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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To expect a common cold to sod off after over TWO weeks?

32 replies

NovemberMorn · 09/12/2025 12:12

I came down with a stinking cold on Nov 23rd. I remember it vividly because my birrthday was coming up, and we had made plans, so I had several days to get over it.
Come my birthday, the cold was worse, now at the runny nose watery eyes stage, so I suffered a night out with all that.
Then a weekend break was coming up on 5th December....should be over it all by then I thought...nope, just got back, and still suffering, now at the endless blowing of nose trying and failing to clear blocked up junk (sorry) feel like my head in a bucket stage.

I feel well apart from all the above, so it's not flu or some deadly virus, but when did a common cold last so long?
Has anyone else had similar recently...how much longer does it last??

OP posts:
Waitingfordoggo · 09/12/2025 12:14

I’ve had a cold that’s come and gone for weeks (or possibly a series of separate colds 😂) I feel completely fine, just sneeze a lot and have to blow my nose about 100 times an hour 🙄

IndigoIsMyFavouriteColour · 09/12/2025 12:16

Yes I would expect to be well again in two weeks. It sounds awful OP. Hope you feel better soon.

Netcurtainnelly · 09/12/2025 12:16

Had a cold on Friday its going away now. Its the caught that lasts ages.

Original poster
NovemberMorn · 09/12/2025 12:36

Waitingfordoggo · 09/12/2025 12:14

I’ve had a cold that’s come and gone for weeks (or possibly a series of separate colds 😂) I feel completely fine, just sneeze a lot and have to blow my nose about 100 times an hour 🙄

Yes, I have also wondered whether the cold I have is a couple or three different infections, and they have all combined.
In my experrience a common cold is a nuisance, but it's done and dusted with a week or so.

Get well soon....hopefully for Christmas. 😊

OP posts:
Fluffydogonmylap · 09/12/2025 13:03

I have been like this for 2 weeks. Permanent headache and getting through boxes of tissues. It's a pain in the neck

Overitallnow · 09/12/2025 13:05

Same here for last 2 weeks. Now have a mouth full of ulcers like I have never experienced before.

TeenLifeMum · 09/12/2025 13:05

I think I’ve had a week and a half total of feeling “well” this autumn/winter. I’m usually healthy so am totally fed up of. Dd3 is home sick from school today so won’t get an end of term prize because of their bs attendance incentive.

Mulledjuice · 09/12/2025 13:06

It's grim isn't it - i ended up with a chest infection on top of whatever bug i had been battling, and the rattling chest prompted the GP to ptescribe me antibiotics.

Are you doing lots of steam/saline rinses to help clear the phlegm?

HatStickBoots · 09/12/2025 13:09

Same. I don’t know if it’s one after the other as I think I had a brief window that lasted two whole days when I thought it was over! It came back again even worse! I’ve had fatigue and headaches because of the constant phlegm production. One eye waters, the other doesn’t. My allergy tablets aren’t doing a thing. It’s just a damned nuiscance and so irritating.

Original poster
NovemberMorn · 09/12/2025 13:11

Mulledjuice · 09/12/2025 13:06

It's grim isn't it - i ended up with a chest infection on top of whatever bug i had been battling, and the rattling chest prompted the GP to ptescribe me antibiotics.

Are you doing lots of steam/saline rinses to help clear the phlegm?

No, but I know I should be.
I am taking paracetamol 3 times a day, because I know I have a temp,sucking lozenges and drinking hot and cold drinks when I can.
I am dreading getting a chest infection like 'Mulledjuice' I hope the antibiotics work fast for you)
That's the one thing that would floor me, as I said, so far (touch wood) I don't feel ill.

I just think the common cold, as it's always been called, has never lasted like they seem o nowadays.

OP posts:
snoopythebeagle · 09/12/2025 13:13

Do you take regular vitamins?

Nutmuncher · 09/12/2025 13:15

Perhaps Covid? Also how ‘healthy’ are you? If you’re low on vitamins or have a nutrient poor diet then it can slow down your recovery time from bugs. Vaping, smoking, obesity, alcohol indulgence can take a toll on immune systems too.

YankSplaining · 09/12/2025 13:17

I had a cold like this. Same thing - felt well otherwise, kept waiting for it to go away, blowing my nose all the time. I still don’t know why it lasted so long, but it turned into pneumonia and I was laid up in bed over Christmas, taking several medications multiple times per day and doing my best to breathe.

Original poster
NovemberMorn · 09/12/2025 13:17

snoopythebeagle · 09/12/2025 13:13

Do you take regular vitamins?

I don't regularly, but I eat very well, what some refer to as a Mediterranean diet, and apart from arthritis am usually very fit and well.
I have dabbled in vitamins, last ones I tried were NMNH, which people raved about, they didn't seem to make any difference.

OP posts:
Original poster
NovemberMorn · 09/12/2025 13:25

YankSplaining · 09/12/2025 13:17

I had a cold like this. Same thing - felt well otherwise, kept waiting for it to go away, blowing my nose all the time. I still don’t know why it lasted so long, but it turned into pneumonia and I was laid up in bed over Christmas, taking several medications multiple times per day and doing my best to breathe.

Oh that's scary, especially as you felt well.
Hopefully this Christmas will be a lot better for you. x

OP posts:
snoopythebeagle · 09/12/2025 13:28

NovemberMorn · 09/12/2025 13:17

I don't regularly, but I eat very well, what some refer to as a Mediterranean diet, and apart from arthritis am usually very fit and well.
I have dabbled in vitamins, last ones I tried were NMNH, which people raved about, they didn't seem to make any difference.

Show quote history

It may be worth looking at Vitamin D - everyone in the UK should be supplementing it in winter anyway, but I've found my immune system has improved massively since I started taking it regularly. I just get it from Tesco.

Mulledjuice · 09/12/2025 13:31

NovemberMorn · 09/12/2025 13:11

No, but I know I should be.
I am taking paracetamol 3 times a day, because I know I have a temp,sucking lozenges and drinking hot and cold drinks when I can.
I am dreading getting a chest infection like 'Mulledjuice' I hope the antibiotics work fast for you)
That's the one thing that would floor me, as I said, so far (touch wood) I don't feel ill.

I just think the common cold, as it's always been called, has never lasted like they seem o nowadays.

Show quote history

Defo worth doing steam/saline to help clear it all out. Keeping hydrated helps to loosen it all up

WalkDontWalk · 09/12/2025 13:37

NovemberMorn · 09/12/2025 12:12

I came down with a stinking cold on Nov 23rd. I remember it vividly because my birrthday was coming up, and we had made plans, so I had several days to get over it.
Come my birthday, the cold was worse, now at the runny nose watery eyes stage, so I suffered a night out with all that.
Then a weekend break was coming up on 5th December....should be over it all by then I thought...nope, just got back, and still suffering, now at the endless blowing of nose trying and failing to clear blocked up junk (sorry) feel like my head in a bucket stage.

I feel well apart from all the above, so it's not flu or some deadly virus, but when did a common cold last so long?
Has anyone else had similar recently...how much longer does it last??

Snuffles and a lot of sneezing since late September. Don't feel awful. Just snotty.

KitsyWitsy · 09/12/2025 13:38

I flew to america a few weeks ago. On the plane my throat felt a bit scratchy. I was then dying of cold for 3 weeks!! The whole time I was there! Saw more of Walgreens for remedies than anything else!

Anonna123 · 09/12/2025 13:40

My colds always last a couple of weeks. The average is 10 days. We just don't expect it to last so long every time. A cough for up to 3 weeks after a common cold is usual.

ldnmusic87 · 09/12/2025 13:41

I've had my current cold for 7 weeks now

ToffeePennie · 09/12/2025 13:42

Apparently everyone’s getting it. It’s not nice at all and my family are pressuring me to go to hospital to visit a sick relative before Christmas, but at this rate I won’t be able to!

MiddleAgedDread · 09/12/2025 13:42

I've had something since the 12th Nov. started in my ears / sinuses, progressed to epic amounts of snotty sneezing, then got a cough, it's all better than it was but I've still got a weird feeling in my left ear like there's liquid running around in it, my chest isn't 100% and I woke up with a terribly sore throat this morning. I'm sick of it now!

Original poster
NovemberMorn · 09/12/2025 14:06

MiddleAgedDread · 09/12/2025 13:42

I've had something since the 12th Nov. started in my ears / sinuses, progressed to epic amounts of snotty sneezing, then got a cough, it's all better than it was but I've still got a weird feeling in my left ear like there's liquid running around in it, my chest isn't 100% and I woke up with a terribly sore throat this morning. I'm sick of it now!

Thanks for all the replies and advice, I will definitely follow some of it, see if it helps.

MiddleAgedDread, thinking back, trouble with my ears was the start to this horrible cold.
I have never had trouble with my ears before, but a couple of night before this started, I woke up with the most horrendous vertigo, I have not had it before. I was bumping into walls and furniture on the way to the bathroom, where I was sick on and off for hours, I wondered if I had eaten something, it was unusual and pretty awful. I was deaf in one ear for a day or two...then the cold started.
No trouble with my ears since, and thankfully no vertigo, but it could be connected.

OP posts:
MiddleAgedDread · 09/12/2025 14:12

oooh that could have been related @NovemberMorn ! Mine feel like I need to scratch right inside them, it's driving me mad. I think my throat is sore from post nasal drip. Might have to start back on the steam inhalation.