Thursday, June 25, 2015

Hurting Head

Two days ago the top right side of my head hurt like I'd bumped it.  I hadn't.  The sore spot was still there yesterday, and the right side of my throat was also a little achy.  Last night I had trouble sleeping on that side.  When I woke up this morning the sore area was larger, and the pain was sharper.  In addition, the entire length of the right side of my neck hurt when I pressed on it.  I tried calling my doctor's office for advice (but found out it's closed on Thursday), so I decided to go to an urgent care center.

Amazingly, there was no one ahead of me in the waiting room, and once I moved back to an examination room the doctor came pretty quickly.  After listening to my symptoms and looking at my head she diagnosed a scalp infection.  I left with a prescription for an antibiotic, a recommendation for an over-the-counter medicated shampoo, and instructions to apply warm moist heat to the sore areas and stay away from any hair products for the next few days.

The heat part of the equation would be easy to take care of.  (The no hair products in the very humid weather we've been having?  Not so much, but that's another story.)  I have a long, skinny field corn heating pad provides great moist heat. When I got home I threw the pad in the microwave to heat it, then folded it in half and wrapped it around my neck for the prescribed time. It worked like a charm.  However, when I re-heated the pad and tried to set in on my head it fell off. Because of the location of the sore spot I had to hold the pad on with my hand, which made me look pretty dramatic and made it impossible to get anything done.

I don't do well sitting and doing nothing, so I really tried to work. First I pecked at the computer keyboard with one hand (which wasn't acceptable at all), then I tried to read the newspaper (which worked until I needed to turn the page).  About the time I resigned myself to the fact that I couldn't do any type of task the time was over.  

I wonder what tomorrow will bring.

Five years ago today: Classics
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14 comments:

  1. ChristineJune 26, 2015 at 8:42 AM

    Oh good luck with this Kathy, keep us posted, hope you will be fine in the morning.

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  2. Joanne NoragonJune 26, 2015 at 9:10 AM

    That just stinks, doesn't it. I use my heating pad like your for sinus relief occasionally, and have the very same problem of losing one hand to keeping the thing in place.

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  3. AnonymousJune 26, 2015 at 1:24 PM

    This is a test to see if it posts. I have not been able to post to your blog for awhile. If it posts, I have another comment coming.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Kathy GJune 26, 2015 at 2:09 PM

      I'm sorry you haven't been able to comment. I always enjoy what you have to say. Hopefully whatever the issue is it's been resolved.

      Delete
  4. AnonymousJune 26, 2015 at 1:27 PM

    I read this post early this morning and then ran errands. I kept thinking about you as I did and it occurred to me that your symptoms sound very much like an incident I had 5 years ago. Turns, out mine was shingles. You might want to get back to your own doctor and have him (her) take a look.

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    Replies
    1. Kathy GJune 26, 2015 at 2:11 PM

      My symptoms sure felt like what several of my friends have experienced, so I actually had shingles on the back of my mind when I went in. I have a scheduled checkup visit with the doctor on Tuesday, at which I was planning on discussing the issue.

      Delete
    2. AnonymousJune 26, 2015 at 6:06 PM

      I used ice on my head to keep the pain down. I remember being in San Francisco, leaning on the kitchen counter, with an ice pack pressed to the back of my head. It was the only way I could have less pain. The dr said that the ice and the use of Excedrin for the pain made for a lesser case of the shingles.

      Delete
    3. Kathy GJune 26, 2015 at 9:13 PM

      Thanks for the information. I tried both, and heat seems to make the spot feel better.

      Delete
  5. sprinklesJune 27, 2015 at 12:47 AM

    Ouch! I'm sorry you're in pain. Hope you're feeling better now.

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  6. The Happy WhiskJune 27, 2015 at 11:14 AM

    Ouch, ouch, ouch, ouch. Sorry to hear you have/had an infection. Hope you can find a way to enjoy your healing time.

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  7. KayJune 28, 2015 at 9:40 PM

    No kidding? A scalp infection? I've never heard of that. How do you get that? I hope it heals very quickly.

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