Fighting off a bad case of the Gru

These grumpy little colorless rainbows literally made me cry.

In my house we are currently experiencing a bit of a weird phenomenon of the physical kind. I've noticed this same bug go through our house twice so far this year. Both times, it started with Roxy and spread. It's obviously very contagious.

Through my normal health research methods (WebMD and Wikipedia), I haven't found any other documented cases of this, hence I am classifying it myself.

 

This illness I hereby dub: the Gru

Gru ( \ˈgrü\ ), is an infectious and contagious illness that appears to have effects in humans of all ages. It's suspected to be started by a mild tiny yucky germ (aka 'virus'), but then exaggerated by the most dramatic person of the group thus giving the tiny yucky germ more strength and impact on the body and surrounding victims. The name was derived from a similar illness (the Flu) and Gru (from Despicable Me).

Gru usually appears suddenly and makes itself known in the form of a tantrum, an irrational heated conversation or just tears. Gru will generally go away on it's own, but can turn into a more common cold if left untreated.

Signs and Symptoms: The first sign of the Gru is a grumpy mood. As stated above, this symptom commonly leads right into a tantrum, an argument and/or crying. Sleepiness/laziness is the second sign that you have a case of the Gru. Headache, not wanting to go to school, a forced cough and a scratchy throat are other common symptoms. Gru is often accompanied by mild loss of appetite, unless the food in question is candy, cupcakes or any other sugary substance. This may or may not be related to the sleepiness symptom.

Common symptom of Gru: Sleepiness/laziness

In my observation, runny nose and fever were not implications of this illness.

Mechanism: This illness is very VERY contagious. Take caution. It's not known at this time if the tiny yucky germs are spread via airborne or contact, etc. I've seen gru spread in a matter of minutes, but sometimes it does take up to 24 hours for symptoms to appear.

Prevention: Unknown. Although following a strict bedtime routine does lower your chances of the gru by at least 70%.

Treatment: TLC, patience, rest, fluids and Tylenol/Advil as needed for headache pain. Ice cream doesn't hurt either.

Prognosis: You're gonna make it, I promise.

<3, Tabi :D