How To Weather A Cold
My colds trend brutal, and as I get older my colds are somehow getting weirder and worse. By day four I’m just grateful to have avoided the “nosebleed stage”, if I did. By day 7 I forget I ever had a cold and I’m back to letting people on the TTC sneeze directly in my face. Here’s my step-by-step guide to surviving a cold, which I’ll need about six months from now.
Day 1
I know it’s Day 1 when these two things happen at the same time:
- My throat is a little scratchy
- I sneeze twice in 10 minutes
If that happens, it’s on. Being sick is a mental battle, and the most important part of Day 1 is to speedrun through the denial and bargaining stages of grief and simply accept that I’m going to be sick. This will leave lots of time for the anger phase.
The second most important part is to gather supplies, while I still can. For me, this includes:
The final part is to cancel all engagements for the next week. All of them.
Day 2
On Day 2 I’m usually well enough to stand and move and I use that energy to prepare for darker days ahead. I start by setting up a cozy little nest, which will become gradually more horrible as the days go on. This needs to be a place where I can go from sitting to lying fluidly, and to have enough hard surfaces to keep my supplies at hand. If I have more energy still, now’s the time to make soup, or some other food for the next few days because things are going to escalate quickly. Overall, I make sure I’m comfortable (i.e., I turned the A/C up, I’m running a humidifier, and I’m wearing sweat pants).
Days 3-5
Days 3-5 are the real deal. Depending on how sick I am, this ranges from taking it easy while still checking in on work all the way to nearing a psychotic break. The cruel twist of being sick is that treating the symptoms of sickness is very difficult while sick. Alas, I must persevere. Here are my keys to success:
- Maximize rest. Sleep as much as possible. Sickness is so hard on the body it’s very easy to sleep through most of the day and still sleep at night. In the coming days, sleeping at night may become so difficult you’ll be thankful for whatever few hours of sleep you caught during the day. Also, lying down seems to be the only thing that stops me sneezing
- Treat the symptoms. 90% of a cold is the body’s wild overreaction to the incoming virus. Treating the symptoms aggressively really helps. This includes but is not limited to drinking a lot of fluids, rinsing (or steaming) the sinuses, eating honey and so on. I generally do not take cold medicine because I find that it doesn’t help that much and prolongs my colds
- Be low-key bored. It’s very hard to enjoy anything at this point, but it’s important to keep distracted. I usually re-watch movies, listen to podcasts or audiobooks, or do something similar that requires minimal movement or brain power
- Understand your experience. Everyone’s colds are different. I get a lot of comfort from researching my symptoms, though I know this is not for everyone. Understanding my specific situation helps me get through the day
- Don’t gremlin too hard. I always take a hot shower and change my clothes every morning of a cold. I find this helps me clear my sinuses even for a minute, and improves my mood. This goes a long way!
- Move around a little. I stay in my warm nest most of the time, but changing positions and moving around a bit can really help. During the hard days, cooking a simple meal can be just the right amount of effort and time
- Hang in there. Remember: this too shall pass
Day 6
Day 6 is the day when I know I’ve turned a corner. It’s a “thick mucus” day, which makes it distinctive and disgusting. At this point it’s important to not get cocky. Stay the course on recovery, keep resting.
Day 7
Day 7 tends to be the final day of a cold. At this point I feel pretty much completely normal, aside from probably having a horrible sinus headache when I bend down, which will resolve on its own in a few days. Time to close out the cold!