A Before-Birthday Cold (Self-Obs., Somewhat Lengthy)

[Guest]

As the weather moodily fluctuated, and my birthday encroached upon me, I found myself growing worried. Being an individual susceptible to shifts in temperature, I feared that I would get ambushed and dragged down by a cold. Unfortunately for me, my fears would soon be realized. Confused and overwhelmed, my body weakened. In doing that it had left itself defenseless against the myriad of germs plastered everywhere. After having endured several days' worth of extreme temperature changes I seemed to have caught a cold.

The other morning when I awoke I felt an exceptional scratchiness in my throat. I swallowed, hoping in vain that doing so would somehow rid me of that horrid sensation. Of course, I soon came to realize that the irritation had also caused it to be most sore. I winced as I reluctantly rose from my bed, and tottered to the bathroom. Once before the mirror I unhinged my jaw, and let my mouth fall agape. I picked up the miniature flashlight I keep on my shelf, turned it on, and poised it towards my mouth. I was shocked at just how raw my throat looked. Its color was like that of a beet, deep and vivid. As I stared, bemused at that intense hue, I was seized with a sense of dread.

After I had showered, my formerly stuffy nose had begun to run. Its contents had been undoubtedly loosened thanks to the steam that swirled about. I had to go through several tissues in order to quell its flow. The mucus which I had expelled was, much to my worriment, gooey and greenish. Any doubt that I might have had had been vanquished by that observation. Anyway, after that I could only do what I could to brace myself for what was surely to come.

Naturally, I was assailed with other symptoms before long. The more time passed, the more miserable I had become. My nose persistently ran, and when it was not streaming it was so stopped-up that whenever I inhaled my nose would squeak. The soreness in my throat worsened, and the irritation which had given birth to it caused my voice to become terribly raspy. After every few words I had to pause to either clear my throat or give a pitiful cough. It was not until the following day that I became sneezy.

That morning I was in a pitiable state. Fatigue was written all over me. My face was sallow and sunken, and my movements were slothful, making me appear drunk at times. Although it was obvious that I had been beat I refused to give in. I knew that because of the burning, tickly feeling that prickled throughout my sinuses that I would have to sneeze sometime or another. Inevitably, that moment arrived. I had just gotten out of the shower, so my nose was, of course, runny. The feeling the mucus left in its wake was undeniably ticklish. Before long my breath started to hitch. The hitching was slow at first, but became frantic after about five seconds. My chapped, pinkish nostrils flared wildly as I grappled with my need for release. However, valiant though my effort was, I succumbed to my body's demand. “Heh'kkkkmmmpb!” Clumsily, I had stifled. The force of it made my head vibrate. Over the course of the rest of the day there were a number of similar incidents, each more desperate than the last.
The next day (yesterday) it seemed that I had lost my power to struggle. I let my body take over and cater to its own needs. When that telltale feeling crept up on me I opened my mouth, and redirected my gaze at the nearest source of light. When finally ready for release I cupped my hand over my mouth, and sneezed into it. “Heh'ccchhh!” was how they ended up sounding. Sometimes I would have enough energy to stifle. After doing so, though, I always ended up regretting it as it was painful. By the end of the day, when I hugged someone, they remarked, “Your head feels warm.” It seems that I had ended up coming down with a bit of a fever.

A few days have passed since my symptoms started, and they are still going strong. My nose constantly feels internally hot, and, of course, has an insatiable itch. I have been sneezing in intervals throughout the day. Every once in a while I have to cough, but I am, for the most part, sneezy. When I first came down with my cold my sneezes were quiet even when I did not stifle, but now they echo in whatever room I am in. My sneezes are rather wet, too, and are accompanied with quite a lot of spray. Although I do not particularly mind having a cold (I knew that I would end up with one sometime this fall/winter, so I accepted it early on) I do hope that I am feeling okay for my birthday. My birthday is tomorrow, so there's no telling if I'll be fine or if I'll have to spend my special day swaddled in blankets on the couch.

Edited November 22, 2016 by Ferv

[Luisa39]

I'm sorry to hear this!  Bless you, and be sure to get enough rest.  Hopefully you'll be over your cold soon -- if not tomorrow, then within the week.
 

Happy Birthday!

[Irelephant]

Awww feel better! And of course Happy Birthday!!!

[M214186]

Gosh, I hope you feel better soon. And bless you.