the fortress of snot rags. Get. A. Flu. Shot.

There. I’ve said it. Now, let me pass along some gross statistics.

We returned from a trip and wham got a proper beat down by the flu the very next day. Cold/Flu bugs transmission is 100 times more effective on a plane than usual thanks to the dry, recycled air.

I had a fever. Despite what most folks think, a fever is part of an immune response. In a buffered system such as your blood stream, any slight change in temperature creates a hostile environment. One the body hopes will kill the invader without shutting down organs. Why a high temperature is so bad (105+ F), is that the hydrogen bonds start to break down. For those who don’t know, hydrogen bonds condense thousands of miles of DNA into itty-bity packets called chromosomes (you need a microscope to see these folks). If all that DNA unraveled… Well, that would not be good.

And a sore throat from the buckets of snot I produced. A sick person can produce 2-4 Liters (look at the soda bottle then look at the tissue box, then look at the soda bottle) of mucus a day. I’m sure I blew that average. It sucks to be above average on some things:D

Thankfully, I took half a shot of rum to help my throat, then promptly vomited it up and sometime in the night up came that chocolate cake from the cruise. It cured my sore throat. Your mileage may vary, but I’m not one to fight the gag reflex. If my body wants something out, I say okay. After all it rarely complains at the stuff I put in it.

What I hate most is the evil flu trifecta of cough, snot and vomit which throws off my equilibrium so that flat on my back in bed, the world is still dancing a fandango. Bleah. Someone needs to disconnect the snot-bone and cough-reflex from the eustacion tubes. That’s just bad design.

And no, I won’t mention that hallucinations. Because they’re just plain fun.

Now go get your shot. You’ve been warned.