Today's throwback blog is titled Me Versus My Throat Infection And Eye Infection in Aug 2014. I remind myself following my basic taking care of myself minimize my chances of getting sick. They are drinking soda when I eat spicy food, preparing myself for hot days and cold nights or a 30 degree temperature difference in a day, eating three meals a day, sleeping at least eight hours a night, maintaining a clean residence, and avoiding sick people. Moreover, I stopped drinking water from the Brita water filter.
I was sick in May-Jun 2014 with a throat infection and an eye infection. My symptoms were a sore throat, coughing, difficulty sleeping, and sensitivity to hot days and cold nights. I didn't have bronchitis, a sinus infection, and the Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV). The last time I got a throat infection was Oct 2016.
Blogger's note: The blog entry is written with limited editing for grammar and content.
I experienced the worse sickness in my life. If I said worse sickness in past sickness blogs, then all the past sickness were nothing compared to my throat and eye infections. I followed my procedures to recover from a sinus infection to my throat infection which failed. I didn't know I had a throat infection before seeing a doctor. The eye infection was not a result from my throat infection according to my doctor. The last major sickness excluding stomach flues happened on Nov 2012.
Here's the timeline to remember how I recovered from a throat infection the next time it happens. I hope not. The second section lists the probable events that caused my sickness. The third section lists the days I applied eye drops.
Mon May 5-Thur May 8. Mild sore throat. The recovery was longer than expected. Weird.
Fri May 9-Sat May 10. Mild runny nose.
Sun May 11. Coughing. I had trouble sleeping. I woke up at 3:30am Mon May 12 feeling cold. I added an extra blanket, changed to full pajamas, and closed the window.
Mon May 12. Body experienced trouble adopting to today's weather. I felt either too hot or too cold. Little coughing. Little phlegm. I experienced another sore throat. I started to eat yogurt.
Tue May 13. Sore throat bothered me. Coughing subsided. Yogurt and Coke. Trouble sleeping. Too much coughing in bed.
Wed May 14. I was hot when I woke up. Sore throat irritated me. The sickness was taking too long to recover. Too prolonged. Too mild.
I drank lots of water at work. I lost my voice. Coughing was unproductive. My body wanted to cough out phlegm. Failed. Post nasal drip severe. It was the hottest day of the year. No yogurt. My sickness was slow, developing, and progressing.
Very little sleep because the house was too hot. The windows were fully opened.
Thur May 15. I ate a small breakfast. I wanted to go home at 2pm. No go. I felt good in the morning. I didn't feel good in the afternoon. More coughing especially in the evening. There must be something in the middle of the day or evening to trigger my coughing.
I turned on the humidifier before I went to bed. The air was dry. There were no water drops at the opening. I chewed gum hoping the coughing stopped. Failed. I coughed phlegm with blood. Mild bloody nose. I sweated. I coughed when I'm lying on my sides on my bed. I didn't cough when I'm lying on my back or stomach on my bed. I couldn't sleep the entire night. I watched Aliens and Saving Private Ryan movies. It was the second time I worried my sickness cause major health problems very soon.
Fri May 16. Think cold. I was counter intuitive to being warm to reduce coughing. I purchased Mucinex DM before work. The tablets helped a little.
Three bloody noses at work. It was really warm. It was me. I was too heat sensitive. I should have checked the air conditioning system. There were headaches and fatigue moments.
I ate yogurt and drank coke. I ate Jell-o. Coughing continued in the evening. My left eye was watery and red. I applied Visine.
Sat May 17. My left eye discharged a mucus like substance. Enough was enough. I planned to visit the Urgent Care Center I visited back in Mar 2011 after work. One of my co-workers said my left eye was red the entire day.
The doctor said I didn't have bronchitis, a sinus infection, and the Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV). There were no symptoms that indicated my common past sicknesses; for instance, no stuffy nose and no runny nose. I had a throat infection. The symptoms included a throat irritation, not a sore throat, because I can swallow without pain. It was true because I never mentioned throat pain when eating and drinking since I was sick. The doctor said I expect a full recovery. I could stop taking Mucinex DM and start taking cough suppressant instead.
The doctor prescribed ophthalmic antibiotic eye drops for my eyes. I had a bacterial eye infection. I picked up the eye drops at the nearest Walgreens which closed at 10pm on Sat's.
I tried Ricola before I went to bed. No go. Coughing got worse. I took Mucinex DM at 4:45am on Sun May 18.
Best sleep since I got sick. Two hours total. I gotten used to long nights without sleep. I continued Mucinex DM for my cough. I coughed a lot the entire day.
Lesson learned. Don't play doctor. I made the correct choice to see a doctor. The timing and circumstances convinced me to get help.
Sun May 18. I continued the eye drops and Mucinex DM. I thought when I stop taking Mucinex DM because I want my body to fight back without medications. My throat was irritated. I slept for five hours.
Mon May 19. I stopped drinking water from the Brita water filter. I started drinking Crystal Geyser. My mucus went from dark yellow and green to light yellow.
I had trouble sleeping. I considered stopping eye drops and Mucinex DM. I took Mucinex DM at 3am Tue May 19. I stayed awake. I was desperate to do anything now.
Tue May 20. I called in sick at work. My right eye was infected. I stopped yogurt. I slept from the late morning to early afternoon. I started to drink ginger ale. My mucus was light yellow. I coughed to the point I spit out phlegm.
I slept four hours at night.
Wed May 21. I went back to work. Mucus was light yellow. My coughing was worse in the afternoon and evenings. Why?
I continued to drink ginger ale. I slept with a Breathe Right Strip. Best sleep of the month so far even though I woke up intermediately because of productive coughs.
Thur May 22. I began drinking cold chilled water instead of room temperature water at work. Mucus continued light yellow and some mucus clear white.
Fri May 23. My right eye showed infection again. Discharge. More eye drops. Coughing went down in the afternoon and evening.
Best sleep of the week. There were long stretches I slept. I took a long time to fall asleep because the coughing intensified. There was no post nasal drip. Could it be the bacterial infection from my right eye?
Sat May 24. I felt a bump on my left eye. It seemed I wasn't fully healed. I applied eye drops to both eyes. Phlegm was white color.
Sun May 25. I cleaned the house. I dusted my room. I changed the bedsheets. I washed my blankets.
I slept for at least eight hours without waking up. Phlegm was white color.
Mon May 26. The chilled Arrowhead bottle water tasted bad. I removed all of them. Coughing subsided. Phlegm was light yellow to white colors.
Tue May 27. Coughing continued subsiding. Still phlegm.
Sat May 31. Began stretching exercises.
Mon Jun 2. I took two naps. Coughing was random. There was post nasal drip.
Thur Jun 5. Applied eye drops. Coughing was coming back.
Fri Jun 6. I called my primary care physician. The doctor was booked solid. No go. I didn't want to visit the Urgent Care Center back on Sat May 17. Too much coughing in the morning. I considered calling in sick. I didn't.
I looked at my side view mirror at a stop light. I said to myself, "Body, you're going to fucking recover!"
I ate Cadbury Milk Chocolate in the evening. There was past success eating chocolate to calm my cough.
Sat Jun 7. My throat started to feel normal when swallowing. It was hard to explain. It was neither sore nor an irritation. I began a light workout at the gym consisting of walking on the treadmill, bench press, and selected machines.
Mon Jun 9. I stopped drinking Ovaltine for breakfast. I forgot to mention I drank Ovaltine for a month during breakfasts. I also stopped eating Cadbury Milk Chocolate.
Mon Jun 30. A full gym workout.
What Were The Causes For My Infections?
Let's take a look at all possibilities. Some of them are more likely than others.
*Ate burrito during Mother's Day with family. I ate a burrito at a restaurant that was spicier than I thought. I didn't drink soda.
*Too cold sleeping conditions. I neglected to check my bedroom conditions before I went to bed. The conditions included the number of blankets, windows opened or closed, shorts or pants, and no shower. I sleep better after taking a shower.
*Inconsistent weather temperatures. There were days of unseasonably cold weather and unseasonably hot weather. My body fails adjusting to a wide range of temperature changes in a short time span.
*Skipped lunch. Inconsistent meal times. I skipped a lunch because there was too much work.
*Fatigue. I didn't get enough sleep.
*Sick from co-workers. The sickness was in the company. Other co-workers had been recovering.
*Allergies. I say they were less likely looking back because I didn't have a sinus infection.
*Mosquito bites. There was multiple bites on my lower legs.
*Dermatitis. I say 0% chance.
*Thai spicy food. The guys and I ate Thai on Fri May 2. The medium spice level was too spicy for me. I drank soda.
I say the throat and eye infections were a perfect sickness. Everything that caused me to get sick happened.
Eye Drop Log
Left eye: 5/17, 5/18, 5/19, 5/20, 5/24, 5/25, 5/26, 5/27.
Right eye: 5/22, 5/23, 5/24, 5/25, 5/26, 5/27, 6/5.
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