One of the main differences between the girlfriend and I is with regards to our health, or more specifically our attitudes to treatment when we get ill.
Her mother’s a school nurse, which means that the girlfriend is pretty well educated in what types of painkillers are needed for certain occasions (hangovers vs lady troubles, for example), as well as many other types of medication.
As a result, she tends to believe in the healing powers of pills and potions almost exclusively, and is never bothered about taking strong painkillers for a couple of days. She’s not a hypochondriac by any means, but as soon as something is slightly wrong she’ll reach for some medication or see the doctor, or both.
I very, very rarely get ill, and when I do I tend not to take any medication at all, beyond maybe some Lemsip or Strepsils (cold/flu remedy and sore throat lozenges, respectively). I can’t even remember the last time I went to a doctor for anything at all.
I’m a great believer in the body’s ability to heal itself and to overcome any illnesses that are relatively minor in nature, and as such I’m happy to let nature run its course when I get a bit ill. Of course, if it’s serious then I wouldn’t hesitate to go see a doctor, but for coughs/colds/similar there’s simply no point. I’ll take a couple of days of feeling under the weather, and then it’ll get better.
This post brought to you by the intense heat-rash which I seem to have woken up with today. Of course, the girlfriend’s first response was to go see a pharmacist at lunchtime. I think I’ll just have a cold shower when I get home this evening…
