Sick Again . . .

I've been somewhat "under the weather" for some time now (late January). Initially, a minor cough and sore throat were the extent of any difficulties, but they were being staved off quite nicely by intermittent doses of Zicam tablets. The trouble didn't begin until we ran out of Zicam. I suggested we try a generic version: Big Mistake. Let me tell you, it was well worth the $3 per bottle to buy the real McCoy; I got sick immediately while still using the fake stuff.

This past Sunday I awakened with a new malady: a swollen lymnph node. Normally, that isn't too much of a problem for me, since I tolerate pain well. This one was different; it's the one just below my right ear (and behind my jaw). It swelled so much that my jaw moved over a half an inch out of alignment. (Realizing that your teeth no longer line up and your mouth won't close is an odd sensation.) The pain was excruciating -- so much so that I (briefly) considered digging out a scalpel and finding a spot behind my jaw to slice open. (Have some individually wrapped disposable scalpels from my years repairing medical equipment -- I've used them on myself before, but don't like to.)

Instead, I Googled numerous combinations of relevant terms: lymph gland, lymph node, treatment, lance, lancing, cut, slice, etc. After much reading, it didn't appear that my problems would have long term averse effects (aside from the pain), so I resisted the urge to self-operate sans painkillers. (Mainly because I know how well that would NOT have gone over with my wife, but also because it's a pretty gruesome remedy that wasn't guaranteed to do anything for me.)

I just "lived with" the pain for the first three quarters of the day, then (after dinner) decided to try one of my handy-dandy ice packs (the ones we put in the baby's bottle carrier). The ice pack application worked wonders. I'm sitting here chewing gum. Prior to using ice packs, it was painful just to open my mouth wide enough to suck in some oatmeal; swallowing it was just as bad. Right now, I think the gland is almost better. Just before meals, or if it starts to pain me, I put another ice pack on it for a few minutes and I'm fine for a few hours.

Now if the MucinexDM will finish off the chestful of mucous, I should be doing great soon. At least I'm doing well enough to get some work done.