Last week was a strange week for me. It was a very busy Monday at the office so I was definitely ready for my bedtime Monday night. It was one of those nights when, as I have heard my mom say before, I was asleep before my head hit the pillow. I was awakened from a deep sleep by the telephone at 2:39 am. I groped for the phone and could hardly hear the person on the other end so I found myself yelling asking her to speak up. As soon as I realized that I was trying to talk into the back of the telephone receiver I turned it over and heard the operator from ADT telling me there was an alarm at my office and I needed to meet the police there as soon as possible. Adrenaline kicked in and I flew out of bed to put on sweats and drive the usual half hour it takes me to get to work. I learned that at 80 miles per hour it takes me only eighteen minutes. During my journey I wondered if there was a break-in or if this was just another false alarm. Either way I needed to get there quickly because the police are always there waiting after an alarm. I squealed into the parking lot at my office to see the very patient police officer sitting in her patrol car. It was indeed another false alarm. After she walked with me through the office to be absolutely sure everything was secure we locked up the building again and I headed home. It was almost 4 am when I climbed back into bed to finish my much needed nap. Of course, though, adrenaline was still at work and every leaf rustle sounded like thunder so I could not go back to sleep no matter how hard I tried. The alarm at 5:30 gave me a reason to go ahead and get up.
Tuesday was just as busy as Monday and after only 4 hours’ sleep the night before I was exhausted by the time I got to bed on Tuesday night. I worked just as feverishly on Tuesday as I usually do, but I was working on borrowed energy. I woke up Wednesday morning after a normal 7 or 7 and a half hours’ sleep but something was not quite right. I was hot and nauseated. I kept up my morning routine and exercised, sweating profusely. At one point I started to quit but kept pushing myself. I dressed for work and started the drive into town. At the halfway point, I knew I had to turn around and go back home. I had fever, chills, body aches, and I was about to throw up. For the first time in over twelve years, I stayed home for the day. I did not want to endanger my patients nor could I have worked if I had to. All day Wednesday I spent in misery, managing to keep down only a Fresca and a cup of chicken soup by 8 that night. Thursday was no better. I thought for a short time that I was never going to recover. I lost my second productive day in years on Thursday, fighting fever and nausea almost the whole day. Something happened in the late afternoon and I felt as if a shroud had been lifted. While I was still weak, the nausea left me as quickly as it came. By Friday morning I was as good as new.
I have since talked to a few people who have gotten similar bugs but have stayed sick for much longer. They all wanted to know what made the difference for me and how I got rid of my plague so quickly. The first instinct for many people who get a fever is to take something to bring it down. The body operates at its optimum temperature 99.9 percent of the time. When some foreign virus or bacteria invades your body, your body innately raises its temperature to a point where the offender cannot survive. If you bring your temperature down as soon as it goes up, many times you prolong your illness because you make the environment just right for the virus or bacteria to propagate and live longer. A fever is a sign in many cases that your body is doing just what it was designed to do. Some exceptions to the rule that you should just let a fever fight infection naturally are mostly for children. Lower a temperature if you have an infant under 8 weeks old with a fever greater than 100.4 degrees, a skin rash accompanies the fever, or if you have a child whose core temperature is above 102.2 degrees. Otherwise it is perfectly safe to let the body fight with slightly elevated temperature, according to pediatric researchers at Mount Sinai Medical Center.
The same principle applies to having nausea and throwing up. Throwing up must be one of the most unpleasant events one ever has to experience. However, the body uses it as a way to rid the system of whatever is causing it to be unwell. I would much prefer to go ahead and get rid of the offender than to let it stew in my body by taking anti-nausea medications. If the body needs to get rid of something that is making it sick by throwing up and you take something to keep you from throwing up, you might be prolonging the illness. Most people get into trouble from throwing up because they allow themselves to become dehydrated. As difficult as it might be it is essential to keep fluids going into your body to replace what is going out. Water and any sports drink that is electrolyte-rich will do the trick. Once you allow the body to do what it has to do for a day or so without interrupting its natural self-healing, self-regulating cycles you should be all right, barring any severe illness or complications.
Being used to having an ironclad immune system, I was miserable last week. I hold the theory that if I had been well-rested and not working on borrowed energy and adrenaline I would not have gotten sick in the first place. By listening to my body and allowing it to use its built-in self healing mechanisms I was well in less than 48 hours. I am back at work, going strong, and sassy as ever. Have a great week and treat your body well.