Things to do when we get sick

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Things to do when we get sick

Three days ago, I had a stomach ache in the morning. I think it was caused by hunger. I went to a coffee shop and got myself a ham bun and coffee, which made me feel a bit better. At the afternoon I started to feel the pain again. The pain worsened when I was going home after work. I felt as if I was having food poisoning. I had to deal with it fast because I had to work on the next day. Ouch!

When I say “getting sick”, I mean common sickness like flu, fever, coughing, and stomach ache, which haunts us from time to time, not serious sickness like heart problem or dengue fever. The most obvious thing we normally do when we get sick is to see a doctor and get proper medication. Some people prefer to take self medication or simply let the body heal itself naturally. Okay, what’s next after taking medication?

The question should be what we can do to speed up the healing process and optimize recovery. The answer would be helpful to those who get sick during working or schooling days and wish to recover quickly and move on with life. We can’t depend on medication alone to work wonder. We want to work with it to get well soon.

Before that, we should know how to avoid making things worse. Here’s a list of stuffs to avoid. They drain energy from us and worsen the problem:

1.     Holidays
2.     Depression
3.     Sedentary lifestyle
4.     Being with negative people
5.     Dehydration
6.     Dietary choices
7.     Travel
8.     Errands and chores
9.     Overworked at the office
10.     A bad night’s sleep

Read this site if you want to know more about each of these energy draining factors. Conserving energy helps us to recover faster.

It’s a good idea to cut down coffee intake because it’s an “anti-detox” agent that promotes dehydration. You want to avoid it when you are sick, no matter how addictive it is. There are always alternative drinks such as green tea and lemon juice. I would gulp down a few cups of plain water.

Running or jogging is a double edge sword. While it increases the level of fitness, it also lowers the body’s immunity. When we get sick, our priority is immunity. There’s a time for fitness training and there’s a time for resting. Sick time is rest time. If you get sick, don’t go out and run 5 km. You will make things worse. Flu is one of the sicknesses that get worse with running. If you are serious in health, you should run or jog before you get sick.

Significant amount of rest is needed to allow the body to recover. Recovery should be the top priority and we should channel our energy in this direction.  That means we have to cancel or stop other activities such as blogging, reading, and playing video games. Sleep more than usual because healing requires quantity and quality sleep. Eight hours of undisturbed sleep is a good rule of thumb. Healing takes place most effectively in deeper phase of sleep so we have to ensure that we can sleep properly for long hours to optimize recovery. You might want to sleep earlier than usual even if it means missing your favourite TV programs.

Drinking a lot of water helps our body to remain hydrated and enable the body to function properly. It also helps to detoxify the body system. It’s important to drink water even when we are not thirsty because when we feel thirsty, we are already rather dehydrated. Soft drinks, liquor, and coffee should be avoided. Keep them away. Forget them. Stick to plain water.

Eat three square meals properly. Even if you usually don’t eat three meals per day, it’s advisable to make your sick day a special exception. Don’t worry about becoming fat. It’s just temporary for the sake of healing. Eat rich and balanced meals (preferably home cooked food) to get sufficient nutrient to promote recovery. You might want to take extra vitamin tablets. Fruit, vegetable, and meat (first class protein) should be eaten sufficiently.

Three days ago, I came home from work with excruciating stomach pain. It made my face pale and I felt weak. When I reached home, I took a nice bath and had a proper dinner. I planned to write an article for my blog that night but I had to cancel it so that I can sleep earlier. I drank a few mugs of water and went to sleep at 8.30 p.m. I felt better the next morning after having enough sleep. I went to work and had proper three square meals later and I recovered completely.

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Readers’ contribution:

foongpc says:

I agree we should sleep and rest more when we are sick. It helps the immune system to fight the illness.

And I don’t do any strenuous exercises when I’m sick otherwise my sickness would become worse. I also stay away from sugary food as it depresses the immune system.

If possible, I also avoid medication cos it’s better to let our body heal itself.

Tagged as: advice, Health, life, self improvement, sick, tips