09.23.08
Bloody Viruses. No sign of Zombies yet.
My daughter got a cold three weeks ago. I thought she got it from someone at school but It turns out someone in the larger family gave it to her after thinking they were better. 
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This ones not your average 24 hour bug. Sitting in the lungs causing no end of coughing it wears you down. A week and a bit after Sophie got it she gave it to the rest of the family. Even super fit Laurence has started suffering from it. My wife totally lost her voice with it one day and had to stay off the phones.
I’ve had it for a week and a half now and the cough is changing. There’s less chest pain, but much more phlegm which I’m guessing is what helps make it airborne and pass it on. Sleeping properly when coughing so much isn’t easy and as there were no signs of improvement I got fed up with it enough to visit the GP. The Doc wrote up a prescription for antibiotics, but told me to wait until mid week before taking them in case an extra couple of days would see a change for the better. Unless I’m suddenly better in the morning that was just wishful thinking!
A comment I got from the nurse rang a bell. She reminded me of the age old saying that I’d been told by my grandparents. It’s why I’d stayed out of the reception until the very last minute while others had sat down to cough all over each other.
“Coughs and Sneezes Spread Diseases” See the illustration by Herbert Mayo Bateman, October 1942.
So no “28 Days Later” apocalyptic monsters just yet, but I’m sure there are plenty of people ignoring it and passing it around, allowing the virus to find more hosts to try and mutate in. Lets hope it dies off soon. I’d tried calling my team leader to say I was still out sick, turns out he’s out sick too. I’m curious to know how many people have had this or are suffering with it now. From the longer than normal line of people at the Doctors on Monday morning I’d guess a few.
Top Tip: If you find yourself on a train and the person sitting opposite you coughs or sneezes in your direction close your eyes for the next 30 seconds. Apparently a lot of colds get filtered out in the nose but manage to get into the blood stream via the eyes. Also wash your hands and any fruit you might eat.
Why do I hate colds so much? Someone passed me the Epstein-Barr virus around Jan 2007. It’s though to have triggered the major problem I had with my lymph nodes and the resulting six months off sick feeling like I had the longest dose of the Flu imaginable.
If you have a cold please do the rest of the population a favour and minimise it’s spreading to others!