Yeah, even after admonishing people 18 days ago about how not to get sick at a con. Sure enough the day before I go on Christmas Vacation I catch a cold. It has been pretty miserable to say the least. The good news is that I have gotten past the worst of it during my travels yesterday. Outside of a stuffy nose and an occasional cough, I am back to normal. But what if this happens again at GaryCon, or any other event that requires travel away from home? Here are a few tips on how I managed to get over my illness that may help you get over yours.
Get Some Rest As Soon As Possible
This may sound antithetical to the idea of going to a gaming convention. But if you find out that you're sick, the best thing for you to do may be to go back to your hotel room and go to bed. Even if it means missing a game session, you'll be doing yourself a big favor in the long run. When you're sick your body needs rest and being at a con is no excuse not to get some. You may miss out on a morning or afternoon of gaming, but it might save you from being miserable the rest of the weekend.
Hydrate!
Your body is trying to flush whatever it is fighting out of your system. It's going to need help. Drink water constantly and you'll help gets those bugs out of you faster than they got in.
Hit the Pharmacy
If you or someone you are traveling with don't have cold remedies on you, get some right away. Most over-the-counter remedies will treat your symptoms. Look for generics as they run fairly cheap, but have the same amount of medicine as name brands. Also, most of them recommend taking them with a full glass of water. So hydrate!
Be Honest with Everyone
You may feel well enough to return to gaming, but you may still have something. If you do insist on gaming, tell the people you are with the you are catching/batting/recovering from some illness. That's just common courtesy so people can avoid catching what you have. Plus it will keep people from touching your dice.
If Things Get Worse, See A Doctor
Use common sense here. Most of us know when we have a bug or when it's something more serious. If your symptoms get worse, see a doctor. You may even want to see one before they get worse just to be sure. The main point is you need to focus more on your health than on gaming. There's always next year for that.
There's not much else after all that. The key thing is that you need to take care of yourself if you're going to have any fun. Even if something catches you by surprise, you still have some options to get you back in the game.
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