No one should have this illness which consists of a horrible hacking cough. Ok, that's fine except if you have horrible coughing fits during which you feel like you are going to hurl or choke, and really to need to use the bathroom for #1. Oh, then there is this horrible hot flash feeling. Taz also has this and he will vouch for me. The hot feeling is part of the illness and not something else. Additionally, my eldest daughter has this. Let's call her Boss to celebrate her bossy ways. :) Boss was whining about her symptoms too. I practically have to shove meds down her throat.
Boss: I'm siiiiick!!
Me: Take your meds.
Boss: It's gross. I think I'm fine.
Me: Take this. You will feel better.
Boss: I don't like taking meds. They don't work anyway.
Me: They work if you take them.
Boss: Fine!!!!
Taz reminded me that I had been sick for 3 weeks. Ah, what would I do without the watchful eye of my husband? Fine. Boss and I went to our respective doctors and were given prescription cough medicine guaranteed to give hallucinations (Hydromet), and antibiotics to kill bacteria. We took our meds as directed. Next weekend, same thing. Boss and I were going stir crazy. Boss suggested that she fill a shot glass with her snot at the doc's office to show that she was really sick. Good one. How does a 15-year old know what a shot glass is? Whatever. We need more meds. Our ribs were hurting and we felt horrible. We dragged ourselves to the doctor yet again. Taz stayed home because he was not sick, despite his hacking and coughing. When he coughs up a lung, then we will involve the medical professionals, I guess.
It took a bit of talking to the medical professionals to get them to realize that yes, this is really Whooping Cough, also called Pertussis. It has not died out like they would love to have us believe. You can also still get it even if you have been vaccinated because the vaccination needs a booster. The last time I got a DTP, I was a kid. Adults should get a booster for Pertussis every 10 years. I wish my doctor would have told me that! What other medical trivia is there that I should know to properly care for myself?
I finally got this diagnosis for Boss and I at an Immediate Care clinic by the house on a Sunday. Why would you be sick during the week, right? They gave me steriod meds to heal my bronchial tubes. I was told I would not look like a power lifter at the end of the six-day course. Such a shame. I feel somewhat better now that I am on the second day of steriod meds. Maybe it is the placebo effect or too much Hydromet. Either way, I am happy to have my lungs back, maybe.
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