Did You Know About: Acute Otitis Media

Apparently one can’t just merrily honk away when ridding themselves of their vile phlegm.  Because you might end up with what I have- Acute Otitis Media. And it’s not a fun thing media or no media…for one, it’s acute and it hurts like a itch-bay and the feeling of a heaviness in your ear coupled with dimming of your hearing is nothing short of uncomfortable and a bit scary for a person like me who is already blind as a bat without her glasses.

So this is how it can (and did) happen( for moi)- I caught MLM’s cold and it was aggravated by the on-going construction in and around the apartment complex we live in. Initially I thought it was your garden variety cold and didn’t bother much with medication…I knew when MLM got better so would I…that is the natural progression of things. But since last night a crazy earache and all sorts of unwanted and uncomfortable sensations in my ear prompted me to visit our family ENT and he diagnosed it as AOM as a result of blowing my nose too enthusiastically 😦

Gaah…there are rules for everything now…most vexing…so am on antihistamines and antibiotics and MLM thinks a reclining fat woman is tantamount to having his personal jungle gym and trampoline

But am glad I consulted the doctor rather than just brush off the symptoms are being non-important…I actually have become a bit of an alarmist over the years…I’ve had some amount of experience working in hospitals and there you can see the simplest of things turn serious and often fatal. It sometimes gets a bit tough to separate the wheat from the chaff as it were.

While Red and I don’t take any risks when it comes to our child, we generally ride out mini health issues via OTC meds or just a bit of R&R (which in my book is a panacea for all ills).

But today it was an eye opener for me…the doctor put a probe in my ear and showed me how much swelling there was inside and all because I tried to do what came naturally during a cold- blow my nose!

That’ll teach me…

In the interim there are meds to be taken and sleepiness to be combated. Thank goodness I wasn’t asked to do a nasal lavage…that’d have torn it completely…I can see it now…MLML thinking am watering my nose a la the pots and plants on the balcony :p

Stay healthy everyone!