Nasty Sore Throat Virus Spreading Through the Treasure Valley

A virus that is sweeping through the Treasure Valley starts with a sore throat and can leave you in bed for days.

Yesterday my throat started getting super scratchy. I ran for the Airborne and a couple hours later the body aches settled in. Now, all I want to do is crawl in my bed and stay there all weekend... but I'm a Mom, so that's not going to happen.

I'm far from the first one to catch this nasty virus. My ex-husband had it last week, then my daughter got it. My mom lives in Southern Utah and she's been battling it all week. (So maybe it's not just an Idaho thing.) As I was talking to people at the Brandon Lay concert at The Buffalo Club last night, it seemed that everyone knew someone who had caught this thing.

There is definitely some nasty virus going around and it's not even cold season yet.

Symptoms include...

• Sore throat
• Body Aches and chills
• Loss of Voice
• Deep Cough
• Nasal Congestion
• Mild Diahrrea

The worst of the virus typically lasts 3-4 days from everyone I have talked to. The bummer is that it's a virus, so there is nothing you can really do but wait it out, get some rest, and keep up on the over-the-counter meds.

To keep yourself from catching this bug, wash your hands frequently, and start using a high dose vitamin c supplement like Emergen-C or Airborne as soon as you start to experience symptoms to at least hopefully reduce the duration of the cold. (Just my personal advice.)

According to an earlier report by kivitv.com a virus like this is most likely an adenovirus. You don't have the flu, but it can leave you feeling pretty crummy. A good reminder to get that flu vaccine within the next couple months.

A cool way to track the cold and flu activity in your area is to use the

You can type in your zip code to see how bad the cold season is in your specific area at any time as well as what symptoms are the worst. Surprisingly, it says that the cold virus is moderate in our area right now, but the runny nose symptom is very high.

Maybe this virus is just happening in my little circle, but I thought I better get the word out that something does seem to be going around. In the meantime, I'm crawling under the covers and taking another dose of Nyquil.