I've been ill with a rather nasty cold for the last week or so. This is, of course, a whole lot of no fun. I think I'm over the worst of it. I did notice a few things. During illness the senses have wildly different thresholds than during times of good health. A few examples:
1. The normally puny little refrigerator light, during illness, can become a 15 MILLION CANDLEPOWER SEARCH BEAM!
2. Minor little noises seem louder - or at least more painful.
3. Taste is skewed. One indication of recovery is that the 7-Up I've been drinking (went down easier than plain water) is starting to seem too thick and excessively sweet again. Plain water is starting to not taste metallic. Earlier this week I ate some Salt & Vinegar Pringles and barely noticed the (normally quite strong) flavors. Just now I had a cherry Pop-Tart and the plain part (with no filling or frosting) tasted surprisingly salty.
4. Hunger seems not to register well. A few times this week I had to remind myself that yes, I did actually need to eat something approximating a meal. Actual hungers pangs came as a surprise, with a bit of "Huh, what's that feeling? Oh, yeah.. I should eat, shouldn't I?"
5. Normally comfortable temperatures feel cold. The comfortable temperature range seems narrow - it seems easy to feel too hot as well.