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Two-peak colds: ME thing or normal thing?

Sasha

Fine, thank you
Messages
17,863
Location
UK
I started a bad cold a few days ago. They tend to start out mild, get worse until it's awful, then they improve a bit, and then they get markedly worse again for a few days before they fade out by around Day 10.

It's so long since I've been healthy that I can't remember if this is a normal pattern for a healthy person but I don't think it is.

Does anyone else have this?

Do we know what it means? Does it offer any kind of clue to what is wrong with us?
 

rosie26

Senior Member
Messages
2,446
Location
NZ
Most of my ordinary colds start out awful, stay awful for a couple of days or more, then slowly ease up until better. If I am unlucky the cold may go to my chest. I must say though, I have had lots of 'other' more awful strains the years between 2009-11. I have not had a cold for the last 2 years - so, I think next year it will be all on again.

Hope you feel better soon Sasha.
 

Battery Muncher

Senior Member
Messages
620
Interesting question. I have also forgotten what it is like to have a 'normal' cold.

I have similar experiences to you, though. I also find I have multiple 'peaks' during my cold. Often I finish a 3 day course of paracetemol feeling back to normal, only for symptoms to increase again. Sometimes I have 3 or 4 peaks over several weeks.

One difference I have is that my colds never become 'awful'. They are usually quite mild (with one exception, where I developed laryngitis and viral conjunctivits as well), and I sometimes feel better, in some respects, than I do normally.

In fact, I'm not sure whether I actually catch colds, or simply exacerbation of ME flu-like symptoms.
 

Sasha

Fine, thank you
Messages
17,863
Location
UK
An immunologist once told me that if your nose doesn't run, it's not a new infection and is likely to be reactivation of an old virus. I don't know if that's widely accepted. This was about ten years ago.