Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with health and cold

why is it whenever I get a cold/flu I feel like there is something in my throat?

gwenlister — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 04:52:55 -0800

YANMD, but why is it whenever I get a cold/flu I feel like there is something stuck in my throat? I have a head cold right now and am fairly miserable, but on top of the runny nose and sneezing and coughing and general malaise, I have the added pleasure of feeling like there is a lump or something in my throat. It can't be my tonsils as I had them removed when I was 22 (5 years ago) and my throat isn't especially red or sore. It doesn't hurt to swallow. It just feels like there is something stuck in my throat and it happens every time I get sick.

it isn't that big a deal, and is more weird and slightly annoying than anything, definitely not warranting a hospital visit. I'm just curious as to what could be causing the sensation.

one (of ten) fingers feels numb in the cold. What gives?

shamble — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 22:38:43 -0800

one (of ten) fingers feels numb in the cold. What gives? I went skiing today, and it was a cold day, but not extremely so (-10 to -15C). My hands were cold but nothing that I hadn't felt before. When I was on the lift, my right ring finger really started getting painful like pins and needles (it hurt really bad), while all others were fine, and then it went completely numb. I bit on it really hard to see exactly how numb it was, and it was pretty damn numb. I didn't get feeling back in it until I was sitting in the warmth for a good hour, and even after that, it felt like pins and needles, and it still does, hours later. Never did I touch snow or take my gloves out the entire time. Also, I was pretty warm and toasty; not really cold at all, my other fingers and toes were fine, so I assume I had normal circulation. This has never happened before, even though I go skiing quite often.

So my question is, how is it that one finger out of 10 can get like this? and why? I know you are not my doctor, but I have a suspicion that if I waste tax payers money to go to my own doctor to ask him why my finger felt numb in the cold, he may actually get upset at me and throw me out for wasting his time.

my health club is a health risk. what should I do?

krautland — Sun, 04 Feb 2007 18:01:07 -0800

my health club is a health risk. what should I do? temperatures have dropped in chicago. we reached minus three degrees fahrenheit last night. good thing that I have a membership to an indoor health club. or not.

it's so cold in there that I could actually see my breath when I last ran there. after that, I promptly fell sick and missed a week at work. my emails to the health club manager have gone unanswered, the front desk personnel claims there is nothing they can do and the manager's voice mail didn't pick up last time I tried.

I think those gigantic panorama windows are to blame. you can practically feel the icy wind seeping through the cracks. there is no isolation on them whatsoever.

I wonder what I should do. of course I could join another club but this one is by far the closest and thus the most convenient. but it does seem that I need to go to an outside source and make a big stinker out of this in order to get them to move. so what do you recommend, hive mind? alderman, better business bureau or (gasp) an attorney (I did fall sick after all)?

The Cold Hard Tooth, Ow!

kokogiak — Tue, 02 Jan 2007 21:20:08 -0800

Delayed cold sensitivity in teeth? Anyone know what this is? It's not quite a brain-freeze, not actually cold-sensitivity, it's exactly this: 45 minutes to an hour after I eat something frozen, I get a sharp ache deep inside in my upper gums/skull (about where the canine eminence lies). I don't always get it, but often. It never happens sooner than 45 minutes after I'm done (totally done, ice cream eaten, mouth warm, dessert practically forgotten). The ache is specifically located about 1/2 inch below my right nostril, about where you'd expect the roots of my upper teeth to be. It's not sensitive to touch (in fact feels a bit better if pressed on), and lasts anywhere from 15 minutes to an hour.

I believe one of the teeth there has had a root canal, but that was years ago, and this phenomenon is only months old. My dentist thought I was crazy when I asked her - I can't imagine what would cause such a long delay between cause and effect.

What's the difference between green snot and yellow snot?

winston — Mon, 04 Dec 2006 07:06:13 -0800

What's the difference between green snot and yellow snot? Someone once told me that yellow snot indicates a sinus infection while green was probably just a cold, but googling isn't turning up a reliable citation for that. In any case, sometimes it's green and sometimes it's yellow -- so something must be different about the process that produces it, right?

I'm a snot factory, help!

photoslob — Wed, 04 Oct 2006 22:16:11 -0800

Why is it I seem to get head colds so easily? I'm a fairly healthy guy who excercies regularly, eats right, gets enough sleep, takes vitamins and doesn't drink alcohol. I seem to get 4-8 head colds a year. I'm on my second one in a month and I'm at my wits end. I'm also prone to sinus infections and even though I'm not over weight I snore like it's my job. Am I just cursed?

Your best sickness prevention methods:

nitsuj — Mon, 05 Dec 2005 10:02:51 -0800

Let's hear your method for preventing colds and other sicknesses! Hello there. I have a set of rules I try to follow this time of year to prevent myself from becoming sick. They are as follows:

1) Drink 64oz of h2o per day.
2) Wash hands on an overly regular basis, plus anytime you are about to eat.
3) Take a multivitamin daily.
4) Keep hands away from all northern orifices (mouth, nose, eyes, etc.)

Question: What else should I be doing to prevent myself from becoming sick? I'm looking for at-home, over-the-counter methods - nothing involving a doctor or medicine that would require a prescription (three cheers for lack of health insurance!)

Why do I have so much mucous when I run?

creeront — Thu, 03 Nov 2005 21:53:24 -0800

Major Mucous: Whenever I do aerobic activity for more than 10 minutes or eat cold foods, I have tons of mucuous, and cough to the point that I have to stop exercising. I'm 20 years old. I've been diagnosed with Allergies and Asthma since I was 7 years old. I take medications for both, and don't exhibit symptoms of either on a day-to-day basis. However, when I run for more than ten minutes, I get tons of post nasal drip, and feel like I have to cough. In fact, it feels like I'm suffocating, so I have to stop running. Things improve only slightly when I take my albuterol inhaler.

I frequently also have coughing bouts with lots of mucous when I eat cold foods, and sometimes I feel like swallowing is difficult.

I've talked to a variety of allergists and internal medicine people with no results.

Ideas anyone?

My nose is bleeding

jsavimbi — Mon, 28 Feb 2005 03:11:51 -0800

About three weeks ago I had a nasty cold. Headache, congestion, nose running 24-7. Since then, I wake up every morning to blow my nose out, thick, green, blood speckled mucus having accumulated there. This morning I blew my nose and afterwards a fresh stream of blood poured out. I've never had a nosebleed in my life nor have I ever stuffed any junk up there. Does this warrant a visit to the doctor? ps: I'm not a hypochondriac, it's just that I've never been sick.

Popping noise in nose

bibliowench — Tue, 22 Feb 2005 13:37:53 -0800

For the past two days, I've heard and felt repeated popping noises/sensations in my nose, sort of like I shoved some pop rocks up there (I didn't) . Yesterday, they were distracting; today, they are slightly painful and coupled with a miserable sinus headache. What the hell's going on up there? My apologies if Google has the answer, but "popping sensation nose" was turning up some scary results.

Too Cold!

nebulawindphone — Tue, 15 Feb 2005 16:25:11 -0800

ChillyFilter: Stray's question reminded me of one that's been bugging me for a while. If I'm out in the cold for any length of time, I start feeling very faint. I've passed out from this once or twice in normal Midwestern winter weather. Other people out in the same weather don't seem to suffer the same effects.

Anyone else have the same problem? Anyone know what causes it? (Er, make that "any significant length of time." I'm talking half an hour or so, not just a minute or two.)

How can I prevent bronchitis?

Happydaz — Fri, 22 Oct 2004 11:45:08 -0800

SickFilter:
If you caught a cold this week
and hacked and sneezed and lacked some sleep
And when you talk you simply squeak —
How do you ward off bronchitis? The question is how to improve my immune system's performance, not how to improve my rotten poetry :-)
I get sick every autumn. I'd rather not get bronchitis, as it took me out for two weeks last year. I'm in the coughing stage of the cold. How do I stop brochitis?

Should I worry about these symptoms?

headspace — Sat, 09 Oct 2004 17:16:42 -0800

You Are Not A Doctor: Three weeks ago, I got a nasty head cold that never quite went away. It's now settled into my chest, and I have a chronic, slightly productive cough. Ordinarily, I would just wait it out, but I'm exhausted, can't really get a full breath, and the stuff I'm coughing up tastes like bleach. I swear, I haven't been inhaling or gargling bleach. I do have an appointment to see my doctor on Wednesday (the earliest I could get in,) but I was wondering if anyone else had had these symptoms and could tell me what caused them, so I can quit Googling medical conditions and diagnosing myself with lung abscesses and tuberculosis.

Why do my lower back muscles contract when I am cold? How can I make them relax?

will — Wed, 31 Dec 2003 23:25:35 -0800

Why do my lower back muscles contract when I am cold? It is uncontrollable and often causes pain. Is there anything I can do to train the muscles to relax? Would having a stronger lower back make it worse or better?

Lingering Cough

eilatan — Wed, 31 Dec 2003 07:27:47 -0800

I've got the Toxic Death Flu. [more inside] I am mostly over it, but I have a lingering, hacking cough that nothing seems to help--I'm drinking massive amounts of fluids, eating hard candy and throat drops, trying to talk as little as possible, and I'm still having these debilitating coughing fits every 15 minutes or so. The problem seems to be that my throat is dry, which triggers the coughing, but staying as hydrated as I can doesn’t seem to be helping.

I am taking somewhat regular doses of Robitussin DM, but I’ve never really had much luck with cough syrups. I tried Dayquil a few days ago, but it made me completely loopy and I have a sensitivity to Sudafed, so I try to stay away from medicines containing Sudafed as much as possible. And again, it didn’t really help.

I’m at my absolute end here. I cannot cope with this much longer. Going to a doctor is not an option, because I don’t have health insurance. Does anyone have any suggestions?