Saturday: It was Halloween. I was already feeling a little lousy and there was a tingling sensation in my throat. But I promised to have a few drinks with my housemates so I dressed up in some really warm clothes and went. The quality of my voice was dwindling rapidly and my throat felt as if a blade is permanently slicing through it. Halfway through the pub crawl I knew I had to take a vow of silence.

Sunday: The gargle-with-warm-water-and-rock-salt trick wasn’t doing the trick. I could only speak in whispers. I felt tired and sleepy all day. But I didn’t worry much. It could be simply a sore throat.

Monday: Still no voice. I started coughing. It was dry and painful on both throat and chest. I put myself on water therapy. I drank warm milk and honey before going to bed. I should be alright, good old home remedies. I couldn’t have the flu – I had a jab three weeks earlier.

Tuesday: No improvement with voice. I took an antihistamine pill to stop the runny nose. I was beginning to hate the sound of my own coughing and it kept me awake all night. Later in the day, when I could not take it anymore, I made a mad dash to the drugstore and bought a tub of Vicks Vaporub, a box of Strepsils and a bottle of cough syrup. I went to bed hopeful. And then, the high fever. Despite several layers of warm clothing complete with wool socks, scarf and bonnet, it felt icy cold under the thick duvet. A few hours later, I felt like burning. I slipped in and out of wakefulness, in between hallucinatory dreams. I’ve always had this with fever and I don’t know how to describe it properly but it sure is terrifying and draining of mental and physical energy.

Wednesday: I took some paracetamol and the fever subsided. Still hoarse and coughing and blowing my nose every so often. Since the cough remedies don’t seem to be effective, I made myself a hot toddy of whiskey and honey. It felt good while it lasted. And then the coughing resumed. I was dreading the night and praying the fever was gone for good. I could not stand another head spinning dream. But my temperature rose again and I wrestled with surreal images in my fitful sleep. No chance of making it to my dissertation consultation.

Thursday: Thought it was time to get help. I was calling the doctor’s office (my voice was a little better) and the recording advised patients with flu symptoms to go directly to the website of (or call) the UK National Flu Pandemic Service. I took the online diagnostic test and I wasn’t surprised of the result. I requested a housemate to pick up the free antivirals for me from a nearby authorized pharmacy. A little after noon, I popped my first Tamiflu. I didn’t have a fever that night but I soaked my beddings with sweat, which meant of course that my fever was subsiding.

Friday: That’s today and I’m feeling so much better. My voice is 70 percent back to normal and no more colds. I’m still coughing every now and then and there’s a throbbing in my temple but I know the worse is over. I’ll finish the five-day (two pill a day) antiviral treatment course and hope I don’t get sick in the near future again.

Tamiflu is both for the prevention and treatment of flu and it is most effective if taken within the first 48 hours of the onset of symptoms. I wasn’t lab tested for swine flu but since I had a (regular) flu shot earlier, it is reasonable to assume it’s swine flu indeed. Most swine flu cases are mild, especially for healthy individuals and over the counter meds are enough. If the symptoms are severe however, one should not hesitate to call the doctor. Tamiflu is technically speaking not a drug for swine flu because it’s been created for the treatment of regular flu. But it does help, if only for the placebo effect.

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Lalaine S. is (26) ay kasalukuyang nagsusunog ng kilay sa Oxford U sa Inglatera. Sya ay nagtapos ng BA-Philosophy, magna cum laude sa UP-Diliman at MA-Applied Ethics sa Linkoping U sa Sweden at Utrecht U sa Netherlands. Sya ay bahagi (pa) rin ng isang PhD program sa Oslo U sa Norway. Mahal nya ang bansang Pilipinas ngunit mahal ang pamasahe pauwi kaya't sa ngayon, doon muna sa Europa ang kanyang mga kwentong lamierda.