To Leave the Repository

Threw in the towel yesterday and made an appointment to get some modern medical firepower to destroy this sinus infection.  Ever since my last visit to San Francisco six weeks ago, I’ve had a periodic swelling under my left eye.  The faint taste of chalky, hemoglobin mucus expectorates into my mouth unexpectedly, unwelcomed.  It still isn’t gone. It still isn’t dead.  Vitamin C, warm tea, acidophilus, Echinacea, etc., etc., has not given my body the organic fire power it needs to coax this infection to vacate “naturally.”  And so, I’d like to kill it.  

Wrapped up a call and marvelled for a moment as I got on my bike that access to the Western Doctor with some of the better care in the city was only a five minute bike ride away.  The nurse was upbeat told me my blood pressure was excellent.  “Really?  Cool.”  “Yes.  Not too high.  Not too low.”  Grateful, in the passing moment, for my body that always seems to be there for me.  “I’ll have to tell my wife.  That’s lovely.”  I didn’t know what else to say. 

The doctor, a very nice lady, asked a few questions.  I felt like a good school boy as I knocked off the proper answers, one after another.  “Are you taking Vitamin D?”  “Yes.  Along with the rest of the alphabet, every day.”  “Good.”  “Have you been exercising?”  “Yes.  Bike to the gym every morning.”  “Good!”  “Sinus infections can sometimes be affected by lots of wheat in the diet.”  “Well, I’ve been doing this intermittent-fasting, you know, where you . . .”  “Oh yes.  Very good.” 

Soon I had Eucalyptus lozenges and a fancy means by which to spray salt water up my nose and some other spray that was to be used twice and a day and . . . the amoxicillin.  I’m mindful of dipping into the antibiotics, but as described, the other remedies all help to make it easy for the chalky, nasty mucus to leave the repository under my eye.  But none of those things is going to ensure the beastie at odds with my body, forcing the command center to deploy mucus in the first place, will expire.  I think I’ve lived in in China too long.  Many times, years ago, I’d try Chinese medicine to kill a cold, and patiently expire the months’ worth of funky tasting tinctures and muddy balls of herbs to discover that it hadn’t really worked and I still needed antibiotics. 

I won’t admit to you how long it took me to figure out how to use the salt water nose sprayer.  (there are only three parts to it.)  I got it now.  Oh yeah.  It's nasty.  Hoping now to make definitive progress against this encampment that is every so slightly visible beneath my left eye whenever my eyes glance downward.  Waiting now, for signs of the retreat. 

Friday, 10/19/18