Illness and Sensitivity Thresholds

[vakkotaur]

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.

Comments

[pharwarner.livejournal.com]

It's no fun at all... I dread the cold that I seem to get every 18 months or so. The loss of hunger is something I always seem to experence too, when sick. As you begin to get hungry again it sure can be a shock to rediscover hunger. Once again, I'm glad to hear that you're on the mend.

[kinkyturtle.livejournal.com]

Ooog... though when I caught stomach flu back in June, I woulda gladly traded it for a cold!