I am returning to the subject of illness in France, rather sooner than I had hoped.

Last week I was laid very low with a flu/cold combo. Some of the children in the creche have been very ill and had still been dragged in to spread the germs amongst the other children. However the parents also seem to assume that once us workers sign our contracts we are covered in an immunity bubble and they can send their little darlings in with temperatures, streaming noses, nasty coughs and sneezes and somehow (despite wiping noses, getting covered in snot, and cuddling distressed ill children) we will not become ill ourselves.
This is wrong and we do get ill too.
So last week I was confined to the sofa and rapidly becoming bored of TV. The highlight of the Tuesday was watching everyone squirm in the Dr's waiting room every time I coughed. My Dr looked at me as if to say I was making this all up and gave me a prescription and 2 days Arret de Travail. "Two days," I thought, "pah, I'll be back..." I had been prescribed 4 drugs to tackle my chest infection with. Unfortunately none of them seemed to have any affect and my lungs were still solid with gunk when I returned, wheezing like a 60 a day smoker, two days later.
"Is it worse?" he asked
"It's not any better." I replied, so after telling me firmly that some people had colds that lasted up to two weeks, giving me another prescription and another Arret de Travail, I was sent on my way.
I am now feeling better (80% human 20% phlegm) but am not sure which of the 6 medicines I was prescribed has been responsible. Your guess is as good as mine. Here's the list...

Antibiotics (non penicillin based)
Anti-inflammatory (though these have cleared up some mild eczema on my foot)
Antihistamines (am I allergic to phlegm?)
An expectorant (to make me cough)
A cough suppressant (confused, yep, me too.)
Paracetamol (my money is on this one being the most helpful.)

Anyway back to work tomorrow, ready to assailed by the next wave of ill children.