COVID or Cold?
In this post-pandemic era we are living in, the first sign of a cough, runny nose or sore throat (especially in the summer) and we can’t help but think…F it’s COVID. We have finally learned to live with it as thankfully the virus has become less severe albeit more contagious, but it still proves disruptive to every day life since the immunocompromised and those with pre-existing health conditions are still at higher risk so you still want to be careful not to spread it to others. So when I woke up the other day with a sore throat I headed straight for my stockpile of at-home rapid tests and was instantly relieved when it came up as a strong negative. After making it 2 years not contracting COVID I finally caught the very contagious Omicron variant in April 2021 so I was going to be pissed if I caught it again less than 3 months later (I’m also vaxxed and boosted).
Thankfully this felt different than my bout with COVID. Although they both started with a sore throat and negative rapid test, with COVID I immediately felt fatigued and achy like I had been run over by a bus. This time I still had energy but did the responsible thing and skipped my favorite Pilates class that morning. By that night the runny nose and severe congestion kicked in and lasted for the next 2 days, making me pretty miserable and forcing me to cancel a birthday dinner with my sister, a beach day with my bestie and the new Minions movie with my family. Even though I continued to test negative for COVID, I did not want to take the chance of passing this summer cold from hell to anyone else.
Besides having COVID, this was the first time I had gotten sick in 2.5 years! It felt like I was due so I sucked it up, binged the entire 2nd season of Bling Empire (so bad it’s good) followed by Bad Vegan on Netflix (what a weird true story that is!) and followed a strict regimen of the following. By Day 4 I was feeling myself again and able to celebrate the Fourth of July with my dad:
- Water, water and more water – drank a lot of hot tea as well and avoided alcohol
- Emergen-C Gummies – 3 a day usually keeps the doctor away considering I’ve been taking it everyday since March 2020 and have only been sick twice since. I definitely believe it shortened the length of my cold too. Only 4 days total when colds have typically lasted 1-2 weeks for me prior
- Vitamin A & D – both pump up your immune system. I only take A when I’m sick and swear it shortened the cold cycle too but I take D everyday. As a woman it has added benefits but there is a lot of research that ties Vitamin D deficiency to a number of diseases like MS and severe cases of COVID
- Robitussin DM – took it every 4 hours from onset of symptoms and sore throat was gone in a day. Kept taking to help with cough which was pretty much gone by Day 4
- Mucinex Sinus Max – my go to whenever you have sinus or chest congestion. These pills are much easier to swallow than the old school Mucinex and works just as good
- Sinex Nasal Spray with Vicks – I don’t typically use nasal sprays but several friends recommended this and it was a true godsend. It was the only thing that broke through my nasal congestion and gave me some relief at night to breathe. Use as directed though which isn’t very often.
- Nyquil PM – this was my go to before bed. Knocks you out for a good 6 hours.
COVID, nasty colds and even the flu is still out there, kids so remember to wash those hands and keep those hands off your face!