Tracey Jackson

Jan 20 2013 | 1 Comment

TAKE YOUR COLD AND GO HOME

As everyone is aware we are in the throes of cold and flu season.  There was a map on the news the other night and the only state that showed up without a  flu outbreak was Tennessee. No joke. Maybe Mountain Dew is loaded with vitamin C.  But, if you are not lucky enough to live in the Volunteer State –  you are undoubtedly surrounded by sniffling, sneezing, coughing, germ spewing Americans.

We went to the theatre on Friday night to see GlennGary Glen Ross and the place sounded like a TB ward.  Luckily it’s a loud play.  The guy next to Glenn coughed throughout the entire performance. Look, I know the seats are not cheap. I know people look forward to events for a long time. I know it’s closing today.  But if you are really sick, stay home, stay of crowds and if you do have to go out, be considerate. As in covering your mouth when you sneeze and cough and then if you do say, sneeze into your hand and then  get in the elevator,  don’t push the third floor button with your snot covered fingers. Besides gross it’s just unfair to the rest of the human race. Same goes for door knobs, escalator railings, anything you might come in contact with.

Yesterday I was at the gym.  I tend to workout in an isolated place. I don’t do this because I’m germaphobic (though I do Purell my free weights and the bar   no matter what the season) despite evidence to the contrary, I’m a bit of loner.  So yesterday, I got there early, staked out my spot, Purelled it down within an inch of it’s life and was looking forward to nice germ free workout.  Five minutes after class started a red nosed, watery eyed, hacking woman comes in and plunks herself next to me. She drops her snotty kleenex right next to my germ free weights, and proceeds to cough and sneeze her way through glutes. I know how far the germs spread when people cough or sneeze.  I have watched those videos.  I glared at her. I also bit my tongue, fighting my worst character trait which is to open my big mouth and tell people what I’m really thinking and how to live their lives. In this case it would have been “You stupid cow.  How selfish are you to come here and make the rest of us sick?  You shouldn’t be working out to begin with, much less in a closed environment, blowing your nose in your hands and then picking up the weights and holding the stall bar is downright rude. GO HOME.”   But, I did not do that.   I blessedly now have my  blog for that. I  simply picked up all my things and moved across the room to a spot near an open window.

Glenn has had cold this week.  He’s reluctant to ever admit he has a cold, some macho thing. He walks around saying he has allergies. Thursday morning when he was sneezing away, blessedly in the privacy of his own office, I accused him of having a cold.   He said, “No, it’s an allergic reaction to something I ate this morning.” I said, “You had oatmeal. You eat oatmeal five days a week.” I then went to Duane Reade and bought a ton of cold medicine for him and the rest of us.  Obviously, I sleep with him, so I  am pretty much exposed to his germs no matter what happens. I figured I was a goner.  And I just don’t get colds.  Every cold ends up in my chest and every cold leads to three weeks of coughing and usually a round of an antibiotic.   Granted we have all had the flu shots and do so every year. But colds do me in.

Anyway, I plied him with stuff. I upped everyone’s Vitamin C and started taking Zicam Cold Remedy, which for some reason if you start taking when you have only been exposed and are not yet sick, seems to work. It’s the second time I’ve tried it.  I also made him go home early,  get extra sleep and claim his cold.

What is the point of this rant?  If you’re sick stay home. Your job would rather not have you there infecting everyone, the world would rather not have you roaming around spreading your germs and you will get well faster if you take care of yourself. Oh, and don’t work out. It’s not good for your or anyone around you.

The other thing I want to say, is many people do not know that antihistamines can sometimes have a very bad affect on people with high blood pressure. I have read about this though I didn’t know which meds were the biggest culprits.  But I also didn’t know they used Sudafed for making crystal meth until I was carded  when I bought some.

Anyway, blessedly I ran across an ad the other day for Coricidine, which is apparently the one antihistamine recommended by The National Heart Association. So if you or someone you know has high blood pressure,  tell them about Coricidine and then send them home.