I have been sick 4 times in the last month, should I just man up and see a doctor?

definitely…esp if insurance will cover it.

Could be a sinus infection. They are persistent buggers without antibiotics. Get to the doc ASAP. This can be gone in three days.

or see if you can call in + have the doc write a script for antibiotics or a zpak. thatll save everyone time.

Flu? You could not get out of bed, fever over 102, bad cough? Flu generally does not have a lot of phlegm, but colds and sinus infection can. Did you take medicine for it that you might have been allergic to, and that is what the rash is from?

Might be a sinus infection as mentioned above, and antibiotics would help a lot.

Next time your girlfriend issick, don’t get near her for a few days. Same with family members if you don’t have to. Don’t touch your face, until after washing your hands, as a common practice is wise. We catch illness by touching something the sick person touches and then touch our eyes, nose, or mouth, which allows the virus or bacteria into our body. People are most contagious during the first 48 hours of being sick. Use the back of your hand if you have an itch.

@JLeslie The first one was a cold, no raised temp, stuffy nose, headache, throat. The second one I assume was flu, fever approached 103, a bit of flem, very sick/headache/achy/dizzy, third one was just a rash, but came with a fever around 101 the first day, and a general achy feeling, latest one started for 2–3 days as just super runny nose, has developed into me feeling cold/achy/feverish.

No medication past tylenol, antibiotic cream for rash, and advil cold and sinus for the latest cold.

Well, it could be a string of catching colds and flu, which is sucky luck for you. Each time you get sick, the body can weaken and be more vulnerable for another infection. If I were you, based on what you describe, which is currently you have a runny nose, fever, if I understand you right, I would check to see if the muscous is green when you blow your nose. If it is green, after all you have been through, I would go to the doctor for an antibiotic. If it is clear or white, I would wait it out to the 7 day mark. If you stay sick after 7 days, I would go to the doctor for an antibiotic. Unless you feel your lungs are very full, difficult to breath, or your cough is not bringing up anything, then go right away, and rule out pneumonia.

Once you are better, you might want to go for a check up and see if you are dificient in iron, B12, D, and do a CBC (white blood cells red blood cells, and other fighter cells) and maybe an ESR (which can indicate inflammation, infection, and autoimmune disease). For me, I get sick more when my iron is low, it makes a huge difference for me. But, too much iron is very dangerous, so I recommend checking your iron before taking it. Are your lips and tongue red? Are they pink or almost white?

I really think you most likely just had a bad run of luck, there is a lot of illness going around this year.

Another question. Is there a chance you were never really better in between, just better at taking medicine that made you feel better? And this is all one long mess? If that is possible I would go to the doctor for an antibiotic. Generally, I am against rushing in for an antibiotic, because many people take them unnecessarily, but this might warrant it.

If the doc doesn’t prescribe anit-biotics, which they dont normally do unless you have an infection (anti-biotics arn’t used for viruses, I dont think – but shout if I’m wrong about that one fluthers’), ask him to sign you off for a few more days at least.
You need good rest to recover, and to try to keep away from all the other germs which may set you back again (it will also stop other people catching what you have).

It appears that you are re-infecting yourself. are you drinking from the same utensils, that have not been washed? if so, your whole living environment needs sanitizing. for instance: drink only water from a different glass each time, never drink out a bottle of water….use a glass and pour the water into it. use a clean tissue each time you blow your nose and discard, buy a can of Clorox wipes and disinfect your personal surrounding and especially your cellphone and keyboard on your pc.

I have just about finished my tour of whatever crape this is. its been four weeks. my wife determined that i was re-infecting myself with bottled water. she was correct. i finally went to my doctor and he gave me a strong antibiotice to take for ten days. i believe i am on the road to recovery. also, for my terrible cough, he gave me cough medicene with codeine in it. thats the only thing that quietened my cough at night, so my wife would not divorce me.

Cough up what you can and keep your hands sanitized and away from your face. its a long journey of misery.

@misstrikcy Viruses cause infections, viral infections. But, you are right that antibiotics are for bacterial infection.

@tedd If you suspect reinfection as @john65pennington suggested, that would be bacterial. Most viruses we don’t catch twice. Sometimes we can overcome bacterial on our own, sometimes we need help with antibiotics.

If you have insurance, go to the doctor. I don’t know what “manning up” has to do with it. Seems like most men think it’s wussy to go to the doctor. They want to “tough it out” on their own. Being a man. Who doesn’t go to the doctor. Going to the doctor is for wusses.

Seems to me that the normal, intelligent thing to do is to go to the doctor. The intelligent thing to do is to be a wuss.

@JLeslie mucous is white/clear, and I’ve had this current sickness since probably last Thursday (maybe Wednesday night). It was originally just the runny nose, but has grown worse the last few days. Fever hit 100 degrees about an hour ago. I don’t think I’m deficient in any vitamins/minerals/etc, I take a multivitamin, have been downing airbourne a lot lately, and I eat fairly healthy (fast food maybe 2–3 times a week, but usually stuff cooked at home). My lips are chapped and tongue and lips are red, but I’m pale so thats not out of the ordinary. I’m not sure if I was actually better in between, but the symptoms of each sickness have varied, and the rash (sickness #3) was not at all similar to the others.

@john65pennington I always use clean dishes/utensils. I may re-use a glass once or twice on the same day, but never consecutive days. I will try sanitizing my keyboard and phone though. I don’t have much of a cough, but I am getting one today and last night. Very painful cough, lots of flem.

@wundayatta Its not so much that its for wusses, but I don’t want to burden a doctor, burden my bank account, and burden my time… if its just a regular cold and he just tells me to go home and sleep and drink lots of fluids.

@tedd I would wait few days then before going to the doctor. Get some vaseline for you lips and nose for nighttime, so you can unchap. If you are pale, and rarely go in the sun; next time at the doctor get your vitamin D checked. Something like 25% of people are dificient, because we protect ourselves from the sun so well.

To add one more item to @john65pennington‘s list of things to clean, make sure you pitch your toothbrush. Rinsing it in hot water does not kill germs.

Don’t feel too bad, my boyfriend has been the same for the past month. If it’s not a cold then it’s a sore throat and once that’s gone it’s a ton of phlegm and sinus pressure or a runny nose then it’s on to something else. But he’s a teacher so this happens every year and you just gotta give yourself enough time of relaxing to get better and get your immune system up. Take a bunch of vitamin C, echinachea, drink a lot of water, use a Neti pot, do a saltwater gargle if your throat hurts….get enough sleep, don’t stress out…and yeah, get a new toothbrush.

Because you are seeing a girlfriend, you and she are probably passing the cold or flu back and forth between you. If you haven’t had a flu shot yet, you can still get one now.

You have been under an extreme amount of stress for a long time now. For that reason alone, you should go to the doctor and tell him/her everything and ask for a referral to a good therapist. Don’t just go to the doctor and tell him you’ve had this cold thing. You MUST explain to the doctor about all of the issues that have been causing all of your stress. Extreme stress can weaken your immune system which makes you vulnerable to all sorts of things that you wouldn’t necessarily pick up if your immune system had been strong.

I’m glad to hear that you are taking a multi-vitamin and eating healthily, but because of the stress, your system is probably weaker than you might expect. Is your current girlfriend aware of all of the situations that have given you so much stress? If not, you need to let her know right away. She should be your partner in getting you healthy if she wants to continue dating you.

I strongly urge that you go to the doctor. You may have a recurring cold or flu, for which there is little the doctor can do for you, but you really need to get a referral to a therapist to help you deal with all of the stress and get a better outlook on your life.

Also, try to not be physical with your girlfriend until both of you is completely free of illness, or else you will just keep passing it back and forth. It’s possible that one or both of you has mono and you should ask the doctor about that. Don’t share your toothbrushes (and toss them now that you sick) make sure to keep the bathroom and kitchen extra clean while you are sick (use antibacterial wet wipes on the counters and sinks) and wash your hands with soap and water before and after you use the facility and before and after you touch any food or pets (just until you get back to normal). Wash your sheets and comforters every couple of days. I hope you feel better soon.

Colds and flus do not pass back and forth, what I mean is not the same one over and over again. Colds and flu are like chicken pox, once you get that particular virus, you don’t get it again. The thing is there are something like 200 cold viruses, so you think you have a cold again, but it is a different virus strain. Same with flu. Once you get H1N1 you should be immune to that, but can still get other flus, like avian, etc.

Yes

Last night I was feeling way better and figured I’d go to work today. Woke up and my fever was back, so I took some meds and slept in for a bit, still intent on going to work. When I finally woke up my fever was gone but I still felt crappy, dizzy, warm, clammy… Went to the local minute clinic… diagnosis is bacterial sinus infection.

@tedd That’s no fun. Did they give you any meds? I hope you feel better soon : )

@Kardamom Amoxicillin…. I largely feel ok now, I’m just incredibly congested, and a bit dizzy and such still. Expecting I’ll be back at work tomorrow.

You’ll feel a significant change in another 72 hours. I hope they gave you Amoxocillin Clauvanate, and not staight Amox.

@tedd If you are still congested, you might want to try that neti pot that was mentioned a few posts back (sorry to the poster, I’m looking for it) and keep up with the drinking of warm liquids. If you have to work, be really careful because of the dizzyness, you may need to stay home until that passes. If you do go to work, take the clorox wipes with you and keep your stations clean. Watch out for tummy troubles too. Sometimes the anti-biotics can give you a stomach ache or make you feel nauseous.

Oh, also, when you are going to shower…go to your smallest full bathroom, close all the doors, run the shower hot, and fog the bathroom, breath in that steamy room for a few minutes, and then turn down to a warm shower, and take your shower in the foggy bathroom. It will work out to a good 10–15 minutes or so of moist air, and help loosen the congestion.