So, how are you today?

@Elessar Get some ginger stuff to ease that. It'll drive you crazy over weekend. Gargle some salt water too. I hear it helps.

* forgot half the message. Fixed lol

@Eklipse I think I've tried pretty much everything that could be gargled 😅 saltwater, seawater, chlorhexidine..

@Elessar you could try mayonnaise?

@Elessar Urgh. Throat numbimg stuff is next then.

@Eklipse I already am, kind of. You know the feeling right after you eat something with strong mint? That ice burn sensation is filling both my throat and nasal cavity to the point I can't distinguish the taste of food. This is like day #5.

Also the lower throat (and trachea, maybe) is inflamed to the point I feel like having a knife stuck in it. It gets especially painful when I try to blow my nose, which is often, due to being congested af. 😬 In general throat aches affect the upper part, for me, rarely if ever down there, this is so weird.

@Elessar no idea if you've got something similar over there, but for severe sore throat this always works for me

https://andolex.co.za/andolex-c/

@basilfawlty89 Thanks! I'm using something similar, for sure chlorhexidine is in there, not sure about benzydamine. But the relief lasts at most 30 minutes, then I'm back to square one.

Also I can't get mouthwash that low without swallowing it 😬

@Elessar The C one is basically just a spray, it's okay to swallow. Sounds pretty severe though if you only have 30 minutes of relief.

@basilfawlty89 Yeah. I'm still 90% convinced it's COVID, irregardless of the antigen tests results, especially considering the timings and tastes thing

@Elessar Maybe try something with lidocaine. For me that's the only thing that works for bad sore throat. I kinda had similar symptoms last week but the home test turned negative too yet those whom I live with turned positive.

@Elessar Sure it's not covid?

@Eklipse Nope, actually I'm inclined to think it's COVID, unless I've caught something whose symptoms are extremely similar to the most specific ones, such as lost of smells and tastes.. and also the timing, it started exactly 5 days after my father, and we're amid a massive Omicron wave rn. It's just that the test they're giving right now are like only 40% sensitive to the BA.5 variant from what I've read in the news.

I'm not feeling too bad however, I mean aside from the throat pain and the congestion and some lightheadedness, at least for now I haven't developed a fever, muscular/joint pain or anything of the more systemic symptoms that many report. 🤞 And my colleagues who already had (lab confirmed) Omicron back in February/March didn't seem to catch it for now either. 🤷‍♂️

@Elessar Get lots of vits in your body esp vit D. Drink lots, rest and take fluids. Try soups so you stay well nourished even if you don't taste crap. Happened to me last March. Get well soon

@Eklipse Did you have weird dreams at the time, that you remember of? It's another weird thing I've noticed lately, lots of weird nonsensical dreams