Things to Do When You're Sick
I am sick. My body finally caved in to the dread virus that has sucked in my whole family. Everybody has had this thing, even LilyMab who is still soldiering through it (seriously gross diapers), but I managed to avoid it myself until a couple days ago. I was hoping that this was a cool new side effect of having a baby, that maybe I'd inherited that "Moms never get sick" vibe, but sadly this was not the case. Bleah. The worst part of getting sick was having to call in and say I wasn't coming to work. Don't know about the rest of you, but I get that guilty knot in the pit of my stomach when I call in sick. However, since I got so nauseated and dizzy that I fell back into bed when the alarm went off this morning, a sick day seemed imminent. I'm feeling slightly better after sleeping all day. So, here are my tips for surviving a sick day:
1) Just call in sick to work. No one likes it when you drag your infected ass in and get everybody else sick too.
2) Call the babysitter if you have kids. I kept LilyMab because she is sick too and slept all day like me, but nobody can sleep when a four year old is determined to play SpiderMan. It does not happen. Side Note: my Mom took the boy for me when she got off work today. She is no longer Catholic, which is too bad because she should really be nominated for sainthood.
3) Sleep. Mmmmm....sleep. And Jake brought me bottled water and a giant cup of honey nut cheerios so I wouldn't have to get up to find food. I love him.
4) Eat breakfast foods. I just can't scarf pizza when I feel like crap...but eggs and toast are heaven. Highly recommended.
5) Read something fluffy that does not require you to concentrate much. I have an entire box of Star Trek novels for this purpose. I've read them so many times that I can just flip through them without having to actually think. Unfortunately, my Star Trek novels were in the basement and I was too wasted to make the trip this morning. So, I read Holly Black's Valiant instead. This was a serious error because it was a damn good book and I was forced to keep reading it when I should have been sleeping. Note: avoid reading if you have a headache.
6) Shower or take a long hot bath. You may want to keep wearing your crunchy jammies and lay there as long as possible, but you will feel seriously better just by getting clean. Note: do not shower or bathe if you are at all faint or dizzy, especially if you are the only one home.
7) Blog. Reading everyone else's blogs cheers me up. And this way I can share my boring sick life with all of you...fun for the whole blogging community! ;)
posted by LilyMab @ 6:27 p.m.
3 comments
3 Comments:
What a coincidence. I am suffering from some sort of virus as well. Swollen glands and a fever. Fun. I called in sick today and yesterday, but I don't feel too guilty considering all the nights I've been working lately. It all caught up to me. I too soothe myself with Star Trek, except I just watch re-runs of TNG on Spike all day instead of reading a book.
Oh... I feel for you both. Luckily (cross fingers,knock on wood) I have not had it yet, but my sister is sick YIKES.
Great advice Ash, may I add that truly chicken soup is wonderful when you are sick and I really do think Cold f/x is fabulous.
Get lots of rest!
Hugs...
Sorry to hear people are sick. That can't be fun. Sometimes I don't feel great, just a general bleah feeling, but for the most part I haven't been seriously (meaning laid up in bed or sick day etc.) in almost a year, knock on wood. So here are my recommendations for avoiding getting sick:
1) sanitize children whenever they come back from someone else's house or school :)
2) seriously, eating a good variety of fruits and vegetables, especially things like brocolli, spinach, berries, tomatoes, cauliflour, and herbal tea will help boost your immune system and they are all good antioxidants
3) drink lots of water everyday, again, keeps the system clean, keeps your body hydrated (makes thinking easier)
4) if your body can handle it, having garlic (real garlic not garlic powder) ginger, and onions (daily or a couple times per week)are excellent immune system boosters
4) herbal remedies such as echinacea and vitamin C and Cold FX when you start to feel ill, again if your body can handle it, recommend Vit. C daily
5) avoid highly processed foods as they introduce foreign substances and chemicals to your body, avoid sugar, especially when you are already sick, sugar weakens the immune system A LOT, avoid pop (ginger ale is a popular remedy) and contrary to what our mothers and grandmothers taught us, drinking juice when you are sick is not a good idea due to the high level of sugar in juice, if you must have juice (because let's face, juice is yummy), get sugar free. Recommend ginger tea, it settles the stomach and strengthens your immune system
6) get regular exercise, I don't know why it works, but it does, maybe it's because exercise helps fight off depression, relieve stress, gives you more energy, whatever it is, it works
7) wash your hands regularly
8) listen to Ash, relax, read, shower, sleep, all good things, stress and lack of sleep are not good for your immune system
Hope everyone feels better soon! Take care!
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