Unbecoming Levity :: The Hairy Eyeball

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Previous:	Finer Resolution
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The Hairy Eyeball

by Abacquer on Wed 03 Jan 2007 12:42 AM EST | Permanent Link | Cosmos

Still sick. So miserable. The fever seems to be gone but the headache/sinus pressure is unpleasant. The wracking cough is still present and making it hard to get any sleep. Plus all the coughing has left the muscles around my chests, sides, and arms aching. Plus as of Tuesday morning, my right eye has gotten red and puffy. This is usually the eye that acts up when I have an allergic reaction, so it's no surprise it's being hit harder by the sinus backup. The eye doesn't hurt or itch, but it looks pretty creepy:

Add to this a regular need to visit the toilet for gastrointestinal distress, and I'm a happy freaking guy.

There's no good time to be sick, but there are times that are worse than others. And this is a pretty bad time for me to be sick. My friend Brian is in town for a visit, all the way from California, and I am not well enough to see him... he goes back on Sunday. I'm supposed to attend a birthday party for my Uncle Lewie on Saturday. I took last week off for vacation and I am on the critical path for my project at work which is supposed to ship next week, so I can't not-work (I've been working from home.) All in all, a great freaking time to be sick as a dog. This sucks.

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Comments

Re: The Hairy Eyeball

by Anonymous on Wed 03 Jan 2007 08:05 AM EST | Permanent Link

Get rid of the cats.

Re: The Hairy Eyeball

by Abacquer on Wed 03 Jan 2007 08:43 AM EST | Profile | Permanent Link

Ah so nice to hear from my friend from Australia again. Pretty sure I caught this cold from my wife, who caught it from my daughter, who caught it from a friend at school. I think the cats are in the clear here.

Although there's no question the cats make my allergies act up, I don't think getting rid of them is a viable option right now.

Re: The Hairy Eyeball

by Maggie on Wed 03 Jan 2007 10:32 AM EST | Profile | Permanent Link

If that persists it could be a sinus infection. I know that I frequently get conjunctivitis along with a sinus infection, only on one side.

If you have the cold/gastrointestinal thing, then I think you may have the thing M and K had over vacation, which I had back at the end of September/ beginning of October. My friend had it as well.

It seems to have really varying degrees of misery. I had vomiting and diarrhea along with the cold, as did my friend's husband. My friend just had diarrhea, and K and M were only very mildly sick with the diarrhea for a day each.

For my friend and I, the diarrhea lasted a loooong time. Mine lasted about a month, my friend still has it, and she was sick the same time I was. Stay away from milk products until it clears (I actually saw a gastroenterologist and that is his advice, although I had done that on my own from prior doctor's advice), and try the BRAT diet -- bananas, rice, applesauce, and toast. There's another one that some people like, the CRAM diet, which includes cereal -- not sure what the other components are. The safest thing is rice crispies -- part of both diets!! Good luck!

Re: The Hairy Eyeball

by Abacquer on Wed 03 Jan 2007 11:00 AM EST | Profile | Permanent Link

Well I've had nausea, but so far no vomiting. Which is good, because throwing up is pretty low on my list of fun-things-to-do.

I've got a doctor's appointment this afternoon. They'll sort me out, I hope.

Re: The Hairy Eyeball

by Maggie on Wed 03 Jan 2007 11:20 AM EST | Profile | Permanent Link

This explains how you're able to swear off fried food. :-P I lost four pounds over the course of my illness (most of which I managed to gain back over the holidays), primarily because I just didn't want to look at food.

I also had anxiety with my bug. That took a good two months to go away, too, but I think M's feeling it a little bit with hers, as she's more clingy than usual. Weird.

Re: The Hairy Eyeball

by Maggie on Wed 03 Jan 2007 11:55 AM EST | Profile | Permanent Link

Not that you asked, but that could also be blepharitis -- inflammation of the eyelid, for which they might give you some steroid drops. It goes along with rosacea and dandruff, although I've had blepharitis without having either of those other conditions.

Re: The Hairy Eyeball

by Abacquer on Wed 03 Jan 2007 12:03 PM EST | Profile | Permanent Link

Could be, the eyelid was puffy before I got sick.

Re: The Hairy Eyeball

by Art on Wed 03 Jan 2007 09:56 PM EST | Profile | Permanent Link

I have had blepheritis for about a year now. My Dr. said good eye hygene is something I need to work on for the rest of my life, said it comes with getting older (57yrs). Hot compresses and swabbing lower eyelid along lashes roots 10 swipes with Johnson's baby shampoo diluted with an equal measure of water. The hot compresses are similar to your steaming therapy - great for stuffed up sinuses. I used to toss a wet rag into the microwave for about 30 sec but once got a hot spot on my nose that resulted in a nasty blister so be careful.

Re: The Hairy Eyeball

by Maggie on Wed 03 Jan 2007 11:19 PM EST | Profile | Permanent Link

I am not enjoying these middle-age onset annoyances. First vertigo (BPPV), and now blepharitis. My doctor didn't tell me to do the Johnson's Baby Shampoo thing, but I read about it online and have been doing it. I had trouble with the "hot soaks." It seemed like I couldn't get a facecloth to stay hot. I tried one of those things you heat in the microwave, but it wasn't wet, and I got it too hot and did burn my nose a little (although the redness went away -- no blister!).

Re: The Hairy Eyeball

by JPB on Wed 03 Jan 2007 12:11 PM EST | Profile | Permanent Link

Ugh - the health crap you have to put up with! What a bummer.

Re: The Hairy Eyeball

by Josh_Sherman on Wed 03 Jan 2007 11:00 PM EST | Profile | Permanent Link

O noze! It's Evil-Eye Abacquer!

Get well soon, dude. And check MOTL- you won the Hit&Miss award for the third time in a row.

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