Summer's Last Revenge

Bonjour, mes amies! I would like to start by saying Happy September to everyone.

The thing is, I thought that I would be writing my first article this month (quite literally on the 1st) by writing about holding onto your summer sunglasses, the fabulous fall collections and what to do with your hair for the new season. But no such luck, because it appears that God sent me a sign that I should do something a tad less superficial.

What is this sign, you might ask? Well, I started off the infamous flu season by getting sick first thing. Last night (still in the final hours of August) I started to develop a sore throat. Nothing much was my naive thought.
Then this morning I woke up at 5h30 with a burning fever and an even worse pain in my throat. Naturally I panicked a little. With all of the unpleasantness about Flu going around the globe, it's only natural to feel unnerved when you stick a thermometer in your mouth and see the degrees shooting upwards.


So before I give my usual tips about living chic, I would like to remind you that in order to be perfectly elegant one should preferably be in good health. A runny nose is NOT a good accessory.
I will therefore tell you what do do in case of emergency middle-of-the-night illnesses like the one I just suffered through.

For a cough/sore throat

Urgence, urgence: you go to your medicine cabinet and there is no throat medicine whatsoever. No cough syrup, no lozenges, nada. What to do?

Well, we all have water in our house. Squeeze the juice of one lemon into a teacup and then fill it up with boiling water. Add several large teaspoons of honey and voila. I admit, the taste is a bit strong, but you should alternate sips of this with water. (Do not by any means make the mistake of drinking ice water. Room temperature is best, even if you find it as unsatisfying as I do. Sacrifices must be made for the sake of health! Ah, but I feel a little like a hypocrite saying this. Sorry about that!)

For a fever

Say you wake up in the night and you feel strange and shivery, yet when you put a hand to your face, your skin feels hot. The first thing to do is of course to run for the thermometer. If it shows a number above normal, resist the urge to crawl under several blankets. This will make things worse.

A cold shower is a little brutal, not to mention risky if you're feeling dizzy (you don't want to slip and hit your head and lie there alone until your cleaning lady lets herself in near the end of the month!) but what I'm about to propose is also very unappealing. Lose the blanket - and the pajamas. Trust me, modesty is no question here. Your skin will scream in protest, you'll feel like you're going to freeze, but better to freeze in your own bed and of your own accord than in the hospital on the cute doctor's orders. (This can be extremely embarrassing, especially if he really is cute and ends up thinking that you are stupid.)

If you have some at hand (as you always should), take a couple of aspirin. Then get a bowl of ice-water (yes, I know, but try not to feel too horrified) and soak a washcloth in it. Wring out the washcloth and place it over your forehead and eyes for a while, turning it from time to time. Rinse it and repeat with the rest of your body. You will eventually fall asleep and then hopefully wake up with your fever gone. (But be sure to check before burrowing under your duvet again.)

(By the way, I applied this technique this morning and it worked perfectly. My throat is still sore and my nose is a little runny, but I feel much better.)

Taking advantage of the disadvantage

Nobody actually likes being sick. Some people say that they don't mind it, but that's only because people tend to wait on you and give you special treatment.

If you're feeling awful, then there are three things that you can do:
1. wallow in it - this actually makes the symptoms worse, believe me
2. ardently deny it and insist that you are fine - this makes you look absolutely ridiculous
3. milk it - whether it's playing hooky from work or asking people to do things for you

The answer is obviously 3. This can actually be fun, though stop when people start incessantly asking you if you're okay, and never go overboard with a pathetic act. (At least have the decency to put on proper clothes, makeup and perfume! Then say "I don't feel quite well at the moment, but don't worry, it's nothing serious." The brave face coupled with the occasional cough, sneeze and nose-blowing works like a charm without making you seem weak.)

Avoiding illness

It's not the middle of July anymore, mes amies. It's time to start using slippers, unfortunately. (Though my saying this is somewhat hypocritical seeing as I never do, not even in December. I should probably take my own advice to avoid being sick so often during the colder days.)

Otherwise, make sure that your body is full of Vitamin C. This can come in your daily dose of orange juice in the morning (if you have time, make it fresh, it's delicious - but store-bought is fine, too) or in tablets from the pharmacy (either made to suck on or to disolve in water) or, even better, both. (This last one is my preferred route. I usually drink my juice in the morning and carry the tablets in my handbag during the day. They're extremely good for giving you energy.)


So there you go. I will of course be writing another article about the usual wonderful things such as fashion, but I think that I can save that until after my doctor's appointment. (Which I have to leave for in aproximately ten minutes.) Hey, you can never be too careful.

A last piece of wisdom from Mademoiselle Chanel:
Fashion is not something that exists in dresses only. Fashion is in the sky, in the street, fashion has to do with ideas, the way we live, what is happening.