Grand Rounds is the weekly rotating carnival of the best of the medical blogosphere. Each week, a doctor, nurse, patient or healthcare professional hosts Grand Rounds and compiles links to noteworthy posts about medicine.

I learned allot this week, while stuck in bed with a yucky, exhausting cold. I slept, I coughed, I ached, and I lost some of my hair. I cried, went to the doctors, took medicine, and spent time online. That describes my week. But in between all that, I learned allot.

I learned to “reach out” and allow friends and family to help me. I learned that even if you used to love orange juice and tea, too much of anything can make you sick of it. I also learned that some things just take time to get better. So even though I am not a doctor, I am prescribing myself lots of rest in the next few days and luckily I found all these new health blogs to read while I have some “free time”.
I found so much information related to colds and flu from my fellow health bloggers. I can’t wait to share some of these posts with you. Maybe the information will help you when you have a cold, or help someone you know.

*I received lots of advice from fellow bloggers:
Some advice of things to do while your stuck in bed. Why not rent some movies? 36 funny movie suggestions, from Howtocopewithpain.org..after all they say laughter is the best medicine!
Does chicken soup really help with a cold?
diseaseproof.com has a very interesting post regarding the use of antibiotics when a patient comes in with symptoms of a cold or sinus infection. Are we looking for a quick-fix for our ailments? Are medications really helping or hurting?
Ever wonder how all those antibiotics and medications get their names? Dextromethorphan? Pseudophedrine? Guaifenesin? Roy from Shrink Rap tells us the deal with naming drugs.
Do those alcohol sanitizers really work? Infectious diseases are known to be more likely to break out in public places. Read this post from the ClinkShrink of the Shrink Rap blog
Christian at medjournalwatch wrote an interesting article about the effects of vitamin C. I guess I found this post particularly interesting because as soon as you tell people you have a cold, everyone who means well offers tons of advice involving some sort of citrus fruit or supplement. Vitamin C is often being taken against the common cold, especially by endurance athletes who want be sure not to be stopped in their training by a nasty flu. Unfortunately, they not only will kill the flu but also a part of the training effect.
Dr. Val tells a story about a conversation with a co-worker whose symptoms could have been any number of things, from food poisoning, herpes, or the flu. When do you worry and when do you “wait and see”?
*Apparently, I am not the only health blogger who has been sick this lately.
Just before coming down with a nasty sneezing-sniffly-stuffedup winter cold, Kerri Morrone, our new friend and fellow blogger, embarked on a trial run with the Medtronic continuous glucose monitoring system – The MiniLink. She writes about the impact of real-time results and how her diabetes responds to the common cold.
Moreena was sick for about 2 weeks when she decided to actually see a doctor. She is a self prescribed “Non-Compliant Patient.” I can’t lie, I think we all have tried our own home remedies at times to make ourselves feel better because the thought of sitting in a doctor’s waiting room with a cold scares us more then the sniffles!
When you’re the person with the chronic illness, living with symptoms and limitations, you come to expect your primary caregiver to be the one who is strong and well. But when your caregiver comes down with a bad cold and can’t offer the usual help and comfort, what do you do??? Barbara from insicknessinhealth talks about when her husband Richard got sick.
Laurie, from achronicdose talks about living with a chronic illness and deciding when a cold is, just a cold, or something more. For anyone with chronic immune system issues, her story of feelings and symptoms will ring a bell.
What happens when your doctor gets sick? Bongi guest posted on another website about being a “super hero surgeon” and getting a flu.
Rita talks about her feelings as she waits for the doctor. Although she appreciates her doctor, she is happy to not be in the position of the doctor having to decide when to, and when NOT to give advice.
* The cold or Flu effects everyone.
Here’s a Doc Gurley podcast on new flu facts, on Global Local Radio–for the listeners in the audience.
This article from Nick at nyemergencymedicine talks about New Orleans citizens that have still not recovered from hurricane Katrina. Access to medical care is a real challenge with the loss of Charity Hospital. How do the people there deal with simple day to day injuries, colds or flu’s?
Susan Palwick is a volunteer ER chaplain who’s written a post about the very high cost of having a cold if you’re uninsured.
I loved hosting Grand Rounds this week. I “met” so many talented bloggers. I hope they enjoyed meeting me (and butyoudontlooksick.com)!