The DigiPlague

UPDATED (Jan. 2, 2011): Made some corrections to the description of the DigiPlague.  Added tips on how to fight the DigiPlague.

I can't sleep.  It's not that I'm too awake or don't really want to, it's that my head is threatening to explode.  I seem to have come down with the DigiPlague.

What is the DigiPlague?
The DigiPlague is a five to seven day disease. It's a sneaky illness disguised as a cold, but suddenly becomes apparent to what it is.  It's this germ that somehow manages to survive at DigiPen, mutating with each new freshman class.  It survives from person to person, always passing on before it dies completely.  It is a close friend of the DigiFunk.  The best way to describe the DigiPlague is to break it down into it's five days (the seven day version extends largely days 3 and 4).

Day 1
The DigiPlague begins as the sniffles.  It seems to be just some sniffling and sneezing, but it comes on rapidly.  After a few hours, you hurt from sneezing so much and physically ache.  You are completely exhausted, but you assume it's just a cold.

Day 2
You feel better in the morning, leading you to believe it was just a simple cold or something that stirred up your allergies, but that's how the DigiPlague tricks you.  A hot shower in the morning will make you feel close to 100% well, but as the day goes on, you spiral into illness.  You sniffle and sneeze and end up physically exhausted again.  At this point, you may begin to suspect just what it is you have.

Day 3
This is the day that you feel like death.  You wake up dying, and though a hot shower can make you feel better, you know it's not going to stay that way.  This is the day to just stay in bed with OJ and tissues.  Get some soup, bunker down, and just ride it out.  You will feel like crap today.

Day 4
You begin the day feeling like crap, much like the previous day.  However, you can sometimes blow your nose and get some of the junk blocking your sinuses out.  As the day goes on, you begin to feel better, but to what degree varies from plague to plague.  The key note here is that this is when you start to get better.

Day 5
You return to the snifflies and feeling like you have a cold.  You aren't all the way back yet, but you're close.  Make sure to get plenty of rest so you don't relapse.  After today, you should be back to your old self.

How do I avoid the DigiPlague?
There are a few tricks to avoiding the DigiPlague, but it's nothing special.  Eat you vegetables, get your vitamins (especially C), and get enough sleep.  Those are standard.  Also, hygiene is important.  Wash your hands often, shower daily, yadda yadda.

The real trick to avoiding the DigiPlague is to avoid the DigiPlagued.  It's a zombie-apocalypse style rule that holds a great amount of merit here.  If someone you know has the DigiPlague, avoid them.  Encourage them to stay home and get well.  If you see someone sneeze on a keyboard, avoid that workstation.  It's all common sense really, but when there's too much to do and the DigiPlague takes hold, people forget about these things.  If you want to do your part in ending the DigiPlague forever, stay home when you're sick and encourage others to do the same.

How can I fight the DigiPlague?
First thing you'll need is some tissues.  I strongly recommend the type with lotion so you don't blow your nose raw.  Stock up; I've gone through about three boxes with this most recent DigiPlague.

Secondly, stay home where it's warm and get comfy.  Going out is extra strain you don't need to put on your body.  Only go out when necessary, such as to stock up on tissues and orange juice.  I strongly recommend taking plenty of hot showers.  The steam from shower will help break up all the junk in your sinuses, so you'll feel a fair amount better afterward.  However, don't let that lull you into thinking you're well enough to go out.

If you want to, you can try taking decongestants and the like.  They might help you more than they help me - theoretically, I may be allergic to them, or they may set off my asthma.  Either way, I've never really taken them before this most recent plague, and they aren't doing much.

Eat hot meals, preferably soup type things and comfort foods.  You can't beat comfort foods when you're sick.  I proclaim spicy foods a miracle cure for sinus congestion, but even they don't seem capable of standing up to the DigiPlague.  Eat stuff that will be kind to your throat.  It'll have it's own battle to go through as the plague runs its course.

In the end, there is no cure for the DigiPlague.  Once it starts, you just have to wait it out.  If you get it, just be sure to take care of yourself and stay home as much as you can.  After you're better, clean your bedding, get a new toothbrush, purge the DigiPlague from your home.  Try to keep from spreading it - Only you can prevent the DigiPlague.