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beginner forum: for novice and developing blues harp players >
Playing and headcold
Playing and headcold
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SuperBee
5339 posts
Mar 25, 2018
2:20 PM
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On Thursday just around 4pm I began to develop symptoms of a head cold.
By Saturday I felt truly dreadful. I really could not get out of bed. No, I could get out of bed but I was only up for very basic tasks. Mainly hygiene and hydration. In the evening I ate. The ‘cold and flu’ pills were not enough to get me going.
If I’d had a gig Saturday, no way I could have done it.
Sunday morning I was still crook but not as bad as Saturday.
I got moving. I found my codeine-based cough medicine and my paracetamol + psuedoephedrine pills. I noticed a cough was beginning and I didn’t want to spend the afternoon coughing my throat raw. So I suppressed it. Normally I would not do that but this was about timing.
I figured to time the medication so it would be fully effective during the period of the gig. So I dosed up on the cough syrup around 1pm and again around 5. Same with the pills, so I could ‘soldier on’ to get ready 1-5 and the second dose would be fully active 6-7pm
Glad to report this strategy basically worked out.
Yes, my vocals were less strong, but I avoided pushing the limits. Luckily I found the limits in warm-up and backing vocals.
One thing I had forgotten though is that psuedoephedrine, while great for opening up the airways and lifting mood/energy, also causes a dry mouth.
Again through luck I noticed this just before we started and managed to obtain 2 cups of water. I really needed those. Even with the water I found moments where my tongue was so dry I was really struggling.
So anyway, with all that I’m pleased to say the gig was successfully managed. I’m glad it was only 1 hour. I was good for another hour but I definitely went downhill after that.
I’m also glad I didn’t panic and call it off but it was something of a gamble.
This was the anniversary of our drummer’s first gig. And it was kinda high-profile for local bands. We were the last act of a 2 day event near the end of ‘the season’, and we are playing at the top of our form after 3 months of regular weekly gigs plus weekly rehearsals. I’m not even hung up about improvising solos at the moment.
Another side note, and somewhat OT; since February 1, that cough syrup which saved my throat is not available without prescription. All codeine products in Australia are now prescription only. So I’d have had to find a sympathetic MD on the weekend to manage this had I not had the bottle already in the cupboard. I’m pretty crabby about this.
At least the pharmacists have overcome their panic about psuedoephedrine. 10 years ago they may have just refused to sell it to me, and fobbed me off with phenylephrine instead. Thankfully it now seems widely understood that phenylephrine doesn’t actually work so they readily dispense psuedoephedrine, although ID is required.
To my thinking, taking a similar approach to codeine would have been much better than making it prescription-only.
It’s costing me $40 out of pocket to attend a GP in normal business hours. Still, an opportunity for the pharmaceutical businesses. Now they’re combining paracetamol with ibuprofen as the off the shelf painkiller for strong pain. That’s ok I suppose. Doesn’t have the cough-suppressing quality of an opiate though.
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Frankie
119 posts
Mar 25, 2018
8:38 PM
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My English is poor not sure I understood all that but I hope you will get well .
I have found out that some foods are warm in nature and some are cold in nature .
When I eat a lot of cold food ( I do not mean temperature I mean the nature of food ) I need to eat warm food to compensate otherwise I get headache.
When I eat cold food and I get headache I put a little less than a teaspoon of Cinnamon with a few drops of water and mix it then I rub that drop of water cinnamon on my forehead, after a few min my head gets warm ... Just a home remedy :) and I feel better.
Last Edited by Frankie on Mar 25, 2018 8:40 PM
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SuperBee
5342 posts
Mar 26, 2018
1:54 AM
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It’s just a long story. I had to play a gig but I was sick. I managed because I’m old enough to work it out and lucky to have access to medicine and also, things just worked out well.
The second part is an OT gripe about losing easy access to useful medicine.
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SkullKid
107 posts
Mar 26, 2018
10:43 AM
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Glad you found a way to work around your cold and still perform well, Bee!
@Frankie: Interesting concept about food temperature, never heard that before!
Cheers
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