Fun With Virii

Yet again, it has been a while since I have paid sufficient attention to The Inn. There have been several reasons this time. None of them good news.

The most immediately pertinent has been yet another round of flu. Here’s what Al Gore’s internet had to say:

“What are flu symptoms?

“Typical clinical features of influenza include
fever (usually 100° F to 103° F in adults and often even higher in children),
respiratory symptoms such as
cough,
sore throat,
runny or stuffy nose,
headache,
muscle aches, and
fatigue, sometimes extreme.

. . . . .

“Most people who get the flu recover completely in one to two weeks, but some people develop serious and potentially life-threatening medical complications, such as pneumonia. In an average year, influenza is associated with about 20,000 deaths nationwide and many more hospitalizations.”

I missed out on the sore throat, the hospitalization, and the death but nailed all the other “features”. Two other symptoms included a complete lack of desire for either playing pipes or blogging. So for the second time in three months, I am remiss in tending to The Inn and woefully out of practice for the event I have to play for tomorrow. I do hope two doses of flu is sufficient for this year.

Flu Advice:

Chicken soup seems to help. Be forewarned: the "reduced salt" kind is tasteless.

Over-the-counter cough mixtures do nothing. If you like low-quality alcohol, you can get it much cheaper in other formats.

After the major productive coughing is over, cough drops seem to help, at least while the drops are in the mouth.

Herbal tisanes didn't cure anything. But at least some of them were remarkably comforting. Would any warm, steamy liquid have served as well? Perhaps. But if you're sitting up all night because your lungs fill up when you lie down, this stuff was a pleasantly comforting companion.

[Note: It is not yet statutory in this state, but it is the position of most courts, that taking medical advice from me will shift the burden of proving your own mental competence to you.]