Topic: Sick Day (Read 10227 times)

Elizzybeth · « **on:** 16 Nov 2010, 16:55 »

I've got a fever, my voice has dropped about half an octave, and the wastebasket beside me is quickly filling up with tissues. So I'm lying on the couch in my pajamas eating Chicken Noodle O's and watching The Truman Show.

It's cold and flu season in the northern hemisphere! So I want to know, QC: what is your sick day routine?

Do you watch particular movies (my personal favorites are Ferris Bueller's Day Off and Back to the Future)? Eat particular foods (me: saltine crackers, Chicken Noodle O's, jello)? Or maybe you've got a home remedy that works for you. Basically, how do you make being sick bearable?

jmrz · « **Reply #1 on:** 16 Nov 2010, 16:58 »

Seeing as how most medicine makes me sick, I take a small amount of aspirin to get rid of the headache and tone the fever done and I take some cold and flu stuff that I can tolerate.

Then I drink a large amount of tea while curled up in bed watching back to back episodes of whatever TV series I am currently into.

Chicken noodle soup goes down pretty well.

David_Dovey · « **Reply #2 on:** 16 Nov 2010, 17:06 »

Yes, tea. Always tea. Black, with lemon and honey. I usually make a whole thermos and just park it next to the couch or wherever it is that I am stationing myself for the day. I also typically watch the whole Lord of the Rings movie trilogy, while drifting in and out of consciousness.

Metope · « **Reply #3 on:** 16 Nov 2010, 17:09 »

I'm sick as well! Since I arrived in Scotland 2 months ago I've been sick 3 times (and also once back in Norway right before leaving, that's 4 colds since August), so I'm fairly experienced in this 'sick day' thing. Today I got up early, stuffed my face with paracetamol, nose spray and tissues. Ran to school with a cup of tea in my hand, sat in a room filled with turpentine and oil gasses for 8 hours before I climbed to a rooftop and got naked there for a friend's photo project. Pretty sure it was almost freezing, I could see my own breath at least. Then I went to the pub for beers, and now I'm staying up way too late, not getting enough sleep before I have to get up early for school again tomorrow. I had soup at some point I guess, so at least I did something right!

Avec · « **Reply #4 on:** 16 Nov 2010, 17:14 »

Being sick gives me an excuse to buy/drink expensive teas while reading books I've yet to finish. As for food, I'm never really hungry while I'm sick.

Lunchbox · « **Reply #5 on:** 16 Nov 2010, 17:18 »

I get migraines a lot and need to spend the day at home. I just sleep all day. I'm pretty excellent at sleeping. It is a bit harder when you have a migraine though.
If I really can't sleep I get on Meebo since there are usually people around when it's the middle of the day here. I generally don't eat or drink because I'm never home enough to have any food in the house.
Due to the fact that I work 8:30 - 6:00 every weekday, I always feel guilty that I'm not out thrifting or photographing when I have the day off to use the sunlight. Oh well.

Also Kris I don't think naked on a rooftop is the ideal remedy for colds?

Scandanavian War Machine · « **Reply #6 on:** 16 Nov 2010, 17:19 »

being a 23 year old child masquerading as an adult, I recently had to take care of myself when very sick for the first time.

I was woefully unprepared. I had no crackers or soup or juice or anything remotely useful. Eventually my roomate gave me a ride down the street to a gas station so I could get some cranberry juice and ginger ale (mixing those together is my preferred method of hydration when sick, it's awesome and delicious)

the advent of Netflix instant streaming has made being sick stupidly tolerable. "Oh, hello there, first two seasons of Parks & Rec. Why, yes, I will watch every single episode of you in a day, thanks for asking."

Metope · « **Reply #7 on:** 16 Nov 2010, 17:22 »

Quote from: Lunchbox on 16 Nov 2010, 17:18

Also Kris I don't think naked on a rooftop is the ideal remedy for colds?

Probably not, but at least my friend will have some cool shots for her project. We'll see if it made any difference in the morning, it's not like I climb rooftops naked each time I'm sick! It's more every third time actually.

tania · « **Reply #8 on:** 16 Nov 2010, 17:35 »

either i don't ever truly get sick or i am just too stupid to take proper care of myself but honestly i just kind of like, ignore it and carry on living my life. i think the last time i was truly sick enough to have to take a day off school/work was maybe three or four years ago.

wait, i do actually remember, it was october 2007. i remember because tommy was the one who made me sick when he visited. fuck you, tommy.

JimmyJazz · « **Reply #9 on:** 16 Nov 2010, 17:35 »

I usually take an Advil/Dayquil or two, make myself some tea and some soup (usually homemade meso soup, yum), curl up in bed and listen to music/watch movies/catch up on TV shows. Pretty run-of-the-mill stuff, but sick days gimme a chance to focus and revisit some favorite albums and movies of mine. Plus last year during my 2 week long battle with stomach flu I watched all of The Wire.

michaelicious · « **Reply #10 on:** 16 Nov 2010, 17:46 »

I burrow under a mountain of blankets and read.

negative creep · « **Reply #11 on:** 16 Nov 2010, 17:46 »

Warm beer right before going to bed works pretty well for me, if it's a regular cold. That and lots of tea during the day.

Snuffletrout · « **Reply #12 on:** 16 Nov 2010, 17:58 »

When having the flu, as a kid, my mom usually gave me regular coke and salty potato chips, and lots of comic books to entertain myself since daytime TV is torture. (The fantastic choice between Neighbours, Glamour or Days of our Lives) I've sort of kept to that standard.

With colds, nothing special, I seem to get them too often.

Tea with honey is great though, although lately Ive taken a liking to black coffee with a teaspoon of honey instead.. Oh and if you're "clogged up" and don't have any nosespray, just boil some water with some salt in it and when its done put a blanket over your head and the casserole and breathe in. It helps.

Anyway... Get well!

scarred · « **Reply #13 on:** 16 Nov 2010, 18:02 »

Actually I was sick a few weeks ago and I watched the entire second season of Buffy in two days while huddled under blankets drinking nothing but green tea with honey.

If it gets really bad I'll drop a few alka-seltzer and conk out for a day.

Blue Kitty · « **Reply #14 on:** 16 Nov 2010, 18:33 »

Usually I spend the whole day in bed, waking briefly to bombard my system with chicken noodle soup and a handful of cold remedies.

I learned today that you shouldn't take aspirin when you have a fever because you may contract Reye's Syndrome. This scares me and makes me wonder why I haven't heard of it before.

Inlander · « **Reply #15 on:** 16 Nov 2010, 18:39 »

I don't get sick very often, and I can't remember the last time I was so sick that I was bed-ridden (it would've been some time when I was still living with my parents, so at least seven years ago), so my sick day routine is usually just to struggle through. Basically when I'm sick it's like having a hangover: I can function but everything takes me about three times as long to do and my brain is only functioning at about half its normal capacity.

I don't like taking drugs so I very rarely take any medecine. Fortunately my body's very good at telling me what I ought to be eating at any given time so when I'm sick I usually get cravings for red meat so I tend to eat a lot of that to give myself a big protein and iron hit. (Normally I don't eat much red meat at all.) I'll try to go to bed much earlier than usual when I'm sick, to give myself as much rest as possible. I occupy myself by doing things that aren't intellectually taxing - so usually watching crappy TV or DVDs. If I'm feeling not too bad I'll try to go for a walk or a bike ride to get a bit of blood circulation happening and that usually makes me feel better.

Lines · « **Reply #16 on:** 16 Nov 2010, 18:59 »

My favorite things to do when sick are get up and take whatever meds I need and then immediately go back to sleep, because usually that will make me feel well enough to shuffle someplace that isn't the bathroom. (It's easy to shuffle to my bathroom, it's right next to my room.) Then I cozy up on the couch with peppermint tea and watch a movie from childhood, mostly animated ones. (Sometimes I might watch Miyazaki, but usually it's Disney or something similar.) If I eat, it's chicken noodle soup and Ritz crackers. Lots of water. Maybe juice. I carry my jar of honey with me when my throat is sore. (Works just as well as a cough drop and it tastes better.)

Basically I don't go anywhere without my quilt and tend to curl up on squishy furniture. If I'm at my mom's, add cuddling with my cat to all of that. Other than the whole being sick part, I quite like my sick days.

Graphite · « **Reply #17 on:** 16 Nov 2010, 19:16 »

I haven't been sick enough to stay home in a long time, but when I am, it's usually dry toast or noodle soup made with packet chicken stock, and either cable television or old taped episodes of Gilmore Girls.

Darkbluerabbit · « **Reply #18 on:** 16 Nov 2010, 21:17 »

I pretty much just go about my day. If it's bad I'll take to carrying large mugs of tea saturated with honey so that I'm able to speak. I feel like I'm going to be miserable whether I'm home on the couch or at class/work doing what needs to be done, so I may as well learn/get paid. Sometimes this leads to me being sent home from work. Not usually class. Professors don't typically give a shit as long as your sniffling/moaning/dry-heaving doesn't disrupt their lecture.

I've also had some pretty awesome experiences having to take care of myself while living on my own and trying to be a grownup. Usually the worst I have to do is shuffle sniffling to the store and spend too long forcing my mucus-clogged brain to decide whether the tissues with lotion are worth the extra 50 cents (Answer: Yes). This summer though, I got this awful stomach bug and couldn't keep anything down for very long. I was trying to be smart and stay hydrated, and the only thing I wanted to consume was juice. After I finished the carton in my fridge, I waited till I thought I was okay, then tried to drive myself to the store, and wound up puking OJ all over myself because I couldn't pull over fast enough. Then I did pull over and puked some more while a guy smoked his cigarette and stared at me. It was a glorious moment in my life.

Aurjay · « **Reply #19 on:** 16 Nov 2010, 21:34 »

routine for me is usually waking up at 4am to go to sick call. Waiting in a small room with every other sick or injured person and secretly judging them as not being as sick as me. After about 3 hours i spend 5min with a medic that low and behold tells me im sick. They right me a prescription that is way more than i'll ever use and tells me to suck it up and go to work. When i was younger life was so much easier id stay in bed all day eating chicken and stars and watching cartoons. I miss them days and I especially miss chicken and stars. That stuff was amazing.

Edith · « **Reply #20 on:** 16 Nov 2010, 21:44 »

Whiskey for a cough, sometimes mixed with honey. My dad says canadian mist, but I prefer bourbon.

McTaggart · « **Reply #21 on:** 16 Nov 2010, 21:57 »

Since primary school I think I have taken one sick day and one getting-my-wisdom-teeth-out day. I would probably drink a lot of tea and burn the day posting on the internet.

Elizzybeth · « **Reply #22 on:** 16 Nov 2010, 22:59 »

Quote from: Darkbluerabbit on 16 Nov 2010, 21:17

I was trying to be smart and stay hydrated, and the only thing I wanted to consume was juice. After I finished the carton in my fridge, I waited till I thought I was okay, then tried to drive myself to the store, and wound up puking OJ all over myself because I couldn't pull over fast enough. Then I did pull over and puked some more while a guy smoked his cigarette and stared at me. It was a glorious moment in my life.

Ugh, the idea of puking while driving terrifies me. I am sorry that happened to you!

Also, yeah, I'm more likely to go to school/work than stay home unless absolutely necessary. Today I lucked out, because I scheduled myself this quarter so that I have three 14- to 18-hour days per week, leaving Tuesdays and Thursdays to grade / study (for my comprehensive exam, which I just found out I passed, woo!) / write papers / apply to graduate schools--meaning that when I shirked all of it today, I was accountable to no one! (I may regret it later.)

Quote from: Linds on 16 Nov 2010, 18:59

Then I cozy up on the couch with peppermint tea and watch a movie from childhood, mostly animated ones. (Sometimes I might watch Miyazaki, but usually it's Disney or something similar.)

Ah, yay! I almost forgot--my routine often (though not today) includes some Disney. Have you seen the trailer for the new Winnie the Pooh movie? It will be based on real A.A. Milne stories (like the old movie, unlike the New Adventures), and I am embarrassingly excited about it.

Spluff · « **Reply #23 on:** 16 Nov 2010, 23:19 »

I basically don't get sick, except that every few years I'll get a case of gastro, in which case my routine is to lie on the couch, watch TV, and try and force down bland food in between bouts of hurling.

snalin · « **Reply #24 on:** 17 Nov 2010, 01:29 »

I usually lie in bed and topple my top score in Spelunky, or I get into the couch to play Kingdom Hearts or Super Mario 64. Tea is a standard, I usually drink only rose hip with a teaspoon of sugar, and mix it with different kinds of bullshit herbal pills and loads of fruit.

Van donk III · « **Reply #25 on:** 17 Nov 2010, 01:30 »

On any given flu/cold/hangover I've had, I've been in the postition where staying at home is not an option due to work, so I usually attack any sickness with a shitload of stuff at once and then just work through it and sweat it out.

Lucozade X 2
Sugar and salt rich snacks
800mgs Ibuprofen
generic cold/flu hot drink
more sugar, buscuits cookies etc
lots of water
a bout of masturbation can help too!

pump that sickness out etc etc

This usually kills off any sickness within a few hours for me

ummmkay · « **Reply #26 on:** 17 Nov 2010, 04:03 »

i rarely get sick and when i do, i usually feel too guilty/stressed about all the things i should be doing to take a real sick day. i would love to have a day off all to myself to curl up in bed and read or watch netflix. i want a sick day!

Radical AC · « **Reply #27 on:** 17 Nov 2010, 04:12 »

I drink copious amounts of water.
Take extra insulin and monitor my BS.
Take any over the counter drug that can help me.
As a said diabetic if I get the flu I get me some tamiflu.

I lie down next to the heater and try to sleep until it is gone.

allison · « **Reply #28 on:** 17 Nov 2010, 04:43 »

I don't get very sick very often, but the best thing for me to do when I'm sick is just whine! All day long. I eat plain toast and drink ginger ale if it is a stomach flu, but if it's a cold I'll drink black or peppermint tea with honey and probably not eat all that much. Then I bum around on the internet or in front of the TV and life is okay.

Also! To people who pride themselves on not taking sick days: just do it. If you are sick, and you are going to school or work or whatever, you are spreading your germs! If you take a sick day you can probably prevent other people from getting what you have. It also gives you time to recover and you will do better work when you are well-rested. You are people too! People get sick, this is understandable. Just take a dang day to feel better.

ibrahimdelil · « **Reply #29 on:** 17 Nov 2010, 04:57 »

i get ill for a few days every fall, and thats about it. over the years i've worked out a formula that works very well for me: peppermint, basil, lemon, hibiscus, nigella sativa seeds (idk what you guys call it), a little cinnamon and ginger, all made into a disgusting tea and sweetened with honey. it usually works wonders. if it doesn't, it means that i'll have a terrible fever and won't be able to get out of bed for 2-3 days so i take anything with paracetamol in it. also water. gallons of water.

BlahBlah · « **Reply #30 on:** 17 Nov 2010, 05:37 »

I took a ridiculous amount of days off school in 5th year and I think I wasted every one of them aimlessly looking stuff up on the internet.
Also I was in the same boat as kris for about 3 weeks but I magically got better last week. I couldn't actually take any sick days tho.

BeoPuppy · « **Reply #31 on:** 17 Nov 2010, 05:42 »

The usual migraine stuff I handle with super-super hot showers which chill me out and then loads of sleep.

Other illnesses usually are large infections of some kind, which I seem to be prone mainly due to having rather bad skin, and thus they require anti-biotics and raised hand, foot whatever, so loads of TV series.

Barmymoo · « **Reply #32 on:** 17 Nov 2010, 05:43 »

I'm on a super-long sick day at the moment and I spend most of each day sleeping and watching iPlayer. Toast is good comfort food

valley_parade · « **Reply #33 on:** 17 Nov 2010, 05:48 »

I should have stayed home today, but I have a meeting and shit.

And said meeting is right at the end of the day. Urrrg.

Lines · « **Reply #34 on:** 17 Nov 2010, 05:53 »

Quote from: Elizzybeth on 16 Nov 2010, 22:59

Ah, yay! I almost forgot--my routine often (though not today) includes some Disney. Have you seen the trailer for the new Winnie the Pooh movie? It will be based on real A.A. Milne stories (like the old movie, unlike the New Adventures), and I am embarrassingly excited about it.

Aww, that's adorable! I'm glad they're interacting with the book again. The old movie was one I'd watch when I had it, but I don't know what happened to it.

KharBevNor · « **Reply #35 on:** 17 Nov 2010, 06:24 »

Strepsils
Weed
Builders tea
Websites about urban exploration or the Soviet space program or something

valley_parade · « **Reply #36 on:** 17 Nov 2010, 06:36 »

Eff this shit. I think I'm going to take a half day today.

Tentative plans at home: lay on the couch, sip tea, and watch the US/South Africa game.

Buttfranklin · « **Reply #37 on:** 17 Nov 2010, 09:54 »

Ibuprofen or something for a sore throat.

I can manage most sicknesses, but sore throats take a lot out of me because it hampers my ability to talk and interact socially.

Caleb · « **Reply #38 on:** 17 Nov 2010, 10:37 »

Gargle hot salt water. Blow my nose and head to work.

(I never get sick enough to to have a "sick day")

Inlander · « **Reply #39 on:** 17 Nov 2010, 14:45 »

You'll never be an Australian with that attitude.

David_Dovey · « **Reply #40 on:** 17 Nov 2010, 15:21 »

Hey can we just assume all of the posts after this one are prefaced with the words "I rarely ever get sick but" because apparently everyone on this board is a fucking dynamo.

I got really sick when I was in Memphis a couple of months ago, I coughed so hard I threw up a couple of times. Like, literally, there was nothing wrong with my stomach and I didn't feel queasy beforehand, it was just the convulsive action of the coughing fits forced me to eject the contents of my stomach. Then I'd go eat BBQ pork and feel all better.

Quote from: Edith on 16 Nov 2010, 21:44

Whiskey for a cough, sometimes mixed with honey. My dad says canadian mist, but I prefer bourbon.

My girlfriend told me about this one as well. It actually works? Because I would be all over that if it did.

Inlander · « **Reply #41 on:** 17 Nov 2010, 15:27 »

Nah, you just get drunk so you can't tell the difference.

David_Dovey · « **Reply #42 on:** 17 Nov 2010, 15:34 »

Lunchbox · « **Reply #43 on:** 17 Nov 2010, 15:34 »

Sometimes if I feel like I'm getting a cold, a shot of whiskey does the trick and clear it up before it gets worse.

Also yeah you people and your 'never getting sick' business make me sick. I'm ALWAYS sick with something or other no matter how many vitamins and vegetables I take.

Cartilage Head · « **Reply #44 on:** 17 Nov 2010, 15:40 »

I am prone to sinus problems so I get sick all the time. I blanket up and watch television or write. I usually want to play videogames, but it worsens my headache. TV and writing also worsen it but less so, and what am I supposed to do, NOTHING?

Also I make lists.

Inlander · « **Reply #45 on:** 17 Nov 2010, 15:48 »

Oh man I can't manage to write at all when I'm sick. My brain just crashes completely.

Liz · « **Reply #46 on:** 17 Nov 2010, 16:50 »

I am sniffly and my throat is sore and I can't breathe through my nose and I am so sleepy.

Being sick sucks.

Drill King · « **Reply #47 on:** 17 Nov 2010, 19:29 »

I usually get sick all the time, but the past two months I've been well!!!!!

I usually try and fight through it cause if I stay at home I get behind in everything. But if I stay at home I usually drink tea and whine, I try and convince someone to come and comfort me. I am a big baby. But I actually quite like being sick sometimes, because then people let me be the wimp.

I am almost always sick, sucks.

tania · « **Reply #48 on:** 17 Nov 2010, 19:39 »

Quote from: Lunchbox on 17 Nov 2010, 15:34

Also yeah you people and your 'never getting sick' business make me sick.

not everyone is lucky enough to be a genetic superhuman like me, unfortunately

no but seriously if it makes you feel any better i make up for my awesome immune system by being absolutely batshit insane crazy in like, 500 different ways

Lunchbox · « **Reply #49 on:** 17 Nov 2010, 22:11 »

Maybe I need to eat more food off the floor.

(Who am I kidding, I eat food off the floor all of the time.)

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Author Topic: Sick Day (Read 10227 times)