Under the Weather

Like a fair percentage of the UK population, January has seen me suffer with numerous sniffles, sneezes and coughs - leaving me thoroughly under the weather to the extent of having, for the first time in heaven knows how many years, to take some sick leave from work. To make matters worse, I've been off for three days (a very unusual event for me).

However, whilst I’ve managed to avoid this hideously sounding Winter Vomiting Virus that ensures you perform projectile ejections from both top and bottom orifices – and usually at the same time - I’ve been suffering from an apparent bout of bacterial tonsillitis. It's not something I fancy getting again any time soon.

My throat was really, really sore so off I pottered to the doctor’s surgery. Although I had real trouble swallowing I didn’t know I was suffering from tonsillitis and, after the doctor stuck a giant lollipop stick in my mouth and recoiled in horror at my yucky tonsils, I was soon on my way with some of those wonder drugs known as antibiotics.

But as soon as I’d finished the antibiotics my body erupted into a mass of nasty red, and extremely itchy, blotches. I was having an allergic reaction to the antibiotics and it appeared that I was allergic to penicillin. Fortunately, although it was nasty, I wasn’t having trouble breathing or suffering from a brain melting fever. Never the less, it was very, very uncomfortable and, once again, off I pottered to the doctors – albeit at a hastier speed than last time.

Again, the doctor recoiled in horror at the rash covering my entire torso and legs and suggested taking antihistamines for a few days to help calm things down. But just in case they didn’t help I was given some steroids - to be used as a last resort!

One day later, and still itching like crazy, I opted to take the steroids. Unfortunately, by design, they suppress the immune system so the cough I was also sputtering with came out to play. I was now scratching, coughing, sneezing and feeling distinctly sorry for myself.

It’s all pretty much cleared up now but as I still had a few scars from the rashes I again went to see the doctor to check that they’d all clear up. Now, given that I’d been to the doctor’s surgery a few times, I’d seen a couple of different doctors. This time, I saw the original doctor who prescribed the antibiotics. Whilst he assured me that the scars would soon heal he was puzzled by my allergic reaction – especially since I’d had penicillin in the past.

Now there’s one weird thing with tonsillitis – and that’s it can also be Glandular Fever. Although I didn’t have any other symptoms to point to this, using penicillin on Glandular Fever causes numerous nasty rashes to sprout all over the body. As such, there’s a distinct prospect that I have, or have had, Glandular Fever – even more so since I’m really tired at the moment.

But, to make matters worse, the only way to confirm this – and to prove that I’ve not got an allergy to penicillin in the process – is to face my ultimate nightmare, a nightmare so daunting (well, to me at least) that it tends to leave me a nervous wreck just thinking and preparing for it. I also have the tendency to go lightheaded, turn white as a sheet and then pass out.

Yeap, the doctor wants me to have a blood test and I’m truly bricking it. What a truly great way to start the year!