Self-obs I don't even know what this was.

[notreallyhere]

Over the weekend, I had what I thought was a really bad allergy attack. I got to bed late one night and forgot to take my meds, and by the time I woke up the next morning my nose and eyes were itching and streaming. I took my meds then, but it was too late - I couldn't stop sneezing. They felt like my allergy sneezes for sure, coming in breathless fits of 5 or more at a time. 

I had a lunch appointment that day. I felt pretty bad, but went anyway, knowing I wasn't contagious. Since I kept on sneezing and blowing my nose, and my eyes were watering so badly that it looked like I was crying, they asked if I had a cold. I assured them it was just allergies. I even shook someone's hand. 

On Monday, I woke up with my throat and sinuses raw and inflamed. My nose was stuffy, and it hurt to swallow. But besides this, I didn't feel too bad. I thought it was just an after-effect of all the sneezing the day before, and even did my usual workout in the morning before heading in to work.

Often, my allergies improve at work. My nose was still stuffy at this point, but it wasn't running as badly. I sounded a little congested and hoarse, and a couple of my colleagues asked if I had a cold. I told them I'd had really bad allergies over the weekend, and my sinuses were killing me, but I probably wasn't contagious. I didn't take the usual precautions I normally would take if I knew I was sick, eg hand sanitizer, avoiding handling things before others, and maybe putting on a flu mask. I started coughing a little, and my sneezes were less frequent, singles and doubles, though more violent and more painful. I should probably have known from this that it wasn't allergies any more...

After I went home on Monday night, I started getting chilly and achy (thermometer said I had a low fever) and I was coughing too badly to sleep.

**mess warning**

The next morning, I felt like death warmed over. I was feverish and exhausted, and literally overnight had developed an infection in both my sinuses and lungs, both blowing and coughing up large quantities of horrible sickly-coloured junk. The almost-full box of tissues beside my bed was now nearly empty, reduced to a crumpled, soggy pile on the floor. Any sane person would have called in sick.

**/mess warning**

I would have, if I hadn't had meetings to attend; one with someone whom I wouldn't be able to reschedule as he was travelling the same day, and one to discuss something that needed to happen over the next few days. 

So I went to work anyway. Some of my colleagues said I sounded much worse than the day before. I told them I was sick, and asked everyone to keep away from me. I struggled mightily through my meetings and follow-ups, trying to think through the congested fog, and spent a lot of time in the bathroom coughing (the uncontrollable fits that need nevertheless to be controlled in polite company, if they can), blowing my nose (long wet blows, which I also prefer not to do in polite company), and washing my hands. I tried not to touch anything that anyone else might handle. 

My boss, who had also noticed that I was even sicker than I had been the previous day, was merciful enough to keep the meeting short. I finally finished the work that needed to be finished the same day, and went straight home to bed.

Two days later: I'm still not really feeling well - I'm still congested, and coughing - but I'm definitely feeling better than I was before.

Today one of my colleagues was coughing a lot, sniffling, and sneezing from time to time - I'm afraid she may have caught whatever I have. 

So what I'm wondering is - was my weekend sneezing actually a cold? Or was I unlucky enough to pick up a cold right after a bout of allergies? And how/where did I pick up a sinus/throat/chest infection (which for me sometimes follows a cold, but almost never allergies)? Was I already sick/falling sick on Monday, or was it just the aftermath of the allergies?

 

 

 

[sneezybaby]

I get sinus infections pretty often as a result of my allergies...so they could have been the cause for you too!

[rockerer]

9 hours ago, notreallyhere said:

Over the weekend, I had what I thought was a really bad allergy attack. I got to bed late one night and forgot to take my meds, and by the time I woke up the next morning my nose and eyes were itching and streaming. I took my meds then, but it was too late - I couldn't stop sneezing. They felt like my allergy sneezes for sure, coming in breathless fits of 5 or more at a time. 

I had a lunch appointment that day. I felt pretty bad, but went anyway, knowing I wasn't contagious. Since I kept on sneezing and blowing my nose, and my eyes were watering so badly that it looked like I was crying, they asked if I had a cold. I assured them it was just allergies. I even shook someone's hand. 

On Monday, I woke up with my throat and sinuses raw and inflamed. My nose was stuffy, and it hurt to swallow. But besides this, I didn't feel too bad. I thought it was just an after-effect of all the sneezing the day before, and even did my usual workout in the morning before heading in to work.

Often, my allergies improve at work. My nose was still stuffy at this point, but it wasn't running as badly. I sounded a little congested and hoarse, and a couple of my colleagues asked if I had a cold. I told them I'd had really bad allergies over the weekend, and my sinuses were killing me, but I probably wasn't contagious. I didn't take the usual precautions I normally would take if I knew I was sick, eg hand sanitizer, avoiding handling things before others, and maybe putting on a flu mask. I started coughing a little, and my sneezes were less frequent, singles and doubles, though more violent and more painful. I should probably have known from this that it wasn't allergies any more...

After I went home on Monday night, I started getting chilly and achy (thermometer said I had a low fever) and I was coughing too badly to sleep.

**mess warning**

The next morning, I felt like death warmed over. I was feverish and exhausted, and literally overnight had developed an infection in both my sinuses and lungs, both blowing and coughing up large quantities of horrible sickly-coloured junk. The almost-full box of tissues beside my bed was now nearly empty, reduced to a crumpled, soggy pile on the floor. Any sane person would have called in sick.

**/mess warning**

I would have, if I hadn't had meetings to attend; one with someone whom I wouldn't be able to reschedule as he was travelling the same day, and one to discuss something that needed to happen over the next few days. 

So I went to work anyway. Some of my colleagues said I sounded much worse than the day before. I told them I was sick, and asked everyone to keep away from me. I struggled mightily through my meetings and follow-ups, trying to think through the congested fog, and spent a lot of time in the bathroom coughing (the uncontrollable fits that need nevertheless to be controlled in polite company, if they can), blowing my nose (long wet blows, which I also prefer not to do in polite company), and washing my hands. I tried not to touch anything that anyone else might handle. 

My boss, who had also noticed that I was even sicker than I had been the previous day, was merciful enough to keep the meeting short. I finally finished the work that needed to be finished the same day, and went straight home to bed.

Two days later: I'm still not really feeling well - I'm still congested, and coughing - but I'm definitely feeling better than I was before.

Today one of my colleagues was coughing a lot, sniffling, and sneezing from time to time - I'm afraid she may have caught whatever I have. 

So what I'm wondering is - was my weekend sneezing actually a cold? Or was I unlucky enough to pick up a cold right after a bout of allergies? And how/where did I pick up a sinus/throat/chest infection (which for me sometimes follows a cold, but almost never allergies)? Was I already sick/falling sick on Monday, or was it just the aftermath of the allergies?

 

 

 

Allergies playing games with you. Loved the nose blowing obs. Hope you are much better now. Keep us posted!

[notreallyhere]

Thanks, but today I don't feel good. My nose has been stuffed up all day and my cough is suddenly a lot worse - I can barely speak a full sentence without coughing. I'm coughing up less junk, but my body seems to be trying harder to get rid of whatever's left. There are still sneezes here and there. They make my nose stuff up worse, and it's not the sort of stuffiness that can be easily shifted by blowing, or sniffing. It just - stays there, until the next sneeze.