Dealing with a stuffy nose and a sore throat is bad enough. Add diarrhea to the mix, and it’s natural to wonder whether something more serious is going on when you notice cold and diarrhea together. The good news is that cold and diarrhea together are more common than most people think. In most cases,
Waking up with a scratchy, painful throat is annoying enough. But when there’s no runny nose, no cough, and no fever to explain it, the confusion can be almost as frustrating as the pain itself. A sore throat with no other symptoms is more common than most people realize. It doesn’t always mean you’re getting
Two winters ago I had a sore throat that wouldn’t quit, a fever, and that awful full-body ache. I was convinced I needed antibiotics. Called my doctor’s office, got squeezed in that afternoon, and after a quick swab, she told me it was viral—nothing bacterial going on. No antibiotics would help. Honestly, I was a
My neighbor Rosa called me at six in the morning last November and panicked. Overnight, the ambulance took her elderly mother to the hospital. Doctors repeated a term—sepsis—that slipped through Rosa’s understanding. She lived there. Medical words, though? Nothing like the English she knew. She kept asking me about sepsis in Spanish. One thought kept
Last winter, I woke up with a stuffy nose, a scratchy throat, and, out of nowhere, an upset stomach that sent me running to the bathroom three times before breakfast. I figured I just had a cold. However, the diarrhea confused me at first. After talking with my doctor and doing some digging, I learned
When I first dealt with a painful sore throat, I looked into homeopathic remedies for strep throat because I wanted gentle ways to feel more comfortable. I found that staying hydrated, getting plenty of rest, and using soothing remedies helped ease the discomfort while I waited to see my healthcare provider. Although these approaches made
My nephew had a sore throat for almost a week. He kept saying it wasn’t a big deal. Then he woke up with a 103 fever and could barely swallow water. Turned out to be strep, and by then it had already spread past his tonsils. The doctor told us untreated strep throat doesn’t always
I’m not great about going to the doctor. When my throat started killing me a couple winters back, I figured I’d just ride it out. Big mistake, in hindsight. Day one felt like a bad cold. By day four I could barely microplanet, and my fever bounced between 100 and 103. I caved and went