The reason for this is that a lot of businesses require a doctor's note for any time off now (used to be for 3 days or more only). Seems like every time I ask my boss if I can go home early (when I'm sick), she tells me to go to the doctor. Normally I have the same response you do...it's a cold. I'm going to go there, and the doc is going to tell me that it's a cold. But, if the boss wants a note, I'll get her a note. I kinda like the airborne stuff. If anything, it's at least tasty. Menotti, from what you're describing, I would definitely try some kind of allergy medicine. I used to get a lot of that stuff, too. I ended up going to an allergist, but it really wasn't necessary. He just told me what I already knew, which is that I have really bad allergies towards seasonal things (pollen, mold) and dust mites. Not sure what you're living conditions are like, but I usually feel better for awhile after I dust my place (well, I feel like crap for a day, but much better after that). I used to swear by Claritin-D. Well, the generic version of it, anyways. But recently I just had surgery to repair a breathing problem I had with my nose and it doesn't affect me as much.