The mystery of the "nighttime cold"

[Rufus T. Firefly]

I've got a cold -- no biggie, get them a couple of times a year. But my cold's usually have the same feature -- they get worse the minute the sun goes down. They're liek vampire colds, or something.

Now, I have no idea why this is, but assumed that it has something to do with either change in temerature or change in light. I don't know why those would affect my cold, but it's not like lots of other things change at sunset, so those were my best guesses.

Until yesterday. Yesterday I was shopping at Ikea after work. I was deep in the bowels of the store -- if you know Ikea, you know what I mean -- when suddenly (and I mean suddenly, like someone flipped a switch) I went from being just fine to being super-congested and constricted. Once a violent coughing spasm (the first of the day) had passed, I looked at my watch. Yep, 7:10 pm -- sunset.

But here's the thing: I was deep in the bowels of Ikea, so I had no clue it was sunset. No windows, so no visual clues; in full climate control, so no temperature clues. My body just knew.

Does this happen to anyone else when they have a cold? Does anyone know what causes it? Am I possessed by a demon spirit who keeps the same hours as Paris Hilton? WTF is this?

[Wiglaf]

AIDS test time. This is why I am glad to be a straight white male, the odds of me getting AIDS are almost zero.

[Seedle]

Maybe you're allergic to something that pollinates at sunset? I don't know if there is such a plant, and even if there is, how enough pollen got into the bowels of Ikea to trigger an attack, so it's a pretty lame theory. But a night-related allergen is the only thing I can think of to cause such behavior.

Edit: I suppose it wouldn't have to be pollen, maybe it could be some sort nocturnal pest that gets active (even in buildings, so thinking rodent/bugs) and starts spreading allergens. Though I've never heard of anyone being allergic to bugs, except their venom. Like I said, it's lame, but it's what I got.

[Rufus T. Firefly]

Originally posted by Wiglaf
AIDS test time. This is why I am glad to be a straight white male, the odds of me getting AIDS are almost zero.

Actually, the odds are only so-so. You'd be better off becoming part of a lower-risk group. That's why I'm a lesbian.

[Wiglaf]

Lesbians are the worst did you know that AIDS can be transmitted by sharing soda boddles? I believe lesbians do this and more, so please check facts before posting.

[Rufus T. Firefly]

Originally posted by Seedle
Maybe you're allergic to something that pollinates at sunset? I don't know if there is such a plant, and even if there is, how enough pollen got into the bowels of Ikea to trigger an attack, so it's a pretty lame theory. But a night-related allergen is the only thing I can think of to cause such behavior.

Edit: I suppose it wouldn't have to be pollen, maybe it could be some sort nocturnal pest that gets active (even in buildings, so thinking rodent/bugs) and starts spreading allergens. Though I've never heard of anyone being allergic to bugs, except their venom. Like I said, it's lame, but it's what I got.

Well, aside from overall lameness -- and that's not a criticism, really, since at least you tried -- the problem is that I've lived in 4 different countriesd in the last 5 years, and this has been true in all of them. It's hard to imagine that they've have anything organic in common other than the sun itself.

[Kuciwalker]

The correct answer is, this is an isolated incident and doesn't really establish anything.

[Rufus T. Firefly]

Originally posted by Kuciwalker
The correct answer is, this is an isolated incident and doesn't really establish anything.

It happens every night, every time I have a cold. I generally notice it because I get very sick, very suddenly, look up, and notice that it's dusk. I mention this incident in particular because I was struck by how precisely it struck even when my body had no time-of-day cues to draw on.

[Thue]

I think the strength of allergic responses are affected by a number of things. For example I am allergic to grass pollen, but I never sneeze when I am doing sports, probably because of the adrenalin. Maybe you are seeing something similar?

I am guessing that for some reason the "allergic" response to the virus for some reason kicks in for you as your body makes the changes which happens when you are gearing down for sleep. Maybe it is even the same, low adrenalin?

[Winston]

Originally posted by Rufus T. Firefly
-- they get worse the minute the sun goes down.

So, no Low Earth Orbit space vacation for you then.

See? It could always be worse somehow.

[DRoseDARs]

Originally posted by Wiglaf
Lesbians are the worst did you know that AIDS can be transmitted by sharing soda boddles? I believe lesbians do this and more, so please check facts before posting.

Bad spelling does it too.

[Tuberski]

Your body is punishing you for buying Ikea crap.

ACK!

[Az]

correlation doesn't imply causation

[Rufus T. Firefly]

Originally posted by Az
correlation doesn't imply causation

No, but surely repeated correlation implies something...

[DRoseDARs]

...like AIDS. Get that test.