LysmachiaMoon's blog: I got a cold

I feel a little like Charlie Brown. I got a cold for Christmas. Ah, they do say "no good deed goes unpunished." I figure I picked up a cold bug when I was out of town visiting my brother in law in his new assisted living home. Fortunately, it is just a head cold, not Covid. Runny nose and sneezing for a couple of days, then stuffy head and clogged ears for a couple more. Today I feel human again although "What?" "Huh?" "Did you say something?" have become popular phrases. I finally felt up to getting out and doing the grocery shopping, banking, mailing, etc. so that's taken care of, right ahead of what is forecast to be a brutal week of bad weather.

Unfortunately, it looks like the husband is now coming down with the same cold. I'm pushing vitamins, oranges, hot tea, zinc lozenges (I swear by them!) and tissues at him.

But this is nothing---NOTHING--compared to what my poor neighbor has been through. She called to thank me for dropping off some juniper cuttings for decorations and told me she's been sick since Thanksgiving. First, with a UTI that was misdiagnosed and then with C. diff diarrhea, which can be life-threatening. Apparently, the doctor treating her UTI gave her an antibiotic that did not work, then gave her some other antibiotic and the double-dosing left her open to contracting C. diff. She says she has lost 12 pounds in as many days. A specialist finally stepped in and prescribed something that is working (at $100/pill...and she'll need 20 of these!) and my neighbor says she is feeling better today than she has in weeks and was actually able to eat something. I took over a six pack of Ensure for her.

We Baby Boomers grew up in the Golden Age of Antibiotics...there was a pill for every infection, and no infection couldn't be conquered. Now, however, after decades of overuse and abuse, a lot of bacteria are becoming immune to antibiotics and although the labs keep coming up with newer and stronger antibiotics that work, slowly these are becoming ineffective as bacteria evolve to keep ahead of them. This is the situation that's allowed disorders like C. diff (which is short for the name of the bacteria involved, Clostridium difficile) to become so dangerous. Antibiotics often are "broad spectrum": they kill like a shotgun, working against any bacteria they come in contact with. Unfortunately, our intestines and skin are teeming with bacteria that keep us healthy. Overuse of antibiotics can kill off these good bacteria and that's when the dangerous bacteria get a foothold. It's important for everyone to be aware of the proper use of antibiotics: don't insist on an antibiotic if you doctor doesn't think you need it or if she believes it will be ineffective (antibiotics don't work against viruses or fungal infections).

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