Da Vicious Cold.
Having felt like a virus factory for the last 4 days, I just feel compelled to dedicate some alphabets to something that’s quite annoyingly dominated my life. Here’s what I realized.
a) A cold is bad-no two ways about this-almost like a warm-up during gym, it starts with a sniff or two and before you realize it, the bloody thing has started wreaking havoc on your nose by making it leak, like nobody’s business. And then again, it’s your nose not the basin to plug it up!
b) Home remedies, anyone? Well, I tried to fight it with my will and my army of countless tissues. I even tried substituting my regular pickle with amla pickle and drinking lots of orange juice (I’m all sold into the benefits of Vitamin C, u see). I was also advised to drink haldi and milk-but well, milk and I gave up on each other ages back and worked out a mid-way solution as cheese and yoghurt. And well, haldi is fine for the veggies! So something a little less disruptive for me.
c) The time comes when you just need to wisen up and yes, take that dreaded tablet which promises to put an end to your watery woes, but also makes your super drowsy. The state of zombie-ness starts and you feel the processing power of your brain ebbing away.
d) After 2-3 tablets, voila, a miracle-and you can turn your back on the tissues. But hey…why does my nose feel like a clogged drain-a choked pipe-a blocked passage? Oh, now’s the time you need to take a mucus decongestant and/or take steam!! Oh damn at least I could breather earlier!
e) I’ve heard of husbands getting sympathy pains when their wives go into labour and found the whole thing quite amusing-but honestly, all traces of humour evaporated with my throat getting sympathy pains for my nose-it was as though, in a sacrificial filmy mood or some directions from the organ union, my throat had asked to share the pain and the bad times. I officially had a cough.
f) Armed with a cold and cough is not really the best time to go to a movie-I was equipped for the temperature inside-have been in Singapore long enough to know how Siberian the theatres can be-but not quite prepared for the inopportune timing of my relentless sneezes and hearty coughs-I salute the patience and fortitude of those around me-bear they surely did with me-albeit with a silent curse and a handkerchief to their nose.
g) One of the most debilitating effects of the cold has been my inability to smell anything-good or bad-feels terrible to be devoid of one of the senses that I really took for granted-I realized how much it means to me- half the joy of cooking was lost coz I could no longer savor the aroma of the spices, and half my judgment of the end results! Also, I felt rather dumb putting on perfume coz I just didn’t know whether it was enough or too much! Lost half my appetite (which, going by the steady increase in weight, is not half bad). Oh god, please invent a way to grant a cold, but without the loss of the power to smell!
h) I also, understood for the very first time, the power of receptivity and what brand loyalty means. The first one is on how I suddenly seemed to notice the Strepsils ad on the train and the vicks drops on the 7-11 cash counter-unreal. My head and nose were sufficiently blocked for me to trace my steps to Mustafa after the Saturday lunch-after several rounds of directions and aisle hunting, I was told that Vicks Vaporub was out of stock-And just listening to my vehement NO to the store assistant’s suggestion that I look for something else, made brand loyalty a very personal emotion. (I do love Vicks for its unduplicated & totally reliable way of giving me a good night’s sleep-even with the monstrous cold)
Having felt like a virus factory for the last 4 days, I just feel compelled to dedicate some alphabets to something that’s quite annoyingly dominated my life. Here’s what I realized.
a) A cold is bad-no two ways about this-almost like a warm-up during gym, it starts with a sniff or two and before you realize it, the bloody thing has started wreaking havoc on your nose by making it leak, like nobody’s business. And then again, it’s your nose not the basin to plug it up!
b) Home remedies, anyone? Well, I tried to fight it with my will and my army of countless tissues. I even tried substituting my regular pickle with amla pickle and drinking lots of orange juice (I’m all sold into the benefits of Vitamin C, u see). I was also advised to drink haldi and milk-but well, milk and I gave up on each other ages back and worked out a mid-way solution as cheese and yoghurt. And well, haldi is fine for the veggies! So something a little less disruptive for me.
c) The time comes when you just need to wisen up and yes, take that dreaded tablet which promises to put an end to your watery woes, but also makes your super drowsy. The state of zombie-ness starts and you feel the processing power of your brain ebbing away.
d) After 2-3 tablets, voila, a miracle-and you can turn your back on the tissues. But hey…why does my nose feel like a clogged drain-a choked pipe-a blocked passage? Oh, now’s the time you need to take a mucus decongestant and/or take steam!! Oh damn at least I could breather earlier!
e) I’ve heard of husbands getting sympathy pains when their wives go into labour and found the whole thing quite amusing-but honestly, all traces of humour evaporated with my throat getting sympathy pains for my nose-it was as though, in a sacrificial filmy mood or some directions from the organ union, my throat had asked to share the pain and the bad times. I officially had a cough.
f) Armed with a cold and cough is not really the best time to go to a movie-I was equipped for the temperature inside-have been in Singapore long enough to know how Siberian the theatres can be-but not quite prepared for the inopportune timing of my relentless sneezes and hearty coughs-I salute the patience and fortitude of those around me-bear they surely did with me-albeit with a silent curse and a handkerchief to their nose.
g) One of the most debilitating effects of the cold has been my inability to smell anything-good or bad-feels terrible to be devoid of one of the senses that I really took for granted-I realized how much it means to me- half the joy of cooking was lost coz I could no longer savor the aroma of the spices, and half my judgment of the end results! Also, I felt rather dumb putting on perfume coz I just didn’t know whether it was enough or too much! Lost half my appetite (which, going by the steady increase in weight, is not half bad). Oh god, please invent a way to grant a cold, but without the loss of the power to smell!
h) I also, understood for the very first time, the power of receptivity and what brand loyalty means. The first one is on how I suddenly seemed to notice the Strepsils ad on the train and the vicks drops on the 7-11 cash counter-unreal. My head and nose were sufficiently blocked for me to trace my steps to Mustafa after the Saturday lunch-after several rounds of directions and aisle hunting, I was told that Vicks Vaporub was out of stock-And just listening to my vehement NO to the store assistant’s suggestion that I look for something else, made brand loyalty a very personal emotion. (I do love Vicks for its unduplicated & totally reliable way of giving me a good night’s sleep-even with the monstrous cold)
Ah well, I haven’t quite recovered and the struggle to beat the cold continues-only know, I’ve paid heed to my mom’s advice and started my course of antibiotics-I think this dual damage of losing both taste and smell might just work as well as the GM diet! Here’s to good health!!
2 comments:
Hmm ... mix haldi with honey and make a paste. Chatofy the stuff before you sleep. Don't drink water. You'll wake up with a pathetically yellow tongue but a much relieved throat !!
Take steam everyday (twice if possible) for your nose !!
~ saumil
ur blog is a book waiting to be written.
who's got the time to go throuh it at length so pls reduce the length.
but then again, remember the tag line, if u have the inclination i have the time!
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