Wednesday, August 26, 2009

Illness

It is almost inevitable that on a major overseas trip you’ll fall ill, whether it be a gastric illness or food poisoning or a common cold. Staying awake for nearly 24 hours travelling across the globe to a timezone where day and night are reversed stressed my constitution and compromised my immunity so that within mere days of the start of my trip I’ve fallen victim to the flu.

The night before last I felt the start of a sore throat. I visited the Travel Doctor before leaving Sydney and picked up some Tamiflu, but despite that my throat was raw the following morning I hesitated to take it. It’s my only supply. For it to be effective against influenza, it must be taken within 48 hours of the onset of symptoms, but it is also ineffective against the common cold. What if that’s all I’d caught? What if I really do contract the flu later in the trip? I tried to convince myself later that day that my sore back was just from carrying my backpack, but when my temperature rose overnight I relented and began my course of Tamiflu this morning. I have Sudafed with me as well, so I’m not feeling too bad.

4 comments:

Unknown said...

Sorry to hear that the lurgy has decided to accompany you. Hope things improve soon.

Kaz said...

I hope you feel better soon! It certainly is no fun falling ill on your travels but it sounds like you're well prepared. I have a course of Tami and can post that to you somewhere if you like. Take care!

The Squeak said...

Europe is not Siberia, you'll find a doctor if you need more Tamiflu. Touch wood!

Unknown said...

Hope you're feeling better by the time you're reading this. Drink lots of German beer, if you run out of Tamiflu or can't find a decent doctor who didn't participate in Nazi experiments...