#Colds

[kushamiqueen]

Went to sleep with a tingly throat.

Woke up and almost lost my voice.

Throughout the day I can feel my nose stuffing up.

I just need to get through this week 😭

[tealin]

Mucus Buster

Everyone's got lingering congestion this year, so as someone who's no stranger to phlegm, and inherited the folk wisdom of a stage actress (the show must go on!) I share with you my recipe for making things better:

2L water

the juice and rind of one lemon (just dump the juiced rinds in, don't zest them, you maniac)

a small thumb of fresh ginger, sliced in coins

about a dozen cloves, some star anise, peppercorns, and maybe whole cinnamon or allspice or whatever else you like, in a tea ball (except the cinnamon if it doesn't fit, obvs)

good dollop of honey, to taste

Bring the water to a boil then dump in all the stuff. Keep it hot but not boiling – a slow cooker is good for this. Keep this pot on a low heat all day and serve yourself a mug every so often, adding water as necessary. At some point you will need to add a new lemon and some more honey, but the spices can generally carry over two pots if you're drinking it regularly.

The acid helps clear the gunk, ginger is good for the circulation, and clove/aniseed/pepper have some sort of decongestant/soothing properties. Honey is both nice and antiseptic, and apparently is a cough suppressant as well? Anyway, I just got over another run of Covid and this was wasn't 100% effective but it worked better than phenylephrine.

[selene-and-the-cold]

One sentence prompts

Since people liked the one sentence appreciation I posted yesterday, I thought it might be fun to have a one sentence prompt list - starting off with yesterday's sentence because it sparked the idea 💡

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

1. "You're well on your way to catching a cold."

2. "Are you sure that's a good idea?"

3. "Nah, it'll be fine..."

4. "I hope it was worth it!"

5. "You do have a fever!"

6. “I feel like my face is going to fall off.”

7. "You're catching up with my cold..."

8. "But you've opened a new box of tissues less than two hours ago!"

9. "If you have to sneeze, at least make it efficient!"

10. "Could you stop sneezing directly into the duvet?!”

Have fun with the prompts and in case you create something with them, I'd love to be tagged to see it 😊

[sickficsaturn]

You wake up stuffy and miserable, but to make things worse, you can’t find your partner. They’re not beside you as usual, so you climb out of bed. They’re not in the kitchen… not at their office… not on the couch… they’re gone.

They usually leave a little note or something, but maybe they forgot? So you sit tight, only mildly concerned.

Your sniffles worsen and can no longer be chalked up to morning stuffiness. You look around for medicine, but that’s gone, too. Now what??

Enter your partner, freshly bought cold supplies in hand. They noticed your symptoms a while ago and didn’t expect you to be awake yet!

[thatsbelievable]

[acepandemi]

It's that time of year again, where people see my runny nose and bloodshot eyes and ask if I have seasonal allergies.

A reasonable assumption, but no, my body just has the unfortunate habit of catching a cold every spring, at around the same time other people's allergies start playing up. Why? No idea, I just live here.

Random person: "Are you sure you don't have allergies?"

Me: *starts coughing like a tuberculosis patient*

Random person: *rapidly scrambles backward* "Never mind."

(Mum says I get "the most dreaful cough" whenever I get a cold. It used to keep her up at night when I came home from uni sick. I mean, it keeps me up too? Just keep bringing on the cough syrup.)

[messysneeze]

someone coming down with a cold in the nose. it's tickly and runny and prickly and blocked and they just can't stop sneezing.

not going to work is simply out of the question, and they must attend to all their duties. they do them dripping into a handkerchief or a series of tissues, with big wet sniffs and a lot of sneezes.

a cold in the nose develops into a cold in the head. their head is fuzzy and they can't quite think clearly. their ears are blocked, and their voice becomes deeper, hoarse and husky. their mouth hangs open, and their still-constant sneezes turn from explosions of spray into expulsions of persistent, gluey snot.

the cold in the head develops into a cold in the head and chest, and a thick, productive cough that rattles their chest and leaves them feeling battered, like their lungs are lined with frost and filling with snot. the sinus infection that had been brewing kicks in full force; the mess is endless and miserable. they are breathing completely through their mouth, but snot bubbles form in their hypersensitive, deep red nostrils and slide down their red philtrum to their panting, open mouth. still, they are dragging themselves to work.

the cold in the head and chest develops into a cold in their entire body. they're exhausted and achy and shivery. their sneezes have endless thick snot but are also exploding in clouds of spray again. their fever-glassy eyes try to close, but they force them back open. they just want to lie down and go to sleep, and it's getting more tempting by the minute.

[snezus-christ-risen]

A cold that starts out with the most irresistible, all-consuming tickles, the kind that trigger explosive sneezes and desperate, lengthy fits at the drop of a hat. The person with the cold grows frustrated with the constant interruptions, cursing the sneezes that come on without warning. As the cold progresses, the sneezes become fewer and farther between, but the person is no less preoccupied by the task; in fact, they are now required to be an active participant in the process, finding ways to coax along indecisive tickles and stuck sneezes to avoid getting trapped in a cycle of hitching breaths, false starts, and disappointment, all while longing for the early days of their cold, when the sneezes came freely and without provocation…

[feverflushed]

Whumpee with a sinus infection BEGGING their caretaker for a warm towel to lay across their eyes. Their cheekbones hurt. Their forehead hurts. So do their teeth and ears. Their head feels so heavy, the throbbing driving them mad.

A warm towel would feel so good... and then caretaker approaches them, the heated fabric feeling like heaven. It feels so nice that whumpee shivers slightly, pleased.

"Is your fever worsening, whumpee? You're trembling."

"Maybe. Or maybe you're just really good at taking care of me."

[snzymae]

having thoughts of a couple in bed sharing an absolutely miserable head cold. They’re both propped up with pillows to watch movies or try to read, even though their heads are stuffed full of aching congestion. There’s a full box of tissues between them and steaming mugs of tea on their respective bedside tables. It’s day 3 of this cold, their symptoms are the worst they’ve been since both of them came home from work with scratchy throats two days before. They can’t even snuggle up to each other, as they’re both too warm from their fevers.

I’m thinking of them lying together in silence, only it’s not silence, because there is no respite from their cacophony of symptoms. When one sneezes, the other’s coughing. When one blows their nose, the other launches into a fit of hitching and sneezing. There’s a constant sound of one or both of them sniffling. On more than one occasion, they let out a snotty sneeze at the same time, and can’t help but think that this misery of cold symptoms will never end.

[mysharona1987]

[snotmorty]

Cold Sneezes while Inspire blesses me

I'm coming down with a cold and my nose wouldn't stop itching so I induced a few while @sneezienspire blessed me 😏

Contains: loud wet sneezing, blessing, swearing, nose blowing, tiny bit of coughing

[vintagepromotions]

Advertisement for Vicks VapoRub (1987).

[selene-and-the-cold]

A couple sitting propped up in their large bed in their favorite pjs. They both came down with the same terrible cold, their noses bright red, streaming and full to the brim with sneezes. Used, balled-up tissues are scattered all around them like a halo, and they've sneezed so much today, that person A has given up on tissues altogether and is just giving themselves up to the sneezes, letting them fly uncovered for why bother anyway if both of them are sick already?

B is adamant that all sneezes should be covered, so when A's breath hitches helplessly, B reaches out a hand to catch A's desperate "Aaahh'TIISSHU!!!" in their hand, only to feel a sneeze blooming in their own nose. Without thinking, they hold the hand A has just sneezed into in front of their own nose and sneeze a spraying "Heh'PTTSSHIEW!!!" into it, so now their palm is shimmering wet with both their colds.

[sickficsaturn]

Royal sickie my beloved~

-all politeness might go out the window within the privacy of the bedchambers. OR polite habits die hard and at the most in opportune times.

-Stubbornness and denial, must maintain that pristine persona! I’m much too powerful to allow a cold to humble me.

-they’re obligated to attend fancy events whilst not on their a-game.

-pushing hard to keep up with their royal duties (paperwork, meetings, etc.) -even their usual routine has become quite the hassle!

-the hesitation in the maid’s eyes as she delivers the usual morning tea, only to see that oh, master is very unwell…

-Imagine being woken up by a butler, who says, “Master Y/N, please wake up…. Master (your partner here) is starting to worry…!” The world is one feverish blur before you.

-Did you get your butler sick? Couldn’t keep that cold to yourself, huh? Now who’ll tend to your every need?

-suitors looking on in disgust as they’re falling apart to a miserable cold.

-of course, accessories like handkerchiefs and makeup powders to cover one’s rouge nose and cheeks. Overly ornate items that even if they’re trying to be subtle, they surely catch the eye anyways.

Thank you for listening to my TEDtalk.

I know I have more so there’s going to be more parts