Hot And Cold

You'll Catch Your Death of Cold

I suspect that we are all, if not infected, at least carrying around any number of agents of disease. Viruses mostly, though there could be bacteria in the mix as well. What keeps us healthy, at least when we are, is that none of these agents has a sufficient toehold to cause any real trouble. Our immune system keeps their population in check. However, any little upset in the current order can tip the scales such that some of these miscreants can increase their numbers to the point where they can cause trouble, and that's when we get sick.

Twice in recent memory I got cold, and a couple of days later I was feeling miserable. Not sick exactly, but not functioning at my peak. The most recent event was Monday. I lay down in the TV room to take a nap. Not the warmest room in the house, but I had a blanket, and I thought I would be fine. I was cold when I lay down, but when I got up I felt fine. But yesterday I paid the price. I spent all day sleeping, and when I was awake I couldn't concentrate on anything more complicated than solitaire. Basically a wasted day. But today I am feeling better.

The previous incident probably happened last winter. I went for a walk in the cold. It was chilly starting out, but after awhile I warmed up a bit. I never did get hot though. I managed to generated enough heat to keep from feeling cold all the way through, but my arms and legs still felt it. This one quite wiped me out. Took at least a day to recover. I think it was exhaustion more than anything. Not just from walking but from having to generate enough heat to keep warm.

So maybe there is something to that old saw about "you'll catch your death of cold".

Update March 2016 replaced missing picture.