Prevention is better than cure
Firstly, apologies for the absence of my article in the last 2 weeks. It was due two weeks ago, but I was travelling. Last weekend got busy with a dear friend’s father’s funeral, entertaining visitors, and preparation (on Saturday) for a client gig on Sunday. Time and space to write evaded me.
This week was a busy week, and I want to share an experience I hope may help you. It does tie in nicely with my last article which, if you remember, was my chat with ChatGPT! This week I take a recommendation from that chat.
Over four weeks ago I had the flu. It was not too bad. I managed to recover quite quickly, or so I thought. Whenever I get the flu, it seems to impact my throat area. It is my weak zone.
I recovered relatively well but felt fatigued. Classic flu systems. However, my throat felt dry irritated, or both. I decided to give it more time to heal.
Four weeks on as I ‘listened’ to my body, I thought something was amiss and decided to make an appointment with my Ear, Nose, and Throat (ENT) doctor for professional advice.
As she examined me, she said my throat and my upper nasal passage looked good. My lower nasal passage had some phlegm which did not seem to alarm her too much.
Me: What’s causing that?
Doctor: An infection.
Me: what can we do about it?
Doctor: wait a few days and see if it settles.
But I wasn’t convinced. Four weeks had passed, and I did not want to wait anymore. I wasn’t feeling optimal.
Me: Should we swab it?
Doctor: You can if you want to.
I wanted to get to the source of my throat’s irritation and requested the swab.
My doctor took a swab of the back of my lower nasal passage (not my throat). That was where the infection seemed to fester.
I would not be called, she said, unless the culture of bacteria showed a significant growth. And she told me it would take two to three days.
On Thursday this week, I got a call from her nurse asking me to come in and see the doctor. ‘Damn’, I thought.
I managed to see her on Friday morning. I had a significant growth (and scanty growth) of 2 types of bacteria One common bacteria and one she said she had not seen before.
Me: where am I picking up my ‘friends’ from? (Last year she treated me for another uncommon bacteria).
Doctor: I really can’t tell. There are new variants of bacteria that are surprising the medical community.
She went on to find an antibiotic that would help treat both bacteria.
I am not a proponent of antibiotic use and use it only as a last resort. And I like my doctor for the same reason. She uses antibiotics as a last resort and will not prescribe them without a swab. There is a sign outside her office that cautions against the use of antibiotics without a swab!
I realise my story is a little contrary to my title. I am a big believer in prevention, and I do my best to focus on my health through nutritious food, and exercise. But sometimes the inevitable happens.
I could have waited and let my body fight the infection but with my diary quite busy until Christmas week I couldn’t see a way to help my body fight. Prevention in this instance was choosing to get a swab to see if there was an infection. My doctor was on the fence about it based on what she saw. But I thought otherwise and here we are!
In the recent past friends have told me that they are suffering ongoing ENT symptoms after the flu. I am now telling them to get a swab. I am a firm believer in letting the body fight its way. But sometimes, just sometimes, our bodies may need some help. But please get the data first!
Be well.
As always, you can reach me at yoga@yoganesadurai.com