Sickness and Access to Medical Help

The cold that I picked up in my last days in India has steadily gotten worse and the return journey from hell didn't help. I was hoping that my flight would be on time and immigration wouldn't take long, so that I could catch the 8:30pm coach to Bristol. The flight was nearly an hour late and immigration took 75 minutes, so ended up having to catch the 10:45 pm coach. My cab driver in Bristol was a chatty Cathy and by that point my voice was down to a croak. When I woke up this morning after a fitful sleep, I had a fever. My first thought was what if it was something more serious and I had to go to the doctor. My landlord is in Romania, and I would have to make my own way to the doctor or the A&E. But, I calmed down pretty quickly. The NHS protocol is not to see a doctor unless your high fever persists for three days. In India, where doctors are so easily available to people of my class there is the temptation to see a doctor and get on a course of anti-biotics. However, if the doctor won't see you until you are sick for more than three days, it takes the decision out of your hands. Most viral infections have no cure, and simply require rest and time and enforced patience is a good thing.

I thought this is the sickest I have been since dengue in 2016. but according to my blog, Covid in Fed 2022 was quite bad too. And, this time there are no pesky housemates, no spectre of Long Covid, no lectures to make up. I might miss an upcoming trip to Brighton, but if there ever is a good time to fall sick, this is it.