yourself comfortable and wait it out Pleater!

[WClarkB]

Ummm.... so treatment or no treatment, you're gonna be sick for 14 days or two weeks, whichever comes first?

In that case, just make yourself comfortable and wait it out Pleater!

Nothing gets by you!!

[Heming]

Being of the morbid school of thought, I always say that any illness has a 50% chance of killing me - either it kills me or it doesn't. I know I'm a nutter, but that actually cheers me up whenever I'm a bit under the weather ;-). If I die I'll know why, and if I don't I'll be at work tomorrow!

The local propaganda in my neck of the woods says that the piggy-plague is just a normal flu with a scary name, and that it has killed only 10% of the people it needs to kill to match the ordinary flu in an average year. That may of course all be wretched lies, but it makes me smile. Actually it probably IS a lie, since it's the official story from the national papers.

Anyway, my preferred cold and flu cure is blankets and TV, both in large helpings, and chicken soup if I can get it.

[WClarkB]

The local propaganda in my neck of the woods says that the piggy-plague is just a normal flu with a scary name, and that it has killed only 10% of the people it needs to kill to match the ordinary flu in an average year. That may of course all be wretched lies, but it makes me smile. Actually it probably IS a lie, since it's the official story from the national papers.

Strangely it seems to have a predilection for children under 6 and HALF of the deaths are in previously WELL kids (no chronic disease).

The death rate from H1N1 is about the same as seasonal flu when checked but right now MOST places are no longer even checking whether it is A1N1 so it is difficult to say unless you are sick enough to be at risk of dying.

As an aside, I think that I have seen more disease and the few deaths from flu I have seen from people believing the conspiracy mongers (don't get the vaccine!!!) then from people following the recommendations. What do you think they are trying to do?

[Bigkahuna]

In all seriousness, the bad thing about the H1N1 virus is that it overwhelms the system very quickly. We have had several early 30s, apparently healthy people die from this bug. If your symptoms are lasting more than 48 hours with a high fever, please seek medical help asap.

[Pleater]

Still alive - so far temperature maxed out at 100.5, and has now dropped to under 99.

If there are a disproportionate number of deaths in youngsters, then I suspect that there must have been a virus around shortly before they were born which is providing partial immunity to those who had it.

I'm still feeling really ill, but bearing up with fortitude - and the rum help.

Unfortunately I cannot drink whiskey - nor whisky - for pleasure - well - OK I can drink malts, but at the moment I could not taste them so it would be close to criminal.

It is very strange when my sense of taste/smell switches off - I used to do taste testing for Allied Lyons, so it is fairly accute - and when it goes away it is most odd.

It does mean that I can eat packaged food though. I could eat the packet as well and not notice.

Anne the Pleater