File this under “My Worst Nightmare.” You wake up sick on your wedding day. It may be a cold, congestion, a wicked headache, a sore throat, raging diarrhea or perhaps bloating. Bottom line, it’s your wedding day–you know you can suck it up and make it through the ceremony and reception. But what about the physical manifestations of your ailment? What if you look like they had to dig you up to get you to the church on time?
Like Fernando used to say on Saturday Night Live, “It is much better to look good than to feel good.” On the very day you’re supposed to look your absolute best, this is not just a narcissist’s philosopy–it’s gospel. That’s why I’m going to start with a few things you can do to counteract the red or puffy eyes, the lack of color in your lips, a redder-than-normal face and a (gasp!) cold sore.
Red or puffy eyes–Get two small baggies and put a few ice cubes in them. Cover them with two fluffy washcloths and lay them over your eyes for 10 minutes. This will brighten your eyes up and reduce the puffiness by constricting the blood vessels.
Lackluster lips–Apply a rosy-pink lip gloss to your lips. The color brings a vitality to your pucker, unlike nudes, which can make you look corpse-like.
Red face–Apply a creamy bronzer. It counteracts the pinkness.
Cold sore–There’s no real quick fix here, but you want to start the healing as soon as possible. An over-the-counter medication like Abreva can speed the healing, and you can wear it under make-up.
OK. Now that you won’t scare the wedding guests, let’s see what we can do you get you actually feeling better.
Diarrhea–Relief is in your medicine cabinet or at the pharmacy. Immodium A-D, Pepto-Bismol and Kaopectate will all help stop the runs.
Headache–break out the extra-strength Tylenol, Advil, Exedrin, whatever you’ve got handy.
Sore Throat–This tip comes from opera singers. Anything warm (not too hot!) and thin (like tea or broth) is good for relaxing the throat. You can add some things to your “hot water infusion” to increase the healing power like honey, lemon, ginger, cayenne pepper or licorice. If you’re a smoker–DON’T!
Bloating–Coated peppermint oil is a quick fix for abdominal pain, bloating, diarrhea and gas. Peppermint oil is available in capsule form.
Cold, congestion–Sorry. No quick fix. Take what you normally take for a cold, and be glad you can make yourself look good despite feeling under the weather. Get into survival mode and do whatever it takes to enjoy your day.
