Balls and Walnuts
more than you ever wanted to know
Not my favorite rhino
Hands down the worst thing about my job is this little bastard:
and the little bas cherubs who spread it: rhinovirus, in other words. I’m sentient enough that if I hear a child coughing, I’ll put a mask on before entering the room. But I have no defense against the kid who coughs after I enter the room.
So now I’m suffering through the first crud of the season. Coughing. Stuffy nose. Headache. This is old before it even has a chance to be young. And it’s not like I can stay home. Oh, I could stay home, but then something like 20 patients would get appointments days from now, maybe a week or two, and our schedule would take a hit, and some of these patients would take a hit, and so unless I’m feeling like death I always tend to come to the same conclusion: that it’s better to drag my ass through the day. I mean, it’s not like staying home accomplishes anything — the cold will run its course no matter what I do.
Meh. It all sucks.
D.
FWIW, the image is pretty.
There was one time at my dialysis center that I was highly annoyed. A dialysis patient had come in with peritonitis, and brought their toddler with them. The child was wandering aaround the whole center coughing and touching everything, including the other exam room. No attempt by the parent to keep the sick child corralled, even tho their next stop was the pediatrician for that cough. I did not end up catching anything, but man I was worried for a couple days…
So you don’t believe in boosting your immune system with the likes of Echinacea? Even if it truly doesn’t work, I believe it works psychologically, and I still believe in the power of fatty homemade chicken soup; there’s nothing like it to unclog a stuffy nose.
Mary: I have a real problem with dialysis techs/nurses allowing that kid to run around. Jeez. If anyone knows what’s at stake, they would.
Sis: no, and I don’t believe in the restorative or protective powers of C or Zinc or any other damn thing. Chicken soup, on the other hand, works because you’re restoring electrolytes and fluids at the same time (and protein!) But I had some V8 for lunch. Much the same idea.