Friday Five: Feeling Yucky

This week's Friday Five:

1. How do you like to be treated when you're feeling really sick? I usually put any type of flu in the "really sick" category, and I usually like to be left alone because I feel gross and look gross and I just don't want to see anyone. Especially if I have stomach flu. Then it's just me and my bathroom, baby.
2. What's something you do when you're really sick that doesn’t make any sense or defies conventional wisdom? I like to put Chinese 'five flower oil' (directly translated) on my temples and/or my stomach if I'm feeling nauseous or have stomach flu. It's a weird Chinese remedy, but it works. I also like to put Vicks VapoRub under my nose when I have a cold. Clears my nasal passages, and the smell is just comforting to me.
3. When was the last time you were out of commission for an extended time? I was sick with a cold last week, but it didn't really put me "out of commission," 'cause I still worked and went out. I guess the last time was over the summer when I had food poisoning. I had a fever and felt nauseous and generally gross for five days. Didn't go out, didn't go to work, didn't feel like doing anything. I basically didn't get out of bed.
4. What's the most unusual diagnosis you've had for an illness, if you don't mind my asking? I don't know if I've ever had a really unusual diagnosis, but I remember my doctor saying I "almost" had chronic bronchitis. A couple years ago, I just kept getting sick, like I'd be sick for a couple weeks and then get better for two to three weeks and then I'd get sick again. This was ongoing for about four months, and I'd gone to a walk-in clinic, where I was prescribed a regular inhaler that didn't do a damn thing. I finally got an appointment with my regular doctor and she gave me antibiotics and a different inhaler and my sickness was gone within a a few days. Turns out I had a lung infection and mild asthma.
5. When you feel you're about to come down with something awful, what steps do you take to beat it back? I take Cold FX, Vitamin C, and echinacea to boost my immune system. I also try to eat cleaner and drink more fluids.