hummingwolf: Part of a julia fractal in colors of fire and smoke. (Fire-flavored fractal)
hummingwolf ([personal profile] hummingwolf) wrote2006-02-24 06:54 pm

They said it was a Microbe and a Hotbed of Disease

Gum infection, sniffling, sneezing, sore throat, earache, bronchitis, maybe oral thrush too?

Bah. I get the feeling my immune system isn't even trying anymore.

On the plus side, my weight isn't much higher than it was the last time I went to my primary provider's office (about what my previous doctor thought my minimum weight should be), my blood pressure is my normal (low by everyone else's standards), and my temperature isn't high enough to be called a fever. (Since fevers actually help the body fight infection, that last bit may not be a plus.)

No new information about dental care. I seriously need better options.

Maybe I should get some help from the Antiseptic Baby and the Prophylactic Pup.

Arthur Guiterman, "Strictly Germ-Proof"
The Antiseptic Baby and the Prophylactic Pup
Were playing in the garden when the Bunny gamboled up;
They looked upon the Creature with a loathing undisguised;—
It wasn't Disinfected and it wasn't Sterilized.

They said it was a Microbe and a Hotbed of Disease;
They steamed it in a vapor of a thousand-odd degrees;
They froze it in a freezer that was cold as Banished Hope
And washed it in permanganate with carbolated soap.

In sulphurated hydrogen they steeped its wiggly ears;
They trimmed its frisky whiskers with a pair of hard-boiled shears;
They donned their rubber mittens and they took it by the hand
And 'lected it a member of the Fumigated Band.

There's not a Micrococcus in the garden where they play;
They bathe in pure iodoform a dozen times a day;
And each imbibes his rations from a Hygienic Cup--
The Bunny and the Baby and the Prophylactic Pup.


After waiting at bus stops in today's windchills, that vapor of a thousand-odd degrees sounds almost pleasant. But though it was a cold day, it still was spring--dandelions blooming at the Metro station told me that.

[identity profile] nalidoll.livejournal.com 2006-02-25 12:24 am (UTC)(link)
If I could, I'd share my immune-system with you... the part that isn't under the influence of immunosuppressants. I have antibodies to incurable diseases I don't have. (Examples being Lupus and I think two forms of Hep, plus a couple of those odd virus things only doctors can remember the name of.)

Before the suppressants, I never got more than a couple of days of sniffles or a day of losing my voice, even if I was fighting off the Plague. As my sinuses and throat have just informed me that I am probably picking up whatever J has been fighting (the random Ninja Naps that keep sneaking up on me were also a clue), I am feeling nostalgic for those days. I'm considering gargling some cheap gin to kill it off... or just help me sleep through it.
ext_3407: Dandelion's drawing of a hummingwolf (Hummingwolf by Dandelion)

[identity profile] hummingwolf.livejournal.com 2006-02-25 01:45 am (UTC)(link)
I'd love to have an immune system to fight this stuff off, though part of my problem may be that the gum thing triggered an autoimmune response. Heck, maybe I don't even have any microbes in my lungs; maybe my immune system decided to ooze gunk into my lungs just for the heck of it. (That's unlikely, sure, but I wouldn't put such behavior past my body right now.)

Cheap gin would be a bad idea combined with all the antibiotics. Pity, that.