Unfortunately, my plans of devouring my Lindt chocolate bunny yesterday - an Easter Sunday tradition that I've always celebrated - were put on hold yesterday when I was suddenly seized by a stomach bug, which relished the opportunity of depriving me from the usual treats that define Easter. Within hours, my face had paled to a shade even more ghostly than Casper's complexion, while I struggled to close my eyes and transport myself to a world without buckets, six feet-deep blankets and boiling temperatures bothering me for several hours. Just what anybody could hope for - not!
Fast forward twenty four hours, I've mostly recovered from my sickness, yet I haven't entirely gotten rid of a sense of delicateness which I suppose still makes me entitled to special treatment from my family - something that I'm definitely not going to complain about! And, to be honest, I doubt that I'll be tucking into cold jacket potatoes for breakfast every day...
So, if you have succumbed to any leapt-out-of-nowhere bugs or are feeling rather sorry for yourself after bingeing on one too many Cadbury's Easter eggs, I've gathered some advice on what to do in the meantime until you recover. Recovery isn't an instant process which proves that, despite my hopes of waking up this morning and feeling as fine as I did several days ago, it takes a while to reach the finishing line. Mostly, taking care of yourself requires oh-so-ridiculously-basic common sense, but I really wouldn't trust my wiser senses whilst stumbling around the house in a sleep-deprived haze, would I?
1. Haribos, I'm breaking up with you...
Obviously a trick that I truly regret not paying attention to yesterday, eating can in fact cause unnecessary stress to your already messed-up digestive system, resulting in more trips to the ugly yellow bucket than your nightmares could ever conjure. Until you are completely, 100% sure that not a drop of yesterday's breakfast will be making a guest appearance, try your hardest to not be seduced by the packet of digestives hidden in the cupboard!
Still, I did try to eat some food, mainly toast and jacket potatoes (a.k.a. plain foods which Google translate as 'boring'), with a few gingersnaps thrown into my unusual diet (as ginger is often linked with being good for nausea), because I didn't want to deprive my body of any nutrients. Even though going without my typical diet of fruit, vegetables and perhaps a gooey chocolate chip cookie or two for a day was unlikely to throw my body into despair, I disliked the idea of literally starving myself all day long - well,
2. No parties allowed - just rest!
It isn't every day when you are encouraged by your parents, who generally think that you are the laziest teenager to have ever existed on this planet, to lie on your bed and pretend that you're sunbathing on a beach in Ibiza as you fight the cruel-minded pathogens attacking your body, but at least we know how to make the most of this opportunity!
However, unlike the numerous parties that we'd never resist going to on Spain's sunniest island, resting is rather boring business, which entirely goes against a teen's principles of having fun all the time. Quel horreur! Still, I nonetheless relished the chance to escape my constant stomach aches and general weakness for several hours whilst closing my eyes and somewhat falling asleep for a little while - it's certainly better than remaining awake, which only provides you with time to spend pitying yourself!
3. Bye-bye work!
Originally, I'd planned on making the holidays into a non-stop revision session, jam-packed with past papers, examination questions, mind-maps, analysing texts and reading as many books as possible. Despite my best efforts, I've hardly done any of this - and, until I feel more like myself, I have no intention of returning to eager, borderline insane studying mode quite yet.
For one thing, how can I expect myself to produce work to my usual standard if all I'm thinking about is whether I still need the puke bucket to constantly remain by my side? Dealing with an unpleasant bug is bad enough, but is even worse when you have to contend with intensive work which requires tons of energy - all of which is being channelled into battling your illness.
As I was intent on making a start on Maths revision, I'm somewhat relieved to not be tackling vectors, rectangles and other horrors for a while. Well, at least I haven't lost my sense of positivity...
4. Readjust slowly
When I woke up this morning and realised that my stomach no longer groaned as horribly as it did yesterday, my instant reaction was to race down the stairs towards the kitchen and raid all the cupboards - because I had absolutely nothing in my system. Sorry to give you such graphic details, but everything that I'd consumed over the weekend had come up, so it was fair to say that I was running on virtually nothing.
Like a car, I craved to refuel myself with some food, but I somehow managed to get a hold of my brain before hunger took hold of my sanity. As I couldn't be entirely sure that I'd mostly gotten rid of the bug, there was no way that I could start stuffing myself with plate loads of bread quite yet - after all, has recovery ever been an instant process?
So, approach food and drink (e.g. milk and juice, which can be quite acidic) carefully for the first day or two after the initial yuckiness. A good start is relying on the likes of plain toast and jacket potatoes (with a tiny amount of pepper if you yearn a bit of flavour) before trying other foods. Fizzy drinks such as Pepsi and Coca Cola can ease any uneasiness in your stomach, whilst providing a burst of flavour that is otherwise not present in toast and potatoes - believe me, Cola will definitely become your new best friend!
Whether it was a premonition or pure incidence, I baked tons of gingersnaps on Saturday, which I've mostly been eating today. Ginger is brilliant for reducing symptoms of nausea, whereas the biscuits inject a bit of sweetness and energy, but do bear in mind that eating too many is not a wise idea!
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