While as a Canadian, I may be more inclined to call it seasonal allergies, over here in the UK the term is ‘hay fever’. As a kid, I always remember having terrible hay fever in Toronto as the sun started to bring feelings of Spring and the pollen came out to play. But when I moved to Vancouver I don’t remember ever getting severe symptoms for about seven years now. That’s to say I kind of forgot it was a thing…
So, when I started getting weird tingling sensations in my through, nose, forehead, and even my gums, the impending doom of what I’d once known hit me. Maybe the pollen in London is strong or maybe it’s just because my body is in a fairly unknown space but hay fever hit me hard this year!
I would say I was down with it the worst for about three days but I tried not to let it ruin my trip. I grabbed some medicine and did my best to get as much sleep as possible. On Monday, I had planned a visit to the Natural History Museum but that had to be canceled because my nose would NOT stop running. I had to also face a predicament, I had a non-refundable train ticket booked to Cambridge the next day that I was really looking forward to. I decided to take a loss on the Natural History Museum (I can always visit it later) so that I could rest up for my day trip to Cambridge. I woke up the next morning hoping that if I could be heavily prepared I would be okay. So I stashed several portable tissues, a Tylenol cold and sinus pill, and water in hopes that would be enough to get me through the day.
I’m glad I went, Cambridge is so beautiful. My symptoms slowly got worse over the day though and I was relegated to blowing my nose in public throughout the streets of the beautiful city… but what can you do.
Anyways, here are my tips for navigating illness while working/traveling abroad.
As soon as you start to feel a bit off, don’t ignore it as I did.
Locate a local pharmacy and run your symptoms by a pharmacist or just go grab something that will help you recover if you already know.
Take a day off from exploring/working if you need it. It’s better to lose out on one day than have 5 mediocre days.
These probably seem very basic and standard but sometimes when you’re traveling you just kind of fall into this disbelief that you could actually get sick at this moment in your life and become complacent, wishing it away. Or, maybe that is just me.
Anyways life in London is amazing. There’s so much to do. I’ve never realized how excited you can get when you have infinite possibilities within walking distance.
I’m excited to share a bit about how I’ve been structuring my days while working remotely soon.
In the meantime, enjoy some pictures from Cambridge.