I greeted Ramadhan with the flu. So did several of my colleagues. Our little cubicle community is a harmony of sniffles, coughs (wet and dry) and little moans here and there.
As usual, the flu started with light symptoms that gradually built itself into a full-blown irritant. I am usually able to arrest its development by overdosing on orange juice (Ayah's remedy - only he used Sunkist!). This time I failed.
So I landed myself, miserable and parched, at Dr Azmi's clinic on Tuesday morning. He never fails to amuse me.
Dr: "Let's see if you have a temperature..."{He proceeds to stick a thermometer thingy in my ear. After the thing beeped, he looked at my face. And with absolutely no expression, he says...}
Dr: "Apasal banyak sangat jerawat ni?"
(Why do you have so many pimples?)Me: "Err... KL panaslah"
(KL has been hot.)Dr: "Apasal I nampak you asyik pakai baju hitam aje?"
(Why do I always see you wearing black?)Me: "Sebab I tau I nak jumpa doktor..."
(Cos' I know I'm going to see the doctor...)
What was I supposed to say???
This was preceeded by the usual insistance that I have developed asthma (since I once told him my sibling have asthma) and the odd query on whether I was pregnant.
I used to be irritated by his out-of-the-blue comments. Now, I welcome it, because despite his wackiness, he remembered to prescribe me 12-hour antibiotics which enables me to fast and get well.
Posted by Najah Nasseri at 2003年10月29日 17:56 | TrackBackActually, I have no idea. But I don't think so... doesn't ring a bell.
Posted by: Najah Nasseri at 2003年10月29日 18:35I hope you get well soon. The orange juice remedy works fine for the flu, but you need to be careful with the cough and the possible sore throats that comes with the flu.
Rest well. Get well soon
Posted by: Gabriel at 2003年10月29日 23:05thanx for the tips! i've forgotten abt that. used to take oranges if i felt like pra-flu syndroms (that is beginning a stuffy nose and irratable throat (or throats haha.. u wish!)) during student life back in us. but plenty of fluid is the trick though. just have a big bottle of mineral water nearby. then take two big gulps regularly. regularly here i mean every 10 minutes. beat the virus anytime... emm most of the timelah...
Posted by: Cinda at 2003年10月30日 00:31My sis and I have been experimenting with this miracle solution to beat the cold and flu. The next time you feel like it's coming, take Redoxon Soluble and Brand's echinacea 3 times a day until you feel better...it's worked for us, the flu never goes out of hand and we don't get those achy muscles and woozy feelings!
Good luck.
Posted by: Anis at 2003年10月30日 08:02My sis and I have been experimenting with this miracle solution: Redoxon solubles and Brand's echinacea 3x a day...works like a charm. The flu never gets out of hand and you don't get achy muscles or woozy feelings. Good luck!
Posted by: Anis at 2003年10月30日 08:06Off the topic, just wondering if it was you I saw in the LRT, Kelana Jaya station on Saturday 25/10 late morning with 2 american ladies. I was going on a ride with my hubby and daughter (her first ride) to KL Sentral.
On the flu thing, a good rest and copious amount of oranges will do the trick.
Posted by: Iza at 2003年10月30日 08:12hi najah, hope you're feeling better soon! hey as part of my personal campaign to reduce the use of antibiotics (where possible), i attach some links about why there is usually no point to prescribing antibiotics for colds or flus. doctors often tend to just dole out the antibiotics for everything but they shouldn't.
take the day off, rest and drink lots of fluids and hopefully you'll feel much better soon. xv
http://www.aware.md/facts/qa.asp
http://www.mydr.com.au/default.asp?Article=3978
http://www.cpr4womenandfamilies.org/womenhlth9.html
Posted by: victoria at 2003年10月30日 08:42As I understand it, colds and flu are viral infections whereas antibiotics are for bacterial infections. So, taking antibiotics does not get rid of the virus.
However, I was told that if you have flu or colds, you may have phlegm which makes for a good bacteria breeding ground. This is where the antibiotic play its role.
Any doctors out there who can confirm this?
Posted by: namiaf at 2003年10月30日 09:08Iza: No, that wasn't me.
Thanks everyone for the tips. I've perpetually got my bottle of mineral water by my side and am trying to keep warm. This office is freezing!
Posted by: Najah at 2003年10月30日 09:19Hi. Next time try Redoxon Vit C solubles and Brand's echinacea 3 times a day...my sister and I swear by it. Good luck
Posted by: Anis at 2003年10月30日 10:00Lotsa rest, loadsa fluids, and lotsa love! Thats all you need k.najah!
Posted by: delphaex at 2003年10月30日 20:14Dr Azmi Mohd Tamil doesn't have his own clinic. He runs the Klinik Warga in HUKM about 4 times a month. If Najjah went to the clinic Dr Azmi in Bandar Baru Bangi, that would be Dr Azmi Jemingon, a former lecturer in my dept.
Posted by: drtamil at 2003年10月31日 22:31A cold is usually due to a virus, for which antibiotics are completely useless; instead it may make you feel worse,eg. allergies, nausea etc. Not to mention about worsening antibiotic resistance in the community. A bad viral infection may predispose you to a secondary bacterial infection; but for a relatively healthy person, 'covering' for a bacteria just in case is not a valid reason to prescribe antibiotics. If you are immunocompromised then that is a different story.( diabetes, kidney failure, on steroids, cancers etc)
Having said all that, sometimes it is damn difficult to differentiate the two.