I am all too aware that I write/tweet/dm about being sick all the time with this pregnancy, but it’s almost my entire world right now.
However, this post is not about barfing, maternity sick.
It’s about being SICK sick.
You know, the kind of sick where you have a high fever, chills, aches, sore throat, congested chest, sinus pressure and every part of your body hurts. Even your HAIR hurts.
That?
Would be me right now.
I hate being sick.
I get sick a lot. In fact, I would say that I am probably one of the more sickly people I know without having something major huge on the medical horizon. Just a bunch of little to medium to medium big things that stack on top of one another. (I also know I am not the best at taking preventative action for a lot of these things so I take responsibility for a lot of it.)
I don’t do sick in a brave or graceful fashion, sadly. I am a total baby about it and whine when it happens. I would not have fared well as a pioneer on the planes, hauling a handcart and gaggle of children like a lot of my ancestors. I know this.
It gets worse when it is a long time getting better or if it compounds. Like now, where I am sick sick on top of being maternity sick. I’m not even sure where I got it because I rarely leave my house lately, but I now have a gross flu/cold/bubonic plague and/or alien mutant strain of all of the above on top of the barfing. So, my apologies. Seriously, if you want to just stop reading me until June when I deliver and feel better I will understand. It would get tiring to listen to all the time.
Since this seems to be a significant sickness and I don’t know when I will be able to post next, I wanted to post a list of my must-haves and comfort tips for when the plague falls on the Looney Tunes household.
MY TOP SICK TIPS:
MISO SOUP: I often eat Asian soups when I don’t feel well. They are comforting. When I feel like this, I prefer miso soup. It is heaven on a sore throat and the steam from the bowl immediately makes your nostrils feel better. If I don’t have a fever or really sore throat, I also like eggdrop soup and hot and sour soup, but for the most part miso soup is the bees knees.
A REALLY GOOD, LOTION BASED TISSUE: If you sneeze continuously or have a bad head cold, you must have good tissues. Use cheap tissue and you will feel like you are wiping your nose with sand paper in short order. It’s fine if you have the occasional sniffle but if you know you have a hard core “ICK” coming on? RUN DO NOT WALK TO BUY PUFFS PLUS. The delicate skin on the sides of your nose will thank you.
A GENTLE MASSAGE: If I can bribe or beg Jon to do it, a good lotion rub usually helps. It hydrates skin and usually helps the back pain I have from shivering with chills. Plus, massage just makes a world of difference for me.
EYUCALPTIS OIL: This really helps with congestion and smells YUMMY. I use it in lots of different ways: On hot wash clothes, a TINY dab on my nose and chest and putting it into steaming water and inhaling.
ZINC LOZENGES: The singers secret. If you have a sore throat, zinc lozenges will increase healing time by a LOT. It is a natural antibiotic. Go to any opera company or music department during cold and flu season and you will see people sucking on those babies for dear life. My professor kept a small dish of them in her office for students. They are not the best tasting thing on the planet but they work.
NASAL IRRIGATION: This is basically just what it sounds like: you are irrigating your nasal and sinus passages with liquid to clean out allergens and congestion. You can either use a sinus rinse, water, or again with the singers secrets: warm salt water.
I have done the salt water thing before performances to be able to sing. It is IMMEDIATE and totally gross, but dude…it gets the icky goop out and lasts a long time. It stings and really sucks, so I have to be pretty bad off and usually need to be performing to go through the salt water thing. Also? I do not recommend this course of action if you are dehydrated, for obvious reasons. I tried it last night because the pain in my head got pretty bad and I was in a really bad mood and I didn’t have any sinus meds, so I tried it…and ended up with a whopping nose bleed because I am pretty dehydrated from barfing. So…use caution.
Plain warm water is usually fine. Lots of people use a Netti Pot for this, but I don’t bother because I have been doing it so many years, I just use an adult ear syringe (Just like a baby syringe you use to clean out their nose, but much bigger.). If you have bad sinus congestion and need to, um, NOT…you really don’t get better than this treatment.
WARM HERBAL TEA/WATER WITH LEMON AND HONEY: Like the above tip, I have to be pretty bad off or have a performance coming up to actually do this because I am not a fan of teas, but lots of people love this. The honey coats your throat and makes it feel much better.
A WARM WASHCLOTH: My mom used this to help my poor, anti-morning person self wake up gently. It is the BEST way to slowly wake up (and way, way, WAY better than when she would burst into my room singing the BYU fight song.). Next time you have a sleepy head child? Try this. Repeat if necessary, but it ALWAYS helped me wake up better than anything.
It is also really good for comforting feverish/chilled skin. Take a lukewarm washcloth and wipe your face, neck and arms and hands. Because it is warm, it won’t shock you with tempature but then the water cools off and helps wake you up and feels good to hot, dry skin.
COLD SPOONS: I don’t know about you but when I get sick my eyes ACHE. I put a couple of big spoons in the fridge and when I stumble downstairs I can take them out and hold the backs of them against my eyelids. It feels so good and cools them down.
COLD BOTTLED DOLE PEACHES: I ALWAYS crave these when I am sick like this. And? I NEVER HAVE THEM AROUND WHEN I NEED THEM. :) I love Dole plastic bottled peaches and when they are cold they are like heaven to a fevered, dehydrated body.
A GOOD CHAPSTICK: I constantly struggle with chapped lips because I live in a desert and am perpetually low on hydration lately but when I get sick it is even more key. Feeling like crap is bad enough without cracked, bleeding lips.
COUGH SYRUP CAPSULES: I HATE COUGH SYRUP: Seriously. You know I am very ill when I beg to go to the hospital, Dr’s office or request prescription cough syrup. One of the best inventions ever is Nyquil in a capsule. I am grateful for it often.
TAKE A HAIR DRYER TO BED WITH YOU: It’s a little weird, I admit, but my husband gave me this tip from when he was growing up. Heating pads and hot water bottles are great, but when you have full body chills, this is the best way to instantly warm up your entire body. Put the dryer under your blanket (DO NOT BLOCK THE FAN, THOUGH OR YOU WILL KILL YOUR DRYER) and turn it on medium. You will warm up really fast and stop shivering. Jon likes to leave it on low for long periods, but I usually just warm up, turn it off and repeat when needed.
So, there you go. Just some tips to make being sick a little easier. I’m now worn out and going to do my last tip: SLEEP.
Do you have anything YOU do or your mom did to help the hack-hack-hacking a little more bearable?
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Sleeping a lot makes a big difference to me. I guess that’s kind of a given, but I usually take a nap every couple hours when I’m sick. For one thing, it helps restore my really low energy, and for another, it puts me out of my misery for awhile.
I’m emailing this to my husband at work right now because he is always sick and is without a doubt the biggest baby sick person I know. He’s probably at work dramatically coughing and moaning right now.
I love all of your tips and had to laugh at the hair dryer thing. I’m cold a lot and I put a heating pad under my back in the bed, even when I’m not sick.
Have you tried lotion candles? They make a massage much better.
I really want to try the Netti Pot thing sometime but I’m kind of scared to.
I do not want to cross the line here but ManicMariah always says that a good orgasm is the best medicine ever!!!!
Hope you feel better
Wow, that is a lot of great tips. I don’t have any others, but I did have one question —
What is it with the husbands having to be begged or bribed to give the wife a massage? I remember one time I had the flu, and I was down on the floor moaning and finally crying because the back aches were so bad (yes, I am also a baby), and my husband would not give me a massage. The man went TO MASSAGE SCHOOL (for a while). He has no valid excuse. Yesterday, I was coming down with mastitis, with it’s flu-like body aches. Again, he REFUSED to give me a massage. I had to get my 7 year old to do it. Sigh. I am wondering whether to push this, or develop a relationship with a massage therapist and go every week (after I fabricate the money to do so).
I agree, the Neti Pot is gross…but SOOOOOOOOOO worth it. One of my favorite things to do when I am sick is use chapstick or carmex on my chapped nose (this is obviously NOT the same one I use on my chapped lips). It sooths my sore nose until the next time I need to blow it.
Great tips! I’m so sorry you are sick! Spring is coming soon! (Even though it’s Utah, it’s still coming!) My number one item I need when I’m sick is a humidifier. The dry Utah air makes my sinuses and throat dry out, especially while I sleep, which just exacerbates whatever bug I have.
Um, no tips here, but a question…
WTH is with Bo and Hope? I’ve been watching sporadically the last few weeks and I’ve obviously missed something.
Hope you get to feeling better SOON!!
I actually have a head full of snot at the moment and it’s getting to my eyes, ears, and teeth. I’m so trying the cold spoons things. That sounds amazing to me right now.
Sort of along the lines of massage I get my husband to rub my face sort of along my eyes and sinuses to help them drain a little better. If he’s not around I can do it myself, but it’s always nicer when someone else does it.
I don’t get sick very often but when I get a sore throat, I gargle (and gag on) apple cider vinegar – it’s nasty but kills the bacteria FAST.
I use a blend of essential oils in a small bottle and then add ONE drop to a bowl of steaming hot water. Cover head w/ towel, CLOSE EYES, and breathe. You can try it with one drop of eucalyptus but it burns if your throat is sore. That’s a pretty strong oil.
Also, vicks on your feet! My instructor makes a really badass all natural vicks using a beeswax/oil blend and eucalyptus and a few other things. I love it.
I do the tea/honey thing too. Just got over a really super annoying cold and didn’t take much mor than tylenol since I’m BFing.
Hope you feel better!!!
Sorry you are not feeling well! Bummer!
I am glad to see your in favor of the neti pot (althogh you use a syringe, its the same thing, right?) I love my neti pot but am embarrassed to admit to that. My brother about died laughing when I told him about it!!
A thick layer of Vicks on your feet with warm socks knocks you out so you can sleep without coughing.
I’ll admit, I was doubtful when I heard it, but it works, and it’s heavenly. (Minus the slimy feet.) However, when you wake up in the morning, it’s like you’ve had a pedicure.
Get better friend! I should overnight you some soup, but you know I don’t cook. Can the thought count?
Feel better!
My boyfriend and I are also battling colds. He turns into a man baby when he is sick so i have to take care of myself and him, but mostly him.
I agree with most of your home remedies but cant agree more when it comes to nasal irrigation and dole peaches. I always keep fruit cups on hand just in case. As far as the nasal irrigation is concerned i use Simply Saline which they sell in drugstores. For some reason that Neti Pot thing freaks me out. I feel like i should be brewing tea in that thing.
Get better! I’m a “sicky” too, so can totally relate.
As for your tips, those are great!
Vick Vaporub smells so good. Sometimes I just like to open the cap and take a whiff.
I am hoping this passes quickly. I feel so bad for you-I remember what maternity sickness was like-thankfully I was only other sick with the maternity sickness once with each of the girls pregnancies. My thing that helps when I am really bad is a very hot shower. As hot as I can stand it. Just make sure you get out before the hot water runs out or you won’t get rid of those chills for a while. Also when you go to turn off the shower make sure you ease the temp down or you will also get serious chills. The shower normally takes a lot out of me and so then I take a very long nap.
I use a Neti-pot and I love it. The trick to making the salt water not burn your nasal cavity is to add an 1/8 of a teaspoon of baking soda, so like 1/8 t salt and 1/8 t baking soda. Works wonders, you really should try a Neti-pot Wal-Mart has them and also the health food stores do. Sorry but that syring sounds nasty! Mustard plaster for chest congestion, I’ve never done it but people swear by them!
That hair dryer tip is good- I’m totally going to try it!
Hope you feel better soon.
Sometimes I am really afraid to read posts like this because I fear I will get sick by association :-)
Hair dryer in the bed? One more warning you’ll see on the label! Like don’t use in the shower!
well llc sorry you are so sick
my mother would give me
milk toast—toast soaked in milk
a gallon of water to drink
an enama—-needless to say i could get real well to avoid the “big e”
I don’t have any tips however I am going to try most of yours! I was told yesterday that I have strep throat, a sinus infection & bronchitis .. I feel like death warmed over to say the least lol
So very sorry you are struggling mightily. I sure hope this passes soon. I wanted to comment on the hair dryer trick thingy. I recently had surgery and the #1 cool thing about it (okay, maybe the only thing after the awesomeness that was Versed) was that the gown had a built-in warm air hair dryer thingy! I wondered that the vent was for when I put it on, and when I complained that I was a little chilled, they hooked me right up to the hose that blew warm air all over my torso. Of course this was a schmancy hair dryer thingy, which eventually showed up somewhere in my $47,000 worth of bills.
Oh, I HATE being sick (As you know).
I’m totally coming back here for tips the next time we’re sick. Because you KNOW it will happen again. Sigh.
This is my first time here and I’ve been poking around and all kinds of wow is going on in my head. Sorry you’re sick but you have quite an arsenal of stuff to help feel you better! My kids always say – “Will the medicine feel me better?” I like that…
I like cold Dole peaches too! My parents raised me with that as a cure-all for sick….
i’ll be back – I just had to subscribe….
:-)
I cannot put anything up my nose, but the other tips sound awesome!
I nominated you for an award.
http://geekbymarriage.blogspot.com/
So, my big things are the Vicks Kleenexes… Those are fantastic! I also stick a few blankets and/or robes in the dryer for 10 minutes or so… I’ll get them out one at a time and exchange them as I go. But that’s only if I’m well enough to climb out of bed. But damn it all if it’s not fantastic feeling.
Another thing I love to do (this is similar to your blow dryer thing) is if you’ve got central heat and floor vents is to hoover over a vent with the heat on and a blanket wrapped around you to trap the heat. I used to do this when I was a little girl every morning in the winter.. If I was wearing a nightgown I’d just huddle up inside it (you know – where you tuck it over your knees and stick your arms in… Kind of like a tent with a head-hole) I’d have to say there is nothing more soothing than that – although that could be because of the childhood memories associated with it.
A few years ago(well, I guess almost 10 years ago) Robotussin came out with a cough syrup that is honey based. There were two kinds – one that’s just for cough, and one that is for cough and aches and pains… The one for aches and pains was AMAZING. I get THE WORST COLDS EVER that last for weeks and weeks and I used this stuff for 3 days and my cold was gone. I haven’t seen it since that year, but another company makes a similar product. It’s not quite as good (I think it’s Vicks, come to think of it) but it works. The honey filled cough drops are great too.
Hm… Aside from all that, I guess my favorite thing to do when I’m sick (unless it’s the “You don’t wanna touch me with a 10 ft pole” sick) is cozy up with my 4 year old and take a nap with some random movie playing. (We watched The Muppets Take Manhattan earlier this afternoon)
Hope you feel better soon!
So sorry you are feeling so rotten on top of the pregnancy yuck. Loved all the suggestions, especially the hair dryer. I am too in the club of wives that have to beg and plead to get a massage from her hubby! Men. Can’t live with them and you just can’t shoot them (legally). Just kidding boys! ;-)
I’m with you on the lotion tissues (we used recycled paper content type for everyday but I keep a stash of the good ones for illness). Go one better with the ecualyptus oil and add tea tree oil with the euca. to steaming water…keep eyes closed so tea tree oil doesn’t sting and breathe in as much through your nose as you can–helps kill off those nasty sinus germs as the euca. opens stuff up and the tea tree disinfects.
Hope you feel better soon.
I am so sorry you’re sick! And I so hear you about the nasal thing. That’s a must have. Also, I like to whine a LOT and beg my husband for mercy.
This winter has been truly horrible where colds are concerned. I can’t wait until it’s over.
feel better soon!
Mine are Popsicles. It sounds stupid, because they’re just sugar water, frozen, but they really are great for cooling your body down.
And I’m addicted to chap stick. My lips crave it at this point. The stick should come with a warning.
For the salt water, use un-iodized salt. It doesn’t sting and burn.
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