{"id":4708,"date":"2009-09-07T00:20:41","date_gmt":"2009-09-07T04:20:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/horizonsmagazine.com\/blog\/?p=4708"},"modified":"2016-07-27T07:50:36","modified_gmt":"2016-07-27T12:50:36","slug":"why-do-i-give-myself-a-head-cold","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/horizonsmagazine.com\/blog\/why-do-i-give-myself-a-head-cold\/","title":{"rendered":"Why do I give myself a head cold if I know I am giving it to myself?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"juicing<\/a>I took a nap Saturday and woke up about 4:00pm with a sore throat and congested sinuses. At first I couldn’t be sure that it wasn’t just allergies clogging my head, and snoring that gave me the sore throat.\u00a0 But a few hours later, I could tell it was a headcold coming on.\u00a0 I’m pretty good about washing my hands frequently, especially if I’ve been to the market or post office and been handling money and mail.\u00a0 I immediately created a nest in the living room, next to my new Big Puffy Chair.\u00a0 I had my bottles of water there, packets of Emergen C<\/a> and Breathe Easy Tea<\/a> and Throat Coat Tea<\/a>.\u00a0 I’d gone into my arsenal of cold remedies and read up on Tips to Treat Colds and Flu the ‘Natural’ Way<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0learned the importance of Juicing for the Common Cold<\/a>.\u00a0 I began using my neti pot <\/a>to irrigate my sinuses, and I made sure to not eat any mucous causing (acid) foods<\/a>: meat and bread is as mucous forming as milk and cheese, although most people don’t know that.\u00a0 I put apples and oranges at the nest also, along with throat lozenges, a liquid decongestant\/ antihistamine, boxes of kleenex and my vitamins. \u00a0I had some\u00a0Guaifenesin \u2013 Generic Mucinex<\/a>, so if I was going down for the count, I’d be prepared.<\/p>\n

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I<\/span>\u00a0made some Facebook posts about the cold.\u00a0 It gives me something concrete to do and helps me see that I am improving, rather than sitting around feeling miserable:<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

Sat 6pm:\u00a0 all right, my holistic health buddies out there: 2 hours ago my left sinus became completely clogged. No relief yet. Do you have a natural remedy for me, or do I have to go all Google on it?<\/span><\/p>\n

Sat 9pm:\u00a0 has some kind of something moving through my sinuses and now the throat is sore also – oh no, you don’t! Neti pot, vitamin C, hot lemon juice with cayenne, this will be over by morning *hold the vision with me*<\/span><\/p>\n

Sunday morning: is gargling with warm salt water<\/span><\/p>\n

Sunday: is staying in today to coddle the headcold moving through my sinuses. I will celebrate by getting stoned on over the counter decongestants and listening to Fred’s rebroadcast of the Woodstock 40th Anniversary Show on www.fmodyssey.com<\/span><\/p>\n

Sunday: is glad I eat a natural healthy diet so when I allow a cold virus take hold, it moves through my system really quickly without much discomfort. Of course the more I talk to you about it, the longer I have it \ud83d\ude42<\/span><\/p>\n

Sunday evening: Finally, the sore throat is gone 24 hours later, now working on the head congestion. A lazy day, lazing around in my big puffy chair. Life is good!<\/span><\/p>\n

Sunday: is going to stretch out and do some yoga and breathing in the shade in the back yard<\/span><\/p>\n

Sunday: may go to the store for some fresh fruit if I can make myself get up<\/span><\/p>\n

Monday 4am:\u00a0 I woke up dreaming I was blowing my nose, and was finally able to blow it! The cold is almost over.<\/span><\/p>\n

Monday 4:15am ok, have been up for 15 minutes… back to bed for me<\/span><\/p>\n

Monday 8am: is feeling better each time I wake up (2 boxes of kleenex later). I can breathe out of one nostril now! Off to the store for some decongestant, which will also resolve the thunderhead. I feel like my own biology project this weekend \ud83d\ude42<\/span><\/p>\n

Monday 9am: oh neat, now I get to research what to do about a fever. I bought nectarines and V8 at the store. The fever must be cooking me so I’ll be all better later on today. Cook on.<\/span><\/p>\n

Monday 9:30am: ah, the head cold has now migrated to the chest – head feels better – glad it’s on the move!<\/span><\/p>\n

### end of Facebook posts.<\/span><\/p>\n

I was glad for the down time to reflect on why I’d given myself a cold.\u00a0 I only do this every few years.\u00a0 Give myself a cold, that is.\u00a0 I eat healthy, natural foods with not much meat, so my immune system stays very strong.\u00a0 Anything moving through it tends to do so quickly enough, so I am never in discomfort long.\u00a0 I did have to reschedule five phone appointments, and I immediately went into voice rest to help heal up the sore throat.\u00a0 That was my big focus.\u00a0 I began gargling every hour with warm salt water and by Sunday sundown the sore throat had abated.\u00a0 Yay!<\/span><\/p>\n

So why do I give myself these head colds if I know I am giving them to myself?\u00a0 I used to ask myself that question but the answer was obvious.\u00a0 When I am feeling inundated with people in my face and need a break from it, I give myself a headcold.\u00a0 I don’t mean to.\u00a0 I don’t do it on purpose.\u00a0 But every few years it just happens.<\/span><\/p>\n

The symptoms are real.\u00a0 The sinuses fill up.\u00a0 The throat closes up.\u00a0 Water pours out of my eyes.\u00a0 Whether I treat it or not, it lasts 2-4 days.<\/span><\/p>\n

So I no longer fight it.\u00a0 I no longer whine about it.\u00a0 I simply settle myself in for a few days of rest and inactivity.\u00a0 I pamper myself with hot baths, hot tea and lots of naps in the Big Puffy Chair.<\/span><\/p>\n

I turn the tv on and watch it.\u00a0 I make frequent trips outside, for quick walks in the woods, to stave off the cabin fever.\u00a0 I spend lots of time in my soft bed so I don’t get achey from the Big Puffy Chair.<\/span><\/p>\n

I celebrate my rest time, rather than begrudge it.\u00a0I may as well enjoy it as long as I created it, huh?<\/span><\/p>\n

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