Sore Throat

I've got a sore throat; in fact, it's been sore for about three days. My guess is that I have a virus, kinda like a common cold, and because I don't have a fever or anything, I don't believe it's strep or tonsilitis (I have had the latter before). My brother gets strep throat about once a year; when we were kids, he'd get it all the time, and twice it turned into rheumatic fever, and once when he was an adult, he got mono (they're all very closely related bacterial diseases). He really should have his tonsils out, but modern doctors are far more reluctant to remove tonsils than they were when we were younger. He didn't have them removed when we were children because my mother opted against it; I believe, perhaps, it was a money or insurance issue. At any rate, I know this isn't anything serious, but it is uncomfortable.

I took a couple of aspirins this morning and had a big glass of OJ (I always count on vitamin C to duke it out with the viral fiends), so hopefully it will feel better soon. In the meanwhile, it's fine for me to exercise as normal. Most advice says you can exercise through what you chose, but most advise against exercise when you have a fever or are throwing up. Seems wise.

Thankfully, this is the first kind of sick I've had in a long time (I attribute my good health to the active cultures in yogurt). In fact, I'm generally not a very sickly person. I usually catch a cold every once in awhile, but the last time I remember being truly sick was my sophomore year of college -- about seven or eight years ago -- and that time I was really sick. I had this terrible sore throat, fever, icky stomach, headhache, everything. It was the worst flu I've ever experienced. I stayed out of classes for a full week, and I can tell you, hardly anything is worse than throwing up over a sore throat. I thought I might have strep that time, but when I went to the doctor, they swabbed me, and the test came back negative.

I think that's the sickest I've ever been in my life, and it always sucked to be ill in college because you're away from home and at that point, you just want your mom to bring you a cold soda and rub your back. Fortunately, that time I was so awfully sick, I called my mom and told her how poopy I felt and she suggested the miracle of all sore throat relievers: the popsicle. I had my roommate go out and buy a box of cherry popsicles then, and now I still rely on them when I have an icky throat.

So, today I think I will let this aspirin do its work, then go to a the gym for a light run, and stop by the store to get lunch: cherry popsicles sound good.