The Inevitable Has Happened

I am in a show which opens tomorrow, and I am getting sick.

I don't get sick a lot, though I used to have a head cold seven months out of the year (for which I blame all the mold and terrible venlitation in my high school), but once I got out of there, problem solved.

 But the thing that always gets you sick is going in and out of the cold all day long, and while in Los Angeles it never gets that cold, it is a desert, and it can get pretty chilly at night. And last weekend I was constantly running in and out of doors at the Interactive Pirate adventure, and then I spent a LOT of time walking outside on Halloween night, when it got quite chilly, plus two of my roommates were sick (although I was only aware of one being so at the time, the other one wouldn't admit to needing help if a bear was gnawing on her leg).

I'm not the only member of the cast who's ill, but I certainly don't want to aggrivate things, so I'm sitting at my desk with a BLAZING hot cup of lemon tea thinking of ways so not sniffle through all my scenes:

-Mucinex. No other decongestant has worked for me as well as this one (and as I said before, I've had a lot of colds).
-Fisherman's Friends, if I can find a place that sells them. I first encountered these in Germany, but I was afraid of them because the family I stayed with gave them to their horses. Turns out the horses just liked them. They're licorice lozenges, and while that's my least favorite of the standard flavors, I have to admit these things really clear out your passages.
-Gargling with salt water. I HATE doing this. Hate it. But it works. Full glass of warm (not hot) water, and dissolve a table spoon of salt water. Then gargle the whole thing, a mouthful at a time. It will be disgusting and horrible, but if you have a sore throat, you will feel ten times better.
-Vitamins. Take a multi-vitamin every day. That will solve half your problem right there.
-Ginger. I love this for upset stomachs, queasiness (especially because I get motion sick). There's a brand called Gin-gins that makes all kinds of ginger treats, but I particularly like their Traveler's Candies--they come individually wrapped in a convenient little box. Mythbusters tested ginger as a seasickness remedy and found it to be the only thing as effective as dramamine, plus you won't fall asleep.
-Anti-bacterial gel and tissue packs. The best way to not infect your castmates. Disinfect everytimes you sneeze/cough/whatever. Luckily, I'm the only member of this cast without a stage kiss (Unfortunately, I'm also the only cast member without a stage kiss)

So that, plus lots of rest and lots of fluids (which results in lots of bathroom trips) should hopefully keep my sniffle and throat tickle from developing into a full-blown coughing-hacking-gross-dripping-nose cold.

I'm going to go get another glacier-melting cup of lemon tea (and try not to spill it over the entire kitchen this time). Let me know what you do when you get a cold right before a show.