Why won't people help themselves? When they are ill

[Longhairf]

I got COVID last week. I did everything I could to throw everything I had at the infection - fluids, paracetamol, Ibuprofen, paxlovid, vitamin C, zinc, more fluids. I did an one grocery shop with lucozade sport and chicken broth.

A lot of my family came down with COVID and I suggested these things. One of them was definitely a canditiate for paxlovid. Everything was protested against and shot down - 'i do t want the side effects' but they are willing to put up with the side effects of a virus. I mean like everything - they denied themselves ibuprofen, zinc, broth - things that can help them.

I can't get my head around this. Why won't they help themselves through an infection?. None of it makes sense. They don't want to be dealing with side effects of meds but they are willing to put up with the effects of a virus.

I wonder if they enjoy being ill? Are they doing it for attention?

Yanbu.
When I'm poorly I'm mainlining fresh smoothies, nice chicken soup, alternating paracetamol / ibuprofen and getting fresh air in the garden.

I agree with the exception of paxlovid this is a complete and utterly lottery to if you will get it prescribed even if you qualify on paper and even quoting the NICE guidelines. It basically comes down to how nice a GP you get and some health boards are extremely strict on it given the cost.

Lucozade and chicken broth are not medicine and will have zero effect on Covid.

Vitamin C and zinc will also have zero effect on Covid (or on a cold. There's some vague evidence that they might help your immune system a bit, but that's about stopping you catching colds in the first place, not fighting one off once you've got it).

Paracetamol would help bring down a fever or reduce headache.

Most people haven't even heard of Paxlovid. And it doesn't cure Covid - it just reduces (not eliminates) your chances of developing more severe symptoms. For most people, it's not really a proportionate response to an ordinary virus, and the side effects can indeed make you feel a bit worse than you already do, so it's very understandable not to want to take it.

Personally, I'd take paracetamol for a fever/headache/chills/sore throat. I wouldn't bother with necking a load of placebos or drinking glucose and chicken-flavoured water though.

YANBU

I hibernate and rest when ill I even stock my side of the bed with anything I will need so no one has to pop in and offer help, I just want to be left alone to recover.

I hate performance sickness, it is an alien way to be imo, I will make you soup and bring you drinks and cuddles for kiddos but if you're a grown man expecting me to do more than that then please call your own mother, or, you know... sleep and get better.

I'd rather have someone moaning about feeling crap, than listen to you preaching absolute crap 🤷🏻‍♀️

My DH whinges a lot when ill...I often point out that bed rest is the best medicine (not sitting in the dressing gown of doom wherever I am).

I agree op. Even if you don't want side effects from medications, there's a lot you can do to help yourself. Things like chicken soup, ginger, garlic and vitamin c are useful. There's a lot of wisdom in some "old wives tales" remedies which we don't seem to care about anymore.
It's a scientific fact that protein and vitamin c supports your immune system so although these things aren't a magic cure, they'll support your immune system so you can recover more quickly.

Broth is going to do fuck all to cure Covid.

Lucozade sport - for hydration and electrolytes.

I often find people who 'throw everything at it' are usually overly dramatic and think they're the only people in the world to be sick. The ones who suddenly have a sore throat whenever anyone else is sick because they wouldn't want to miss the sick boat.

I was going to agree with you, my DH moans about his bad back but hasn't taken any pain killers. 🙄 that winds me up.

But seriously, broth? That's not helping at all, I really don't think lucozade, broth or vitamins would do much besides a placebo effect (which if that works for you, great, but I couldn't expect others to do the same)
On pain killers I do agree though

Paxlovid is only available to a very small number of people via prescription. Given that it's the only thing which will improve your situation with Covid YABU

Why would you lose electrolytes with COVID? Unless you're vomiting, having diarrhea or sweating profusely you probably aren't. You'll also hydrate better with just water.

It doesn't sound odd at all. I used to manage a team in the NHS and the soldierer onners used to drive me up the blooming wall. We worked in the community with frail elderly people and it drove me crazy that people would come to work and cough and sneeze over the rest of us and expect to go round and do the same to our patients. There is actually an infection control rule about D and V and I STILL had to send people home because they felt they shouldn't take sickness absence......but yeah, vit c, zinc, chicken soup, lucozade, paracetamol....all may be comforting but won't shorten the illness by one second. Looking at the D and V side effects of paloxvid, I'd only take it if covid was a serious threat to me... oh and I think the OP is BU and a virtue signalling judgy type.

Is there a drug to cure preachiness?

oh I wish.

I don't know anyone who would suffer on in this way.

Paxlovid is fantastic if you are eligible. The rest of it only makes you feel a bit better, it doesn’t actually help your body fight the virus. There is also an argument to be made that treating low level fevers is counterproductive since they are your body trying to kill things.

You should try working in the medical field, every day it's the same, people unwilling to help themselves but happy to blame anything/anyone else!

I was in my thirties when I realised that I didn't in fact get particularly dreadful viral illnesses causing me to take a week off work several times a year. What I did have was an allergy to one of the ingredients in lemsip.

So I'd have been doing myself a massive favour by spurning medicine and just moaning about my cold.

Paracetamol and stay hydrated, sure. Never heard of Paxalovoid. I very much doubt that the rest of the things you mentioned would actually make anyone get better any faster once they have the virus. It just runs its course.

Full of artificial sweeteners. They're really good for you 🙄

In my experience only people who are overly preoccupied with their own health push copious remedies at someone who has a minor illness.

Lucozade sport for covid? WTF am I reading.

You're chatting balls OP.

I spent the last day of my holiday last year going to a pharmacy to get pain killers for a new friend, who's endometriosis had flared up. She knew this was likely, but came completely unprepared. I was a bit 😬🙄