Do you guys still ride when sick?

[RoadRaven]

What the heck is this thing!! You think you are over it and start feeling better, then bango, it's baaaakk. With me, it's been off and on for almost a month.

Cross post: My apologies, but I wrote this yesterday, and feel to lazy to rewrite it... But tzvia, sounds like you have what I had last year!

Anyone else dealing with cold after cold?
http://forums.teamestrogen.com/showt...660#post394660

This thread has just reminded me of a cold I had at the end of our last winter - people had named it the 100day cold/flu.

I got sick for about a week, started to get over it, then got sick again. The third time I got sick my work mates sent me to the doctor, convinced I was getting pneumonia or pluerisy. The doctor said she had lots of people coming in - same thing happening - they thought their immunity was low and they were getting lots of different bugs, when in fact it was the same one reinventing itself over and again!

I did as much work as possible from home, took suppressant drugs when I had to teach (so I didn't splutter over everyone), lost my voice for nearly 4 weeks in the middle of it and took 6-7 days sick leave.

[NbyNW]

In a weird way, it's been kinda nice knowing I'm not the only one struggling with this thing. I'll feel like I'm so close to feeling better, but then I'll have a night like last night where keep waking up coughing, and feel lousy the whole next day. Aaargh.

Glad to hear others are starting to feel better and start riding again! Gives me hope.

[Tokie]

Tzvia! sorry to hear about your bike,back and ribs + cough = ow,ow,ow! Do you have some good cough medicine? The prescription kind is most excellently effective! Perhaps a humidifier with our Santa Ana conditions in So Cal would be nice? I asked my coach to "fast track" my training to get me ready for 2 races coming up the first weekend in Feb. Coach said "no" , no relapses under her watch! so I am on a pokey training schedule this week - just as well! I am glad to hear that everyone is on the mend too! Tokie

[tzvia]

Tzvia! sorry to hear about your bike,back and ribs + cough = ow,ow,ow! Do you have some good cough medicine? The prescription kind is most excellently effective! Perhaps a humidifier with our Santa Ana conditions in So Cal would be nice? I asked my coach to "fast track" my training to get me ready for 2 races coming up the first weekend in Feb. Coach said "no" , no relapses under her watch! so I am on a pokey training schedule this week - just as well! I am glad to hear that everyone is on the mend too! Tokie

Thanks, yea I am taking all kinds of cough stuff; coughed from 2am on last night. Hoping to be well enough to MTB this weekend. Been off the bike for over a week now. Called in sick today. I hope nobody else has anything like this and your new year starts better than mine did.

[jobob]

I picked up a bottle of Zicam Cold Remedy yesterday morning - the RapidMelts with Vitamin C and Echinacea. I took one every 3 hours or so per the directions.

Now, it may be just a coincidence and my cold is finally running its course, or it may be a placebo effect, but I felt noticeably better yesterday evening & this morning. I still have some congestion & I'm coughing a little, but nowhere near as bad as over the last week.

Fingers crossed.

[NbyNW]

Zicam is good stuff.

But for me, I think this season's cold does not have a silver bullet.

[OakLeaf]

+1 on the Zicam, but for me, it only works if I get on it as soon as I feel like I'm even trying to catch a cold. If I get on the Zicam early enough, I might be able to avoid the cold entirely. I always make sure to have a couple of swabs stashed in my purse, medicine cabinet and travel kit year round, so if I start to catch a cold I can get on the Zicam immediately.

They're not 100% sure how it works (like most pharmaceuticals including prescription ones fwiw), but one of the theories is that the zinc prevents the viruses from settling on the tissues. So I actually alternate the nasal swabs with the rapid-melt lozenges, to get it in my nose and throat both.