to your health

I am just coming out of a fluke 48 hour flu bug.  These things seem to strike me down with a vengeance since moving to Amsterdam.  Funny, it could be argued that I left one of the most germ-ridden places in the world for a cleaner-living environment... but my immune system would disagree.  My husband jokes that I am allergic to our new city.  I always laugh politely, though secretly I think the guy is onto something.

This is why I have procured an arsenal of over-the-counter medications from the US (along with some nifty new finds in the UK).  When I say arsenal, I mean nuclear fallout shelter level of stockpiled pharmaceuticals.  Like, I could run a black market drugstore and clear 6 figures easy kind of arsenal.  Which, I am beginning to realize, gives me great comfort knowing that I am just a room away from all sorts of synthetic remedies, but once you are sick, they really don't do much good.

That being said... Theraflu has really gotten me through some dark times.  When I ended up in the emergency room last fall with bronchitis, and came home without a prescription for anything (* see below note) it was Theraflu in its many forms - powder / thin strip / liquid syrup that consoled me.  I have a deep respect for this product.  What I failed to stock up on are your average run-of-the mill cough drops.  They are at the top of my list for upcoming travels.  Halls especially - something with some bite to it.  Here the pharmacist gives you something that tastes like black licorice when you have a sore throat.  Oddly, the same little drops are sold in most grocery stores in the candy aisle... hmmmm.

When I had a sinus infection last spring, my doctor proscribed what we in the states call Afrin (a nasal spray).  When I gently pressed him for something more aggressive, he warned me of a dangerous drug called Benadryl used in the USA and suggested that I let the body heal itself with a little more time.  (Little did he know that I was packing a jumbo bottle of the stuff in my bathroom around the corner!)  The one time I got my doctor to write me an actual prescription it turned out to be for penicillin.  I am deathly allergic to penicillin - he knows this - I got the hint.  I have a new doctor, BTW!

So tonight, when I have a thimble of wine with my dinner to celebrate triumph over the bug, I will toast to health.  May I have it for another month or so... please.

* I did however end up with a nifty face mask, as the nurse at emergency in-take thought that since I was coughing excessively, I might have SARS.  It was a long night, but Dan was there to make me laugh.