gastro·nom·ical [ˌɡastrəˈnɒmɪ-kal]: adjective: relating to the practice of cooking or eating good food
One of the YouTube channels that Sue and I follow are Don Terris's DON'S FAMILY VACATIONS and JUST DON. Don is a Canadian travel agent who specialises in cruises and his videos keep us up-to-date with what is happening in the world of cruising.
One of the endearing things about Don is his use of the word 'gastronomical' ... which he uses in place of 'gastrointestinal' when describing outbreaks of bugs like Norovirus aboard cruise ships.
So, why am I mentioning this today? The answer is simple ... for the past few days Sue and I have been suffering from what Don would describe as a 'gastronomical illness'. It is NOT Norovirus: I contracted that several times during my career in education and know the symptoms only too well. However, whatever it is, it has laid us both low and left us feeling very tired and with muscle and joint pain as well as a headache.
Now, when we were younger, we could sort of shrug this sort of illness off with a good night's sleep and a dose of something like Imodium, but as one ages, one's ability to do things like that diminishes. It also becomes even more important to keep hydrated and to replace any lost electrolytes in order to avoid things like thickening of the blood and therefore an increased risk of a stroke.
In my case, I have to take a number of prescription drugs every day to help me cope with my medical problems, and if I am suffering from a 'gastronomical illness' there is a chance that I might not manage to gain the full benefit of them.
We are beginning to feel somewhat better than we did twenty-four hours ago, and with luck it will turn out to have been no more than a forty-eight hour bug ... and that by the time you read this, we will be back on our feet and working on decluttering our house.
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Get well soon, both of you….no fun, stomach bugs 😶
ReplyDeleteMartin S.
DeleteThanks for your kind words. We are feeling a bit better today but are taking things easy … just in case!
All the best,
Bob
I would have thought, Bob, that 'gastronomical' would refer to the size of a particularly vast meal, or feast. So...
ReplyDelete'The food was served in gastronomical portions...'
Get well soon, eh?
Cheers,
Ion
Archduke Piccolo (Ion),
DeleteThanks for your best wishes on a quick recovery. We are feeling a bit better today … but taking things easy, just in case.
At present, I’m eating nothing in large quantities … so I’m avoiding ‘food served in gastronomical portions’!
All the best,
Bob
Hope you both feel better soon, Bob, no fun that.
ReplyDeleteBest wishes
Lee.
‘Lee,
DeleteCheers! We were both feeling a bit better this morning … but after doing some much-needed shopping, we felt very tired when we got home, and once we had unpacked, we dozed off.
Hopefully we’ll feel much better - and more energetic - tomorrow.
All the best,
Bob
BOB,
ReplyDeleteHere is hoping that you both get well soon. Cheers. KEV.
Kevin Robertson (Kev),
DeleteCheers! We are a bit better today, but overdid it this morning when we went shopping. We came back … and promptly both dozed off for an hour!
With a bit of luck, we’ll feel better tomorrow.
All the best,
Bob
I know one of the issues with 'gastronomical illnesses' is that their dehydration impact can be magnified if one's on any medications that act as 'water tablets'. Meanwhile, hope you both feel much better soon.
DeleteToby E,
DeleteThanks for your best wishes. We felt a bit better this morning, and then rather overdid it whilst out shopping. However, after a long doze, several drinks, and something to eat, we both felt better.
We have been drinking loads of fluids (and not just water but also drinks containing salt and glucose) … and it seems to be working. Luckily, my medications don’t act like ‘water tablets’ but I do need them to stay in my system long enough for my body to absorb them.
All the best,
Bob
Hi Bob
ReplyDeleteSorry to hear that you have not been well.
I agree with your comments about how much more difficult it gets to deal with "colds and flu" as you get older. Jan and I both had "a bug" towards the end of last year, which took three weeks to recover from. Plus a visit to the GP, whereas 20 years ago I would have just ignored it and carried on.
The same seems to apply to minor physical problems. Four weeks ago I woke up with a very painful left leg. After a week Jan insisted I visit our podiatrist who confirmed tendonitis. A couple of years ago I would have needed just one session, this time still limping after three weeks!
How true is the old saying "its no fun getting old", but even more true the other one "however its better than the alternative".
regards
Paul
Thistlebarrow (Paul),
DeleteI thought I was much better when I woke up this morning … and then I tried doing something that involved a bit of physical effort and soon discovered that I am by no means back to normal. That said, I’m still better than I was yesterday.
You are right about it taking longer to recover from injuries and illnesses. I’m still getting some soreness from the broken bone in my right leg … and I broke it nearly two years ago!
Sorry to read about your tendonitis. I had a bout some years ago whilst I was still teaching and it was really painful, especially when I had to move around the building.
Here’s to getting old disgracefully … and healthily!
All the best,
Bob
BOB,
ReplyDeleteI had a bad fall about a week ago and injured my ribs- it has been nine days and it still hurts- yes, age is something we don't seem to wonder about until we're unwell- hopefully in the next few days the pain would have gone. All the best. KEV.
Kev Robertson (Kev),
DeleteI was dismayed to read that you had fallen over and hurt yourself. Hopefully you’ll be fully recovered soon … although probably not as quickly as you might have done a few years back.
All the best,
Bob