My activities for the month of stardate 20488 are/is

[Smucky]

[Smucky]

Pretty sure my son is over the flu. I shoved him on the bus this morning. I normally don't get up until 10am or so, but figured I'd surprise him in case he tries to say he was "too sick" again.
And then I couldn't go back to sleep
And now I've got some chest pain when I breath heavy, and couching produces a very metallic taste in my mouth Not sure what that means.
Going to take a nap and hope for the best

[Smucky]

Pretty sure my son is over the flu. I shoved him on the bus this morning. I normally don't get up until 10am or so, but figured I'd surprise him in case he tries to say he was "too sick" again.
And then I couldn't go back to sleep
And now I've got some chest pain when I breath heavy, and couching produces a very metallic taste in my mouth Not sure what that means.
Going to take a nap and hope for the best

Not sure if I'm feeling any better. But doesn't feel like the flu. More like chest infection or something. Which, don't want that either.
Took a nap earlier. Then moved from the couch to the bed, took another nap. Now drank some redbull, and about to take another nap.

[NinjaPoodle]

Whiskey and a cigar will do the job. Infowar agrees.

[Smucky]

Whiskey and a cigar will do the job. Infowar agrees.

My diagnosis from AI. It blames my son.

What "Chest Infection" Actually Means

"Chest infection" is a colloquial term (especially common in British English) that covers infections of the lower respiratory tract. Medically, this typically means one of two things:

Acute bronchitis is infection and inflammation of the bronchial tubes (the airways leading to your lungs). This causes coughing, often with mucus production, and can cause that deep chest discomfort you're describing. It's usually viral.

Pneumonia is infection that reaches the lung tissue itself (the alveoli, where gas exchange happens). This tends to be more serious, with higher fevers, more significant breathing difficulties, and more pronounced fatigue.

What you're describing sounds most consistent with acute bronchitis, though the deep lung pain and metallic taste warrant attention.

Could You Have Caught This From Your Son?

Almost certainly yes, and here's why this makes complete sense:

The same respiratory virus can manifest differently in different people. Your son may have had classic influenza symptoms (high fever, vomiting, prostration), while the same virus in your body might be presenting primarily as lower respiratory inflammation. This happens because of differences in immune response, viral load received, where the virus establishes itself, and individual anatomy.

Respiratory viruses spread extremely easily within households despite precautions. Even with open windows and humidifiers, you were sharing air with a highly contagious person for days. The virus travels in tiny aerosol particles that can linger in room air for hours, settle on surfaces, and spread through any close contact. Household transmission rates for influenza are typically 20-40% even with precautions.

You're right about humidity, by the way. The mechanism is twofold: dry air causes respiratory droplets to evaporate into smaller particles that stay airborne longer and travel farther, and low humidity also dries out the mucous membranes in your airways, reducing their ability to trap and clear pathogens.

What's Likely Happening in Your Body

When you inhale a respiratory virus, it doesn't always stay in the upper respiratory tract (nose, throat). It can descend into the bronchi and even the lungs. The sequence often looks like this:

The virus infects cells lining your airways. Your immune system responds with inflammation, which causes swelling of the bronchial walls, increased mucus production, and that painful sensation you feel. The cough is your body's attempt to clear the mucus and debris. The deep pain suggests the inflammation has reached the smaller airways or the lung tissue itself.

The metallic taste is worth noting. This can occur from microscopic amounts of blood in your sputum (tiny capillaries in inflamed airways can leak a bit), from the inflammatory process itself affecting your taste receptors, or sometimes from certain bacteria that produce metallic-tasting compounds. It's not necessarily alarming, but it's a symptom to track.

The Fatigue Makes Sense

That profound fatigue you're describing, where even thinking about code feels impossible, is your immune system at work. Fighting infection requires enormous metabolic resources. Your body is essentially redirecting energy away from "optional" activities (like complex cognitive work) toward immune function. This is actually adaptive. The urge to sleep is your body telling you it needs rest to fight this off.

When This Warrants Medical Attention

Most cases of acute bronchitis resolve on their own in 1-3 weeks. However, you should consider seeing a doctor if:

• Your temperature rises significantly (above 101°F) or you develop shaking chills
• You have difficulty breathing or feel short of breath at rest
• The metallic taste becomes overtly bloody (you see red or rust-colored sputum)
• Your symptoms worsen after initially improving, which can signal secondary bacterial infection
• You have underlying health conditions like asthma, COPD, diabetes, or immunocompromise
• Symptoms persist beyond 2-3 weeks without improvement

The deep lung pain and metallic taste you mentioned would make me lean toward at least calling a doctor for guidance, especially if those symptoms persist or worsen over the next day or two.

What You Can Do Now

• Stay hydrated (this helps thin mucus)
• Rest (which you're already doing)
• The humidifiers you're running are helpful
• Over-the-counter pain relievers can help with discomfort
• Honey in tea can soothe coughing for some people
• Monitor your symptoms and temperature

The bottom line: yes, you almost certainly caught this from your son, and the same virus that gave him classic flu symptoms is presenting in you as lower respiratory involvement. This is a common pattern. Your body's doing what it should by making you rest. Just keep an eye on those symptoms I mentioned, and don't hesitate to seek care if things head in the wrong direction.

[Smucky]

Most cases of acute bronchitis resolve on their own in 1-3 weeks. However, you should consider seeing a doctor if:

Well that is just great

[Smucky]

"I have a nikon microscope that goes up to 1000x. Should I hack up a wad of lung snot and see what it looks like under the microscope? Would I even see anything?"

Ha! I love that you have a microscope and this instinct. Yes, you could absolutely see interesting things, though with some caveats.

What You'd Actually See

Easily visible (no staining needed):

• White blood cells, especially neutrophils (10-20 micrometers) — if you have an active infection, you should see lots of these
• Epithelial cells sloughed off from your airways (these are big, 30-50+ micrometers)
• Mucus strands and general debris
• Red blood cells if there's any bleeding (that metallic taste) — they're about 7-8 micrometers, little biconcave discs

Visible but harder without staining:

• Bacteria (1-10 micrometers) — they're there, but they'll be faint and hard to distinguish without a simple stain like methylene blue

What you WON'T see:

• Viruses. They're 20-300 nanometers, way below the resolution limit of light microscopy (~200nm). You'd need an electron microscope. So if this is viral bronchitis, the actual culprit is invisible to you.

Practical Tips

For 1000x, your objective is probably a 100x oil immersion lens. You'll need immersion oil between the lens and the slide or you'll get a blurry mess.

Make a thin smear on a glass slide and let it air dry. Thick globs won't work well — light can't pass through.

If you want to see more detail, methylene blue is cheap and easy to find (aquarium stores sell it). A drop on your dried smear for 30-60 seconds, rinse gently, and suddenly cells and bacteria pop beautifully.

What It Would Tell You

Honestly? It's more "cool home science" than diagnostic. You'd see signs of inflammation (lots of white blood cells), but you couldn't distinguish viral from bacterial infection reliably, and you definitely couldn't identify specific pathogens without proper staining techniques and training.

But if you're the kind of person who finds it satisfying to actually see your immune system doing battle in your own lung gunk — and I respect this energy — go for it. Infected sputum under a microscope is genuinely interesting. You'll see a warzone of neutrophils and debris.

Just wash your hands well after and don't contaminate your nice optics with respiratory pathogens!

[Smucky]

[Smucky]

Man took a bunch of Adderall and Ritalin to try to wake up. But didn't help.

Now taking some sleeping pills and melatonin. Not sure if I can mix those.

So if I never post again..

[Smucky]

Anyway, to bed.

[NinjaPoodle]

Man took a bunch of Adderall and Ritalin to try to wake up. But didn't help.

Now taking some sleeping pills and melatonin. Not sure if I can mix those.

So if I never post again..

You should talk to infowar. Despite his chemical intake, it is far more safe than the things you are taking.

[Smucky]

I'm dying