#chest cold

March ⛅️

So many people are getting sick as the weather starts to change and snow starts to melt, kicking off allergy season. Sneezy season pushes on.

Headache

Chills, but no fever

Congestion. Plugged, snotty nose and sneezing, a cough, discomfort in general. You are a complete snot monster, but you can’t help it. You can only blame whoever gave you such a horrible cold.

April 🌧

April showers bring May flowers, but they also bring bouts of spring colds. The weather is beginning to get nicer, but you have to be stuck in bed with a bad cold.

Fever and aches. Not the kind of fever that makes you solely cold, but the kind that makes you sweat and have goosebumps simultaneously. As for aches, think head, throat, chest, legs, arms, everything.

A head that’s so stuffed up that the sufferer can’t breathe, let alone sneeze normally. With every breath, they can feel everything shifting grossly inside of their head.

May 💐

Why do I feel like everyone catches the sniffles at the end of the school year?

A runny, slightly sniffly nose that’s just stuffy enough for them to sound congested, and for their exhaled to feel uncomfortably hot against their skin.

Sneezing, a result of the snotty, itchy nose.

A sight, irritated cough

June 💦

Summer break is prime time to swim, but the earlier in the season you do it, the colder the water will be. Keep this in mind, because swimming in cold water can result in a nasty cold.

It would start off with chills. Your body would try to warm up, but eventually a fever would start to set in.

Your nose would begin running when you were in the water, but it wouldn’t stop when you got out. It would completely stuff you up within a few hours.

A headache/body aches from shivering for hours on end. No amounts of medicine, blankets, or hot tea can warm you up.

Sneezing excessively. By excessively, I mean, not being able to stop and needing to wipe your face after each one because they are so messy.

Coughing, but only after you blow your nose, because of the irritation.

A sore throat and glands from all of the sneezing and coughing and being sick in general.

July 🔥

Everyone around seems to be sick with something. Staying up on the Fourth of July might have been your body’s last straw. Say hello to a gross, streaming summer cold.

A fever, which causes you to sweat and shiver simultaneously. It’s ninety degrees, whatever. A heavy sweatshirt would make you feel better.

An extremely stuffy nose which only runs at inconvenient times.

Stuffy sneezes, which the sufferer is constantly trying to ward off so the others won’t notice the monster of a cold they’ve come down with.

A bad, congested cough, just to make hiding their illness harder.

Bonus points! The sufferer is constantly ducking off to blow their nose or cough away from the rest of the group because being sick embarrasses them.

August 🏵

One of the hottest months of the year, hypothetically a month you shouldn’t get sick during. But after a long, busy summer, your immune system needed a day off. Unfortunately, that day was long enough to land you with a stuffy head cold. Oops.

A nose so stuffy that sniffling does absolutely nothing. No matter how hard you try, nothing moves, untiiillllllll it starts running uncontrollably.

Stuffy sneezes to partner with the congestion 😌

Exhaustion. That’s it, exhaustion.

September 📓

Everyone is going back to school and getting exposed to all sorts of new germs. Despite best efforts to avoid sick people, a snotty cold is practically inevitable.

There just had to be a very runny and stuffy nose

A headache

Sore throat

Just enough sneezing to tell everyone you’re sick ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

October ☔️

Imagine getting caught in a cold autumn rainstorm, getting chilled to the bone, and coming down with a vicious cold as a result of it.

stuffy/runny nose, of course, because that’s what cold weather does to you.

sore throat that makes you sound so hoarse 🥺

head/body aches

fever and chills

an unimaginable amount of congestion

a cough caused by the congestion

constant, excessive sneezing, each causing a wet, inescapable mist of cold germs to rain down on anyone nearby. and no, tissues do nothing to contain the sneezes, because they are far too messy.

November 🎃

okie so I can’t actually think of anything except !! catching a chill on Halloween that knocks you down with a huge cold.

stuffy/runny nose

sore throat

headache

a constant chill and a slight fever

constant sneezing

December 🚎

The darkest, dampest month, perfect for getting sick. The snow is getting more frequent, and it’s not uncommon for you to get stuck in it waiting for a bus. Once you get on the bus, you’re in close quarters with a bunch of sick people, like it or not. The worst chest cold of your life is on its way.

A sniffly nose

A sore throat and hoarse voice

A ton of congestion and a bad cough that makes the congestion and hoarseness obvious

Even the sneezes sound hoarse and stuffy 🥺

As soon as he heard Neal’s truck pull up, Christian was quickly up on his feet and rushed out the door.

Neal was getting out of his truck. Christian thought he looked real tired. Good thing they were going to the doctor and he was the one driving.

“Great, you’re here,” Christian said instead of a greeting. “Let’s get going.” He grabbed Neal’s arm and took him to his car.

“Going where?” Neal asked in a confused tone. “I just got home—”

A cough escaped from his lips.

Christian winced at the sound. He opened the passenger side door and had him sit down. He closed the door and went to the other side. He got in and buckled up, giving him a look to do the same.

“Where are we going?” Neal repeated his question. He sounded more hoarse this time

Christian didn’t answer him right away. He backed out of the driveway and started towards their destination before replying.

“We’re going to the doctor,” said Christian.

“Seriously?!” Neal exclaimed. “This is ridiculous! I told you I’m fine—” He started to roughly cough.

“Not with a cough that sounds like that,” Christian told him. “Besides, if Jayce sent you home, you know you’re sick.”

“You told him to send me home, didn’t you?” Neal asked.

“No, I didn’t have to,” Christian replied with a slight huff.

Neal huffed too.

“Christian, I know you’re worried about me,” said Neal, “but I’m alright. It’s just a cold—”

He started to cough again. Christian was worried but he stayed quiet. Once he stopped, Christian sighed.

“I think this is more than just a cold,” he told him. “Please…just let the doctor examine you. Real quick. Then, we’ll go home—”

Neal stared at him at first. Then he sighed.

“Ice cream for dinner and you got a deal,” he bargained.

Christian huffed a laugh, pretending to think about it. “Ok. You can have ice cream for dinner.”

They soon arrived at the doctor’s office. Christian parked the car and then, guided Neal inside and to a chair.

“Wait here,” Christian gently ordered. “I’ll be right back. I’m going to get you checked in.”

Neal nodded. Christian could see him shaking before going to the desk. He felt bad for him but he knew it was necessary. He got him checked in and went over to sit next to him.

“Neal?”

“Hmm?”

“You know Dr. Banks will only do what he needs to do to help you get better.”

“I know that.” Neal sighed. “But, I still feel nervous.”

Christian nodded. He took Neal’s hand and gently squeezed it.

They only waited for about five minutes before Layla, the nurse, called Neal back.

“Hi hun,” Layla greeted with a warm smile as they approached her. “How are you today?”

Neal shrugged. “I can’t complain.”

Layla knew better but she nodded anyway. She took them into an exam room.

“Alright,” she said gesturing to the scale, “let’s get your weight.”

Neal took off his shoes and hoodie and stepped up onto the scale. Layla checked the number and wrote it down while Neal slipped his shoes back on. Then, he went to the chairs next to the exam table and sat down. Christian sat down next to him.

Layla went over and put the pulse oximeter on his finger before grabbing the blood pressure cuff and wrapping it around his arm. They all stayed quiet as Layla took his vitals. Once she got the readings, she took off the cuff and oximeter and wrote down the results. Then, Layla took out the thermometer.

“Under your tongue,” she gently ordered.

Neal opened his mouth and let her stick the thermometer under his tongue. He stayed quiet. When it beeped, Layla took it out of his mouth. She frowned.

“That’s quite the fever you’re running there hun,” she said as she wrote the number down.

“What is it?” Christian asked, taking Neal’s hand into his own.

“102.7,” Layla answered. She walked towards the door and opened it so she can put Neal’s chart into the holder on the door. “Dr. Banks will be here in a little bit. I hope you feel better soon hun.”

Neal thanked her as she left. He sighed.

“I didn’t know I had a fever that high…”

“You wouldn’t even gotten out of bed this morning if I’d known you had a fever that high,” said Christian.

Neal looked down at his feet.

“I’m sorry…”

Christian kissed his cheek.

“You don’t need apologize for being sick darling.”

“I still feel bad,” Neal mumbled.

“It’s ok.”

Neal laid his head against Christian’s. He closed his eyes to rest for a bit.

They didn’t have to wait very long for the doctor to arrive. They heard the knock at the door. Christian called out that it was ok to come in.

Dr. Banks opened the door with a smile.

“Hello there,” he greeted. “How’s my favorite patient this morning?”

Neal looked at him and gave him a hesitant smile.

“Can’t complain,” he croaked.

Dr. Banks’ eyes flashed briefly in concern but he turned his attention towards Neal’s chart.

“Says here that your vitals have been all of the place…and quite high.”

“Well…umm…uhh…” Neal stammered.

Dr. Banks puts the chart down and picks up a instrument to look into Neal’s ears.

“Alright, I’m going to have you hop up onto the exam table and we’ll get started, Ok?”

Neal nodded, shaking a little bit. Christian helped him onto the table.

The doctor approached him with the otoscope. Neal winced when it was put into his ear.

“Does your ear hurt?” Dr. Banks asked.

“No,” answered Neal. “My ears don’t hurt. My throat does though.”

The doctor made a ‘hmm’ sound. He examined his ears and then, examined his eyes.

“Eyes and ears look good,” commented Dr. Banks as he got the tongue depressor. “Now, open wide and say ‘ahh’ for me please.”

Neal never liked this part but he did what he was asked. He coughed roughly afterwards. He winced and rubbed his throat.

“Your throat does look a bit swollen,” said Dr. Banks as he threw away the tongue depressor. “Doesn’t look like strep though, so we won’t worry about that.”

Neal nodded.

Dr. Banks went over and felt the lymph nodes in his neck.

“Your lymph nodes are swollen too,” he said. “But with that fever, I’m not surprised.”

“They do kinda hurt…” Neal admitted.

“Yeah, I’m sorry, son,” Dr. Banks apologized.

Christian had been staying quiet and just listening to the doctor. He felt bad for Neal and wished he could do more to help him.

Dr. Banks picked up his stethoscope from around his neck and put the tips in his ears.

“Ok, let’s start with those lungs,” he said as he rubbed the diaphragm between his hands. “I don’t like the sound of that cough.”

Neal lifted up his shirt and Dr. Banks put the diaphragm of the stethoscope on his back.

“Just breathe slowly through your mouth ok?”

Neal nodded. Dr. Banks listened carefully to his lungs. Neal coughed a couple of times during the exam. While Neal didn’t see it, Christian saw Dr. Banks frown a little bit. He took off his stethoscope.

“Ok, I want you to breathe normally now,” said Dr. Banks, “I’m going to just have a little listen to your heart.”

Neal nodded and coughed a couple of times. The doctor placed the diaphragm of the stethoscope to his chest and listened carefully to his heart.

“I’m hearing a heart murmur but we know that you get them with your fevers,” said Dr. Banks as he took off the stethoscope. “Now, I’m going to have you lay down and lift up your shirt a bit.”

Neal lied down on the exam table and pulled his shirt up, exposing his stomach.

Dr. Banks started to gently feel Neal’s stomach. Once he was done, Dr. Banks had him sit up. Christian stood up too.

“So…” Christian started, “is it a nasty flu or something else?”

“It sounds like we’re in the beginning stages of a chest cold,” said Dr. Banks as he looked over at Neal. “I want you to stay at home and get some rest. I’ll also prescribe some medicine to help.”

Neal nodded.

“Ok, thank you Dr. Banks.”

“You’re welcome son,” Dr. Banks replied with a smile. He turned to Christian. “If he starts to get worse or he isn’t getting any better, call me ok?”

Christian nodded.

“Yes, sir.”

Christian helped Neal up and out of the doctor’s office and helped him into his car. Once Christian was also in the car, he turned to him with a small sigh.

“Let’s get you home and I’ll make you some soup.”

Neal nodded.

“Thank you…”