Everyone thinks that being sick means you get to relax and enjoy yourself. You have the perfect excuse to avoid your responsibilities and can indulge in binge-watching Netflix and shooting Campbell’s Chicken Noodle Soup directly into your bloodstream. However, what many seem to forget is that you’re still sick, and with that, everyday activities become increasingly less fun.
1. Drinking Water
As much as you enjoy drinking water on a regular basis, when you’re sick it tastes like your sickness. It’s icy, irritating, and uncomfortable to swallow. In terms of cold drinks, juce is a much better substitute because at least you can mask the grossness with whatever synthetic flavor you choose. Or, if you actually care about your health, hot tea goes a long way in soothing your sore throat.
2. Eating
Warm foods have a similar effect to warm drinks and help a lot in the throat area. But at the end of the day, your taste buds are a bit screwy. It’s particularly sad when you’re presented with really good food and can’t partake in the enjoyment. But you just have to find what works for you. When I’m sick salty foods are the most appealing, but maybe that’s just because they match my mood.
3. Watching TV
With having a cold comes the joy of bleary vision and a lack of focus. Your brain is jumbled and while watching TV is still a nice distraction from your impending death, it’s hard to get into anything too serious. You need something lighthearted that doesn’t require any deep thought. My personal go-to’s are anything on Food Network, HGTV, or recently "Queer Eye."
4. Sleeping
Getting as much sleep as possible when you’re sick is recommended not only because it’ll reboot your system but also because you can forget about being sick for a little while. However, eventually, you have to wake up and face the reality that you are a mouth breather for the next several days to weeks. And those few seconds between pure ignorance and remembering the pain in your throat are actually the worst.
5. Showering
While in the long run you’ll feel cleaner and kind of like the sickness is washed off of you after a shower, the process of actually showering is grueling. It’s during those times that I wish I invested in Life Alert because with the dizzy spells and general lightheadedness if I fall I am not getting up. If you want to be that guy you can bring a plastic chair with you or just enjoy gripping onto the wall for however long you’re in there.
6. Talking
Whenever you talk for too long when you’re sick you become aware of the mucus rising up your throat which is unpleasant, to say the least. Then there’s the matter of it hurting your throat. You can try writing everything down but honestly, nobody has time for that. Texting seems to work best for me in most cases as it’s fast and effective. Knowing ASL would be particularly handy at this time. Yes, that was a pun.
