It always starts off small. Of course it does. Viruses, bacteria, those little microbes that lurk on surfaces or are blown around by the wind. They can find you any time of year. If it’s anything the Pandemic taught us, you can take all the precautions you want, you can wash your hands until they bleed, wear a facemask 24/7, and bathe in hand sanitizer. Eventually, your time will come. Being sick is often just a matter of it being your turn.
It Was My Turn to Get Sick
I realized that this year in Yuma, AZ. I can almost pinpoint when I was exposed to it. Either at a store closing sale at Big Lots or an In-N-Out Burger. Never in my life have I ever had an experience where I picked up a nasty cold where I thought it was worth it. That’s how I know it was either of these times.I didn’t find anything worth buying at Big Lots and my In-N-Out Burger wasn’t all that good.
The time was right, not long after New Year. A building full of people, and that background noise of someone coughing, or worse yet, covering up the fact that they are coughing. Anyway, it’s not important how I got the bug. I just did.
The virus took hold quickly, starting with a dry cough and a lot of post-nasal drainage. Then came the body aches. That broken glass feeling in your joints and skin where everything just hurts. Then the chills as a fever rolls in and out like the tide. Luckily, I could tell as quickly as it took hold, it wouldn’t last long—unless it got into my lungs.
What If I Get Sick On the Road?
Being sick in a nomadic lifestyle presents itself with a whole lot of challenges you won’t find in a sticks and bricks lifestyle. But that isn’t to say you don’t have some advantages too.
The biggest advantage I had was the luxury of being somewhere warm when I got sick. While everyone I knew back in Colorado was bracing themselves for a bomb cyclone of arctic weather, I was looking at around ten days of sunshine and 68 degrees.
Also, I didn’t have to be around anyone. I could isolate myself in the middle of the desert. I could blow my nose and be as disgusting as I wanted without worrying about exposing anyone else to my germs. I had a supply of fever reducers, pain killers, things to drink, decongestants, and most of all time to just get better.
I remember viruses like this lasting months because the demands of my job meant I could take off a few days before faking a miraculous recovery to come back to work. As I would shake at my desk from fever, I had to smile and probably pass my plague onto my coworkers, who in turn would pass it back to me eventually.
How It Is Different
Out in the desert, I could take my take with my writing, but most of all I could rest and recover. I took a LOT of naps. I blew my nose. I coughed. I drank lots of tea and water and more water until I thought I was going to float away. I stayed on top of my OTC medications. I paid attention to how my lungs were doing—I have asthma, so literally everything I catch can turn into bronchitis or pneumonia, and usually does. I kept up with my inhaler and nasal rinses. I slowly got better.
I feel grateful to be out here in these times. What I didn’t like was the scary prospect of needing an Urgent Care or Emergency Room visit if it went into my lungs. So I took lots of naps, anytime I was tired, I listened to my body and I slept.
Around ten days later, I was feeling about 85% again. Also, I lost about 5lbs.
What Sucks About Being Sick on the Road
Of the things I wish I had around me which I can’t have on the road are things like steaming hot showers, or long hot baths. Those features in a house that make you feel relaxed and comfortable. Also, when it got cold at night, I had to run my diesel heater, which really dried out the air, sending me into coughing fits.
When I was feeling well again, I did a deep clean of everything on the bus. I opened up the windows and doors and let sunshine and wind inside. I scrubbed down all my surfaces and washed my bedding. That just about wore me out, so I took more naps.
I feel grateful that I only had a flu and not the wacky wildcard of Covid, which often spirals quickly out of control on people with secondary problems such as asthma. But I probably would have handled it in a similar way. There was also that tipping point that I kept a watchful eye on that might have taken me back to Colorado where my insurance would actually cover me. Believe me, there were more than a few times when I considered doing that, hoping I would be well enough to cover the 1,000 miles as sick as I was.
What You Need to Do to Fight Being Sick on the Road
Anyway, if you plan on living on the road or already do, just like in a permanent home, you will get sick. You come into contact with such a variety of people being on the move that you really can’t avoid it. Here’s some suggestions to stay well and be prepared for the inevitable.
- Stock up on food and liquids (Gatorade is really good at helping you stay hydrated)
- Make sure your prescriptions are current and filled
- Replace expired medicine
- Keep good decongestants on board. Skip Sudafed PE and get the real stuff you have to get from the Pharmacist. DayQuil, NyQuil, anything with pseudoephedrine.
- Stock up on fever reducers/painkillers such as Motrin, Tylenol, or other NSAIDs. They will reduce inflammation and knock out a fever. Be sure to avoid doubling up on medication that might already have these drugs.
- Get plenty of sunlight and fresh air
- Keep your vehicle clean
- This not only limits germs in your environment, but also makes it easier to live if you do get sick
- Rest and fluids. As much and as often as you can. Your body is great at healing, and these are two of the best ways to get well.
- Avoid alcohol. You are better off drinking green tea than drinking hot whiskey. Alcohol will just mess with your sleep cycles and dehydrate you.
- Avoid dust and smoke. This can be very tricky, especially in the desert. Skip those campfires outside until you have no fear of a respiratory infection. Dust can also irritate an already compromised system and make everything worse.
The Illness That Nearly Broke Me
This last illness definitely had me questioning the sustainability of a life on the road. Sometimes I find myself on the precipice of being annoyed if not flat-out overwhelmed by this lifestyle. This time I would have liked nothing more than to spend a few days soaking my aching body in a hot bath, or being close to a medical clinic I trusted if things got worse.
I’ll be honest. It just about broke me. I had people in far off places telling me they wished they could make me soup. Out on the road, the only one making soup is me. Or in this case, when I felt well enough, I got some amazing wonton soup at a Chinese restaurant—I swear it was like penicillin.
It would have been great to have a bathroom or a kitchen. Those two things really cut to the heart of why living in a house is so convenient, especially if you are feeling under the weather. But at least here I could walk around outside in the sunshine. I could cough and cough until I felt better. Try doing that at a job and you might as well be the jackass who microwaves fish in the breakroom.
You will get sick of taking care of yourself. You will get tired of the confines or your tiny home on wheels. The vulnerability of being in a strange place, feeling terrible, and far from loved ones. It’s not something I like to experience, and lucky for me, I’ve only been sick on the road one other time; likely from some germ that blew in on the desert wind. Like I said, it’s a matter of when it will be your turn, because that time I was miles from the nearest neighbor near White Sands, and not waiting for my double-double animal style with at least a hundred other people.
