Fourth Annual Christmas Illness

Four the fourth year in a row I have managed to be sick on Christmas. The first two years it was a stomach virus. Last year it was bronchitus. This year it is a sinus infection although it seems to be trying to work it's evilness on my chest also, because I have a cough and it isn't a dry one. I was feeling off on Christmas, but not really bad, until after lunch. I ate lunch with my parents and being Christmas ate heavier than normal. After that I started feeling worse. I put it down to overindulgence, went home and napped for a couple of hours. I woke up feeling like 30 tiny little men were using sledgehammers on the inside of my skull, not just the head, but the face too. I took way too many ibuprophen, and tried to watch television, actually computer monitor as my television got turned into the world's largest paperweight by lightning last August. I also found I had a slight cough. I went to bed later than normal, probably because of the nap, and woke the next morning with the same headache and cough. By lunch though I was having problems breathing. I treated the cough with a year old bag of vitamin c drops and some throat louzenges that were a bit fresher and alternated asparin and ibuprophen for the head. I ate hot food and drank hot tea and was even lazier than normal, if that's possible. I actually used a thermometer and found I was running a fever or about 2 degrees. I took generic night time cold medicine in liquid form before I went to bed. Sunday, I was even worse. Breathing through my nose was a memory only. The cough was about the same. The headache was better, but I was a bit dizzy if I stood too quickly. I made frequent trips to the bathroom, mostly to spit and blow, though. The fever though was about half what it was Saturday. I repeated the treatment, complete with homemade beef stew. This morning I was feeling much better, still a little stopped up, annoying cough still here, but head seems close to my version of normal, although I am a bit sleepy. I skipped breakfast due to being slow getting started this morning but ate a sandwich for lunch, afterwhich I felt a bit worse. I thought that was odd.

Anyway with the second night of cold medication in my strange thoughts filtered in as I went to sleep last night. For instance, is it odd that a dose of liquid cold medication is the same size roughly as a shot of whiskey? Also, I had a friend who claimed to make his own Nyquil. He said take 2 Tylenol, 2 psuedophed, and a shot of Rumplemintz. I guess any brand peppermint snapps would do though. He said if he was short on Rumplemintz he would take a shot of vodka and an altoid. I don't have peppermint snappz or altoids, wonder if cinnamon snapps or Yagermeister would do?

Also I remember my mother's private cold remedy. I remember this from way back. Put an ounce or so of brown whiskey, usually Tennessee whiskey although burbon or Kentucky whiskey would work personally I am more a rum and vodka man, in a sauce pan and heat it, when it starts smelling, add a tablespoon of honey stirring until it mealts followed by a chunk of peppermint. This was back in the day when you could by peppermint candy canes by the pound and it took a hammer to break them apart. Melt the peppermint, pour into a cup and add a teaspoon of lemon juice. Carry to you bed, drink as fast as possible and collapse. You would usually break into a sweat, sleep like a log and feel better in the morning. Modern version of this involves a microwave rather than a stove and saucepan. For children substitute half the whiskey with water. I have tried this using blended scotch, but the results were not as remembered. Perhaps the Tennessee and Kentucky whiskeys have curative properties not found in blended scotch. Haven't tried it with tequila although there is some cheap crap in the house, so perhaps next illness if I can find the peppermint before then.