Urgle
I have now seen the doctor. She gave me a prescription for antibiotics, in case it’s something that antibiotics can help with, and an OTC recommendation for a drug that isn’t OTC, and is in fact a controlled substance (she thought it was no longer prescription). Ah, well– Immodium AD for me.
Oh, yeah, and apparently about 100 people in Santa Cruz have gotten a similar sickness after attending holiday parties. There’s even a health advisory for the county about it.
PEOPLE, WASH YOUR HANDS AFTER YOU POTTY!!!
Yes, that is right– this kind of “flu” is almost certainly caused by improper hygiene. Mine, someone else’s, who knows? Handwashing is apparently the #1 best way to prevent getting the flu, common cold, and nasty stomach ailments that knock you out for 4 days over Christmas.
leora wrote:
I do!
Posted on 28-Dec-05 at 7:19 pm | Permalink
mortaine wrote:
I know you do! You get a cookie.
It’s made by someone who isn’t teeming with bacteria. And who washed their hands, too!
Posted on 28-Dec-05 at 7:31 pm | Permalink
blistermoth wrote:
should i send some chicken soup?
Posted on 28-Dec-05 at 7:38 pm | Permalink
thewrongcrowd wrote:
Yes ma’am!
Catching up on flist doings… hope things start taking a turn for the better. Sounds like there is secondary bacterial infection associated with that particular dirty-hands flu.
“…an OTC recommendation for a drug that isn’t OTC.” That’s guaranteed to irritate. Had a doc suggest I get some Flexeril one time and then didn’t write the scrip. Like where in Hades did he expect me to get it? My local pusher?
Anyway, may you see less and less of the loo as the new year approaches. Ha! And you were the one who doesn’t read on the john. ;P)
Posted on 28-Dec-05 at 7:49 pm | Permalink
lunza wrote:
And teach your kids to cover their mouths when they cough, dammit. There was a nine- or 10-year-old boy in the grocery store this evening who was not covering his mouth and coughing a lot, and I wanted to bop him and his mother, who was right there. /vent
Posted on 28-Dec-05 at 8:21 pm | Permalink
hobbitblue wrote:
It scares me that people *don’t* wash their hands. Icky stuff, ew –> water & soap = no ickies. Not too challenging, I’d have thought. Hope the immodium helps.. have you ever tried kaolin & morphine, I often find it more effective (assuming they’ll sell such an old and therefore dangerous remedy in US pharmacies..)
*feel better hugs*
Posted on 28-Dec-05 at 8:22 pm | Permalink
mortaine wrote:
Nothing with morphine is sold over the counter in the US, and morphine drugs are generally considered controlled substances (which means an extra layer of documentation required for doctors when prescribing).
Thank you for the hugs.
Posted on 28-Dec-05 at 8:48 pm | Permalink
mortaine wrote:
The doc apparently thought it had been released for OTC use, so it was an honest mistake. Just one I couldn’t do anything about once I was already at the pharmacy and getting more and more dehydrated the longer I waited (at that point, I’d been about an hour and a half without water, and I just can’t do that right now).
Posted on 28-Dec-05 at 8:50 pm | Permalink
scaryshari wrote:
Sorry you’ve been so sick with something so “gross.”
Feel better soon! You certainly don’t deserve to have so much ruination of the holidays!
I don’t know if you’re into treating things with herbs along with prescription meds, but Goldenseal is particularly effective against bacterial infections. Echinacea, as I’m sure you know, is better against viral ones, though it’s also an overall immune booster. (I have data that debunks the studies that tried to debunk its effectiveness! *grin*)
Did you also know that Chamomile (which is in everybody’s tea these days) contains a compound that soothes the intestinal tract? It’s even mildly anti-inflammatory! I don’t know what exactly is responsible, but have read this more than once. It helped soothe me a lot when I had food poisoning a few years back, plus it helped me sleep better to boot!
Anyway, I hope you get to feeling better SOON!! It’s no fun to be sick in December. I can empathize, as I was laid up with a fever and sore throat last Thursday thru Sunday.
Shari
Posted on 28-Dec-05 at 9:45 pm | Permalink
cathouse_blues wrote:
Oh, just ew. Common sense hygiene…didn’t their mommies teach them better?
Posted on 29-Dec-05 at 3:42 am | Permalink
silsbycarr wrote:
everyone in my department has been battling the same cold for about a month now - I’m the only person who doesn’t have it. I’m not sure, but I think it may because I use an antibacterial hand lotion while I’m at work. We pass folders around ALL day long and I’m sure they’re covered in wee beasties.
Posted on 29-Dec-05 at 6:05 am | Permalink
kr8vkat wrote:
My friend in Capitola has “the bug” as does her husband.
Immodium is good stuff. Before I figured out I was intolerant to high fructose corn syrup, I kept some in my purse, my car, my gym bag, the bathroom, my nightstand….yeah. So glad I don’t have to do that anymore.
I’ve been very good about handwashing since I contracted ameobic dysentery when I was 18. But it surprises me how many people aren’t. And the covering the mouth thing someone mentioned above…yeah, that’s good too.
Hope the immodium and antibiotics do some good and you are hydrated and healthy soon!
Posted on 29-Dec-05 at 7:07 am | Permalink
halfawake wrote:
This reminds me of the day when you commented about all your friends who hate people who don’t wash their hands in my journal when I was ranting about people who do that.
Handwashing is apparently the #1 best way to prevent getting the flu, common cold, and nasty stomach ailments that knock you out for 4 days over Christmas.
Four days? That wouldn’t have been very nice either, but it would have been much preferable to the two weeks that I got knocked down for starting on my birthday weekend. I managed, but it wasn’t pleasant at all.
Posted on 29-Dec-05 at 10:27 pm | Permalink
recursive wrote:
Yeah, there’s a lot of “fun” stuff spread via the feces->food route.
I grew up in a household where we always washed hands after any toilet activities, and before preparing or eating food. These days, I’m slightly lazy, I’ll often not wash hands after taking a leak, in my own apartment, but if it’s somebody else’s house or a public restroom, I always wash my hands. Also, before any kind of food preparation.
I kind of wonder if modern antibiotics and medical care have caused people to have a certain amount of complacency about hand-washing — I get the sense that in some of the decades before antibiotics, it was more popular.
Posted on 01-Jan-06 at 11:47 pm | Permalink