I've been ill since last Thursday. Struggled on working on Friday & Saturday, and have been basically in bed or sitting on the sofa in a sleeping bag ever since. I don't seem to be getting any better. Have snot & a sore throat & a cough & a slightly raised temperature - I don't think it's anything other than a virus, but I'm just not getting better. If anything, today I am worse than I have been because the cough is so bad. I feel crappy & chilled & wheezy and - the thing that never happens - my peak flow is down. Not by much, but enough.
The thing about living in a country with free state-sponsored healthcare is that I can in theory just walk into a doctor's tomorrow for nothing. But because I live in a country with free state-sponsored healthcare, I'm aware that it's a limited resource. If I had to pay for each doctor's visit I'd be broke by now, but at least I'd feel entitled to have them look at me and go "Yup - it's a virus. Nope, we can't do anything." Whereas, as it is, I feel guilty if I go to see the GP with anything less than full-blown bacterial blergh. Free healthcare is great for regular maintenance of a chronic health condition & preventing it from getting any worse. It's not so great for feeling that you have the right to have your sore throat examined and declared to be just a virus.
Or maybe I'm just too public-spirited for my own good.