Signs that you're getting congested or coming down with something?

[Seniorstatus14]

I'm absolutely horrible at realizing when/if I'm going down with something or even if I'm getting congested. It's always like "I'm fine." go to bed, wake up a few hours later and all of a sudden I can't breathe through my nose.

So I was wondering if y'all have any signs or signals that you've recognized as you getting congested or just coming down with something in general.

I had a bit of a runny nose today but I'm pretty sure it was just allergies but it got me thinking about stuff like this and I was curious.

[murphy dee]

Whenever I start to really get congested/sick I actually get this weird pool water taste in the back of my throat, like I've swallowed chlorine. It's weird and I honestly don't know if this happens to other people or not, I've never thought to ask. Also I tend to get sore under my jaw where the lymphnodes are.

[cally]

9 times out of 10 my throat starts to hurt or gets scratchy and uncomfortable. That's usually a pretty good sign that I need to up my vitamin C and use every cold fighting/alleviating remedy in Boots. It's worked every time this year, so. . .

[gingerdean]

If I'm coming down with a cold, it always starts as a mild sore throat. It is a very distinct type of sore throat- in my upper throat, almost in my nasal passages- and I can tell right off the bat if the sore throat is from an impending cold vs allergies or something else. My throat gets very dry, I get a mild headache, and I'm more tired than usual. Not long after that I usually start to feel a little achy. The congestion/stuffiness comes a little later, and usually hits all at once, kind of like you described.

[Arty]

Sore throat and it feels like I have sand stuck there.

[Oolia]

Similar to what others have said, I get this weird feeling in what I think is the soft palate, exactly like when my throat is super dry in the morning, except that it doesn't go away and just gets worse until it feels slightly swollen. Eventually it turns into a runny nose and sneezing, then moves on to an annoying scratchy throat, and so on into the depth of sickness

But yeah, that dry "patch" in my throat/soft palate that won't go away is usually a sure sign that I'm coming down with a cold.

[Claire89]

I'm kind of like you, I can't EXACTLY tell when the moment I start getting sick is.

But this thread made me remember a sign they used to have up at my old doctor's office. It was a poster that graphed cold symptoms vs flu symptoms over time (in line graph format.)

Basically it was showing that when you come down with the flu it does indeed hit you right away, all the way whereas cold symptoms develop slower and last longer. And i CAN tell you the exact moment when I started getting sick with the flu last lol. I was freezing my ass off in Anthro 1 in college and loudly was complaining because I thought everyone else was, too. After so much "Oh my god, why it's so Fing cold in here?!?!" the girl behind me started staring like I was crazy.

I went home and threw myself under the covers and stayed there. For days. Haha

[Oolia]

It was a poster that graphed cold symptoms vs flu symptoms over time (in line graph format.)

Oh my god, this is very true. Last time I had the flu, it was like "I'm totally fine" and then 2 hours later, I had a high fever, pain everywhere and a cough. It came out of nowhere and hit like a truck. There was barely any warning, except for this odd tightening in my throat during that 2 hours... I guess it was swelling up from the virus or something.

The flu is the worst.

[Kaze Wo Hiku]

I nearly always start with a sore throat (woke up with one today actually...) For me though it doesn't always lead into a cold. Oddly for someone like me who has a sneeze/sickness fetish, I rarely get sick. Which is fine my illness doesnt do anything for me, heh.

But sore throat/headache is generally my signs. If it doesnt clear up after a few days I might get some congestion, not much sneezing though. Or a cough. Last time I was sick my cough was so bad I lost breath while coughing, that was not fun.

I do get the weird taste in my mouth but I usually associate that with my throat feeling weird.

[TouchOfGrey]

Usually I'll feel a scratchiness or soreness in my throat, and a dryness in my sinuses. I eat an entire bulb of raw garlic, along with lemon juice, apple cider vinegar, cayenne pepper. Stops it in it's tracks every time. Haven't been sick in 5 years.

[norcal tinkfan]

I get a sore/scratchy throat almost every single time.

[sneezeagainplease]

Usually it starts with a dry throat, following by a sore throat etc. Once though, it started with sneezing out the blue. I rarely sneeze when I do have a cold, but that day I felt like I had to sneeze all day long. I wiggled my nose and held it in because I was with a friend and do not like to sneeze in front of other people. I ended up with a bad cold.

Other times, it starts with a headache and dry throat.

Another time, it started with a sore throat and runny nose.

[C-Money]

I actually was pondering this the other day at work off about 5 hours of sleep for days and a vague sick feeling and headache. I hate being sick and am kinda paranoid about it honestly, but I realized I was getting sick for the first time this year on Thursday.

It started as a tired feeling all over and a heavy feeling in my head and eyes. My throat might have been a little scratchy but nothing bad. I also was sneezing much more than usual. Those are usually the first signs for me. Afterwards comes the stuffed or running nose and more frequent sneezing which happened on Friday.

Luckily it was very mild and didn't disrupt my weekend one bit. I drank a decent amount of alcohol on Friday and it must have killed the germs or something because I was good as new yesterday.