The nightmare of falling ill finally happened at the second-week mark into the semester. It has taken both a physical and mental toll on me on top of being stressed about projects and assignments. That said, sickness is an inevitability of life. I hope to take this as a chance to reflect and practice healthy habits (for both mind and body) in the future.
Pain
Not much else to say. Since the enhanced health measures put into place to combat COVID-19, I have only gotten very sick perhaps once or twice since 2020. The four years of not experiencing symptoms of sickness made this case of cold hit extra hard. I have been dealing with chills, body aches, extremely sore throat, coughing, runny nose, and bloody mucus. An aspect of catching a cold I did not consider while being in a country with a very different climate than home was the effect it would have on my symptoms.
Opposed to the always-temperate Hawaii, Korea is still in the tail-end of its winter season. Luckily, it has gotten significantly warmer with the weather in Seoul averaging in the 40s or 50s. But the cool and dry air is doing no favors for those afflicted with throat infections.
I stopped myself from investing in a humidifier as I would find seldom use for it outside of being sick. But steamy showers have done wonders to counteract the pain and plugged feeling I was suffering from.
Treatments
I'm a business major, not a nursing student, so my array of treatments may not be the best to reference if you get sick yourself. But these are the items I have been using everyday to combat my cold:
Immune Support Throat Spray
Borrowed from a friend who brought it with her for travel. Honestly a game-changer to alleviate sore and dry throats albeit temporarily. Honey flavor makes it palatable
Multivitamins Gummies
Brought OLLY gummies recommended by the MIX study abroad advisor (thanks Kathy!). Have been taking them daily but especially so while I have my cold
Fenugreek Pills
Fenugreek is often used to help breast milk production, dietary health, and general wellness. The main reason I take them is to combat body odor, which has been a life-saver while I am dealing with cold sweats
Cold Medicine Pills
Purchased from a general pharmacy near my housing. You'll see many signs saying "약" meaning medicine, which indicates it is a store selling treatments for sicknesses. No prescription was needed for the brand I bought, but you made need the help of a translator to explain your situation to the pharmacist at the front. I bought a pack of 10 pills for about 3,000 won.
Liquid Cold Symptom Medicine
Purchased from GS25, a general convenience store chain. Over the counter, no prescription needed. A box will come with 3 bottles and cost about 3,000 won.
Advil
General ibuprofen used to deal with body aches
Ricola
Again, bought from GS25. Helped soothe and refresh throat
Mental Health
With my body being in a weakened and vulnerable state, it wasn't a surprise that my mental health wasn't doing so great either.
With school and my internship just starting, I was already struggling to keep up with adjusting to a new schedule and lifestyle. Through my time living in Korea so far, I have learned that I take time to adjust to big changes in routine, and I need to account for that when I don't make enough time for myself to rest and recharge.
On my worst day of the cold, I fortunately had a Zoom class and only one in-person class. I would have been able to get my absence waived because I was sick, even though Yonsei has a strict attendance policy. However, I realized that the in-person class would start designated seating from that day onward. I contacted the professor to see if a friend could fill in my desired seat for me, but it seemed like that was a no-go. Group discussion was a big component of this class, so I sucked it up and forced myself to go to school. Though I was able get myself to campus and back home safely, building up the strength to leave the house was tough. In the moment, it felt like pushing myself to the breaking point with all the stress of the past week coming down on me.
I started to miss home. A lot. I was fortunate enough to be able to live at home since the start of college, so not having the help and support readily available from family was tough to realize and accept.
That being said, I am so so grateful to my friends who are currently rooming with me in our housing. Though we are all busy with different schedules, having others with you to lend a hand makes dealing with hardships much easier.
I am also texting my mom everyday even if there isn't time to do a phone call. Having the contact, even if it is a few sentences a day, makes a big difference in maintaining connections with your friends and family.
Precautions
Though I am still typing this while sick, I am already thinking of the precautions I will take in the future to hopefully make this the last time I am sick on this trip.
I'm pretty sure I caught this cold from my friend who lives in the same housing and was having really bad coughs. While it might have been inevitable in that sense, I also think I was in a more vulnerable state due to overspending my energy and being stressed.
I had spent the first week of school going out with friends, meeting new people from my buddy group, and starting my internship. This lead me to be out 8+ hours everyday and coming home at 9pm at the earliest. This may not be unusual to some, but as someone who rarely stayed out so late unless on special occasion, I was really out of my comfort zone. I now know that I am capable of spending nights out, but in moderation.
Putting myself on a healthier and reasonable schedule will help both my mental and physical wellbeing.
Masking was something I expected more people to do in Korea, but I was surprised to see not many people wearing them in the city. Living in a big city like Seoul means swimming in large crowds in very close proximity more times than not. I think being more consistent with my own habit of wearing a mask will help reduce the risk of me catching or spreading germs to others.