[OT] Mother of all colds - anyone else get it?

[Tim Watts]

There I was, boasting the other week that I hardly got colds these days and those I got lasted a couple of days at worst.

So my daughter goes and gives me Porton Down's special brew. She of course gets better in 2 days. Sone gets it and has a week off school.

I got the full monty.

2 weeks of virus related fun - all flu like symptoms, but about 1/3 as intense, so not flu. Fever, headache, aches, nose like niagra etc.

Then I get the bonus freebie - a chest infection that actually gets me to the doctor with shortness of breath. Doc measured low blood O2 levels, gave me a week's worth of amoxycillin and a biff chit for work and boots me off to the hospital for a chest x-ray (I presume to see if I had anything bad like pneumonia).

The antibiotics are slowly working and the crappy virus parts seem to be buggering off. But this is notably the most "interesting" cold I have ever had.

Anyone else get it? My builder neighbour got flattened too and he's not one to wimp out easily.

[Bill Wright]

We've both had it, just as you describe.

Bill

[Tim Watts]

Hope you're better now...

Did it do the decent thing and go away after 2 weeks, or can I expect an encore?

[Huge]

Yep. Just before Xmas. I have a "standard regime" for colds; sore throat, runny nose, chest infection. Except that just before Xmas I got them all at once and just as the chest infection was clearing up, it all went round again. Absolute bugger.

[Mr Pounder Esquire]

It's raging in Lancashire. I know plenty of people who have had this pestilence. One is a nurse who has been in bed for the past week. She loves her work and wants to go back. Yesterday she went back to work and the hospital quite correctly sent her home.

[Brian Gaff]

The fact that antibiotics are working leads me to believe its s secondary infection to the original virus, those can be a problem even when one is young as I spent my 21st birthday with fluid on the lungs and dosed up on antibiotics. I often these days think that if a bug has not been encountered for a while you just cop it, and that is that. I'm hoping being a semi antisocial hermit, that I can avoid this one. Brian

[Cursitor Doom]

Didn't help being one of those in my case. A very nasty little virus indeed.

[Bill Wright]

It lasted from Dec 29th to Feb 7th for Hil. For me it started on Dec

29th, ended on Jan 16th, came back on Jan 19th and ended on Feb 5th.

Bill

[harry]

Yup. We've had it too.

[Mike Tomlinson]

En el artículo , Tim Watts escribió:

Exactly the same here. Lasted three weeks. Like you, the antibiotics did the trick

Mom had it during Christmas and seems to have caught it again :( bit worried as she's 77 this year.

[Tim Watts]

Bugger me!

[GB]

That would take your mind off the cold, at least.

[Henry]

It wouldn't half make his eyes water, though.

[R D S]

Same here. 'Haven't got time for that' I bragged. Fast forward to wads of bog roll stuffed up each nostril. Back at near full fitness after a week and a half of suffering, still sniffing & sneezing.

[James Wilkinson Sword]

I don't get many.

[Cursitor Doom]

Started here with me on 15th January with mild flu-like symptoms that lasted 6 days. Then I had 2 days of remission during which I assumed I'd recovered. Then it came back with a vengeance on the 23rd with full flu til the end of Jan. Knocked out my immune system and left me open for norovirus (2 days of puking every 2 hours) then Shingles which I'm still recovering from (hopefully) as I write. A seriously nasty bug.

[T i m]

Hmm, I've only that bit (runny / blocked nose, sneezing) and can (could) keep blowing my nose indefinitely and for about 2+ weeks now.

I wasn't sure if mine was an allergic reaction as none of the close family have got it (so far anyway). ;-(

Cheers, T i m

[Tim Watts]

Feck. Hope you get better soon mate...

[Andrew]

I blame the free computers in libraries.

The keyboards and mice must be covered in nasties and everyone uses them for more than a few seconds, unlike lift buttons and door handles, and the bugs thenget a good chance to get into your sweaty hands, and then it spreads all around..

As a socialist would say 'its a sharing society'.

I take vitamin D every day, in addition to kale and broccoli to help keep it at bay.

[Dave Plowman (News)]

Thought things like cold and flu bugs were airborne? No need for direct contact. It's rather lucky not that much gets through your skin. ;-)

The problem is touching something contaminated then food, etc, without washing your hands.