# I'm Sick--rather poorly
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-sick-rather-poorly/975210
**Category:** The Quarantine Zone
**Tags:** covid-quarantine
**Created:** [November 19, 2022, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-sick-rather-poorly/975210 "2022-11-19T16:33:25Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)
#### Post date: [November 19, 2022, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-sick-rather-poorly/975210/1 "2022-11-19T16:33:25Z")
Nose runny, bad cough, phlegm. Used to have a sore throat.
I went to the doctor Monday.
1. Tested negative for COVID
2. Tested negative for Flu.
3. Negative for strep.
Up to date on all vaccines, including COVID, flu & Pneumonia.
Also got some antibiotics. Azithromycin 250.
Stewroid shot Monday.
Sore throat gone, severe tiredness gone, still oozing goo from nose & coughing up.
Also, had script cough medicine, used up. Regular CM now.
Any guesses?
---
### Author:  [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)
#### Post date: [November 19, 2022, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-sick-rather-poorly/975210/2 "2022-11-19T16:43:53Z")
No guesses. I’d bring some chicken soup but I don’t know where you are. Hope you get fully well soon.
---
### Author:  [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)
#### Post date: [November 19, 2022, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-sick-rather-poorly/975210/3 "2022-11-19T16:48:11Z")
RSV maybe?
---
### Author:  [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)
#### Post date: [November 19, 2022, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-sick-rather-poorly/975210/4 "2022-11-19T16:50:31Z")
> [@Baker](#):
>
> No guesses. I’d bring some chicken soup but I don’t know where you are. Hope you get fully well soon.
I may have previously mentioned that my go-to for this sort of thing is hot-and-sour soup from a local Chinese restaurant. Something about the thickened broth seems to help me get better.
---
### Author:  [@BippityBoppityBoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BippityBoppityBoo)
#### Post date: [November 19, 2022, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-sick-rather-poorly/975210/5 "2022-11-19T17:32:48Z")
> [@Chefguy](#):
>
> RSV maybe?
That would be my first guess too. RSV often hits adults like a cold, but a little to a lot harder and tends to be of longer duration. Lots in the newspapers about RSV running amuck lots of places this past month.
Don’t ask me how I know \>cough, hack, cough\<.
---
### Author:  [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)
#### Post date: [November 19, 2022, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-sick-rather-poorly/975210/6 "2022-11-19T18:06:52Z")
Concur with those proposing RSV. 'Tis the season for it, it’s out there in infecting thousands of folks right now and putting tons of kids and old folks into the hospital and straining the system.
---
### Author:  [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)
#### Post date: [November 19, 2022, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-sick-rather-poorly/975210/7 "2022-11-19T18:30:16Z")
First I’ve heard of it.
Very bad?
COVID bad?
---
### Author:  [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)
#### Post date: [November 19, 2022, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-sick-rather-poorly/975210/8 "2022-11-19T18:50:49Z")
Most healthy adults do just fine. It hits the babies, debilitated, elderly the hardest and can be deadly to them but for the rest it’s mostly just a really icky cold. Do a google news search on RSV and you’ll uncover tons of stories about it at present though.
---
### Author:  [@BippityBoppityBoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BippityBoppityBoo)
#### Post date: [November 19, 2022, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-sick-rather-poorly/975210/9 "2022-11-19T19:43:29Z")
> [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#):
>
> Do a google news search on RSV
RSV=respiratory syncytial virus
---
### Author:  [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)
#### Post date: [November 19, 2022, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-sick-rather-poorly/975210/10 "2022-11-19T19:58:45Z")
I think that I had the RSV bug. I was coughing up phlegm like it was going out of style for about 3 weeks.
---
### Author:  [@DavidNRockies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidNRockies)
#### Post date: [November 19, 2022, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-sick-rather-poorly/975210/11 "2022-11-19T20:02:22Z")
Feel better … pronto!
> **[Learn about Respiratory Syncytial Virus Infection (RSV).](https://www.cdc.gov/rsv/index.html)**
>
> Respiratory syncytial (sin-SISH-uhl) virus, or RSV, is a common respiratory virus that usually causes mild, cold-like symptoms but can be serious.
---
### Author:  [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)
#### Post date: [November 19, 2022, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-sick-rather-poorly/975210/12 "2022-11-19T20:46:59Z")
Feel better!
---
### Author:  [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)
#### Post date: [November 19, 2022, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-sick-rather-poorly/975210/13 "2022-11-19T20:48:36Z")
I’ve been “enjoying” the OP’s symptoms since Sunday. After my wife enjoyed them for a couple weeks a few weeks before. I doubt I got it from her since she was fully recovered quite awhile before I started showing. More likely mine came from work. I just hope not to give it back to her and renew the cycle.
You’re glad you can’t hear the gross throat-clearing noises every couple of minutes. Snooort!!! Gulp!! Urrrggh! Hack! 🗣
---
### Author:  [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)
#### Post date: [November 19, 2022, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-sick-rather-poorly/975210/14 "2022-11-19T22:05:43Z")
Sorry to hear it @Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor hope you feel better soon.
---
### Author:  [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)
#### Post date: [November 19, 2022, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-sick-rather-poorly/975210/15 "2022-11-19T22:27:49Z")
[Here’s](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-rsv-such-a-big-deal-these-days/974909) another thread on it.
---
### Author:  [@Jaycat.again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jaycat.again)
#### Post date: [November 19, 2022, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-sick-rather-poorly/975210/16 "2022-11-19T22:29:19Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#):
>
> I may have previously mentioned that my go-to for this sort of thing is hot-and-sour soup from a local Chinese restaurant. Something about the thickened broth seems to help me get better.
I once had a bad cold and combined hot and sour soup with antibiotics. Too bad I wasn’t wearing a diaper… Just a word to the wise.
---
### Author:  [@Seanette](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Seanette)
#### Post date: [November 20, 2022, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-sick-rather-poorly/975210/17 "2022-11-20T02:13:25Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#):
>
> I may have previously mentioned that my go-to for this sort of thing is hot-and-sour soup from a local Chinese restaurant. Something about the thickened broth seems to help me get better.
My husband would agree with you.
---
### Author:  [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)
#### Post date: [November 21, 2022, 6:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-sick-rather-poorly/975210/18 "2022-11-21T06:37:14Z")
Hot and sour soup is great.
But my go to is a special concoction of ginger tea: I get a bottle of the pickled ginger (sushi ginger) that they use at sushi restaurants, like the link from Target below. Pour some of the juice from the jar into a mug, then add lemon juice and honey and just about any sort of tea.
I love this tea. My wife thinks it’s nasty.
I hope you feel better, OP.
> **[JFC Sushi Ginger - 11.5oz](https://www.target.com/p/jfc-sushi-ginger-11-5oz/-/A-47090221?ref=tgt_adv_XS000000&AFID=google_pla_df&fndsrc=tgtao&DFA=71700000012510691&CPNG=PLA_Grocery%2BShopping%7CGrocery_Ecomm_Food_Bev&adgroup=SC_Grocery&LID=700000001170770pgs&LNM=PRODUCT_GROUP&network=g&device=m&location=9031936&targetid=pla-382931297930&ds_rl=1246978&gbraid=0AAAAAD-5dfZOtPEMjxs66QXG3U4NICpVu&gbraid=0AAAAAD-5dfZOtPEMjxs66QXG3U4NICpVu&gclid=Cj0KCQiAveebBhD_ARIsAFaAvrFW5N1g9SdKxlKM9WZpfnJ12nozcUQKL5Wgd2r005OI35EYvh4Ht3YaAo80EALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds)**
>
> Read reviews and buy JFC Sushi Ginger - 11.5oz at Target. Choose from contactless Same Day Delivery, Drive Up and more.
---
### Author:  [@UDS1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UDS1)
#### Post date: [November 21, 2022, 6:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-sick-rather-poorly/975210/19 "2022-11-21T06:56:46Z")
> [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](#):
>
> Also got some antibiotics. Azithromycin 250.
Strongly suggests that your doctor does not think that your infection is viral — antibiotics are ineffective against viruses and, for obvious reasons, should not be prescribed. Not being viral would rule out RSV.
---
### Author:  [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)
#### Post date: [November 21, 2022, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-sick-rather-poorly/975210/20 "2022-11-21T14:03:00Z")
IANA medical anybody, but as an alert patient IME here in the USA it’s rather common for docs to prescribe antibiotics for what are most likely viral infections. The key being “most likely”.
The rationale seems to be a) there might be a concomitant or opportunistic bacterial infection, and if so that secondary infection could well explode into pneumonia, so prophylaxis is good and b) gotta give the pt something to make them feel like the doc visit was justified or they won’t come back next time. Whether that’s “blatant fee mongering” or “providing good customer service” is somewhat in the eye of the beholder.
Also IME there does seem to be an element of symptomatic relief associated with starting the antibiotic series. Anecdote is not data, but others have mentioned the same effect.
Overall on a societal level, is this use of antibiotics smart? Probably not, as you suggest. Has it been done for decades and is it still going on, albeit now facing some opposition from officialdom? Yes IME.
[Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-sick-rather-poorly/975210.md?page=2)