Posts tagged w/ cold

Przeziębienie - a common cold strikes again

Posted by Anna Ikeda
Oct
18
2009

I’m so sorry this post is late, but I have a very good excuse – I’m sick. Totally and utterly sick. Not the new flu (thankfully), but the whole nine yards nevertheless: katar (runny nose), kaszel (cough), ból gardła (sore throat) and everything else that comes with it. In other words – przeziębienie (a common cold) at its finest.

I can’t eat much, can’t drink much (which is bad, I know, because the first treatment option for a cold is to hydrate the body as much as possible) and I am generally miserable.

But what can I do? This is the cold and flu season and we just need to get through it.
I’ve tried various remedies and nothing seems to work. And as my dad is fond of saying: katar leczony trwa siedem dni, nieleczony – tydzień (runny nose lasts 7 days if treated, and a week if not). And since I’m almost at the seven day mark, I hope I will get better soon.

And in the meantime, I can honestly say I did what I could. I tried czosnek (garlic), probably the most vile food I’ve ever met. I drank syrop z cebuli (onion juice), which along with garlic is something I don’t wish upon my worst enemies. I consumed copious amounts of sok pomarańczowy (orange juice), which did nothing but gave me acid reflux, and took more vitamins (witaminy) that has been clinically proven safe. And nothing.

I drank ziółka (herbal teas), ate rosół (chicken soup), snacked on grejpfrut (grapefruit), and felt like I was single handedly keeping the company that makes Fervex in business.

And I wasn’t a nice person to be around. But still, the doc said – nie ma gorączki, nie ma grypy (no fever, no flu) and I was felt to suffer all by myself.

I know it’s irrational to demand antybiotyki (antibiotics) for a common cold, but I just wanted to get something. Anything. Even if it technically shouldn’t work, because the placebo effect alone can do wonders for a tortured patient. But no such luck, unfortunately.

So now, if you excuse me, I have więcej ziółek (more herbal tea) to drink.

 
Posted under Vocabulary
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I Have a Cold

Posted by Anna Ikeda
Oct
12
2008

I have a cold. Or worse than a cold. It’s one of those evil afflictions that bangs your head sideways and removes it from the head hinges. I’ve been like that for a week now, and I suspect that by now I have a vicious case of flu.
No, I didn’t see a doctor, because all he/she will do is tell me to go home, drink plenty of fluids and rest. And that I can do all by myself, and at least that way I won’t be exposed to those even more horrific cases sitting in the waiting room at the clinic.

Last week Grażyna suggested me to try some traditional Polish cold remedies, but since I don’t know any, and the ones she told me about sounded particularly vile, I did nothing. Maybe that’s why now my cold is a full-blown flu? But c’mon now, would you really drink milk with garlic? Or warm dark beer? They’re supposed to make you feel better. No kidding! After you puke all that milk and garlic out, you will certainly feel better, I guarantee it. And of course you’ll feel better after downing a couple of pints of dark beer, duh! For better results why not just drink żubrówka instead?

I really don’t remember what my mother used to give me when I had a cold as a child. Vitamin C and some fizzy orange flavored drink. I refused to drink milk, so that was out. I refused to eat onions and garlic so that was out. And I didn’t really like hot tea with honey, either. My mom’s chicken soup was OK, but it wasn’t the kind of stuff that would make you feel better. Possibly the opposite.

So, what did I do? Stay home, sit in bed, watch TV, read books and generally get on everybody’s nerves. In other words, not much has changed. I still do exactly the same when I’m down with flu.

And if you ever find yourself sick in Poland, here are some useful words:

I will record the audio when I get my voice back. Now, if you excuse me, I am crawling back under the blankets. No milk with garlic for me, thanks. I’ll stick to orange juice, zinc and multivitamins.

 
Posted under Vocabulary
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