what is this (illness)?

[♥ms.pacman♥]

on monday i woke up feeling super crappy - sore throat, muscle aches, headache..think i caught some sort of bug. it's weird though...not typical of the colds i've had with tons of congestion and snot...just sore throat, tons of sinus swelling. felt overall crappy & tired and headache-y for the next several days, with some sinus pressure.

yesterday my right eye started hurting and feeling very sore. woke up this morning and it's very red, and rather swollen and somwhat goopy (eek). i still went to work. my eye is not that bad now but then the past couple hours, my left ear started feeilng "cloudy" and now it really hurts..feels like tons of pressure. don't know how i can sleep tonight!!

i tried to get an appt to see a dr but they are completely booked until tomorrow at 3pm (of course). Ugh. i'm guessing an ear infection that will require abx. in the meantime, anything i can do for the pain/swelling besides pop ibuprofen? ugh, what sucks is that DH has been sick too (though he didn't have the eye stuff going on).

[KLD313]

Sinus infection? The sore throat could be post nasal drip from that and the ear pressure could be from congestion.

[RedSuedeShoes]

Ugh. Sorry, that sounds miserable. This may be more alternative than you're looking for, but I have used garlic oil on my kids' ears several times with good results when I thought they were heading towards ear infections. You just warm 1-2 cloves of garlic cut in half in a little olive oil, let it cool enough to be comfortable and put a few drops in your ear several times a day, trying to stay on your side for a few minutes each time. Keep the extra in the fridge. I warm it up each time so it's comfortable. It might be kinda stinky if you're at work, but it just might help.


Hope you feel better soon!

[♥ms.pacman♥]

thanks. i had heard about the garlic oil thing on here before, when i posted about my DS's numerous EIs. always sounded hokey but i am just in so much pain/discomfort i am willing to try it, and i'm sure it will be easier to do it on me than on a squirming 3yo!! i will try it when i get home. so can i just heat everything (garlic, oil) in the microwave?? not sure if i have fresh garlic, i just have the minced kind. hmm.

[rlu]

warm rice sock for the ear?

[mackmama]

It sounds like a sinus infection that might have led to an ear infection (although my ears can also hurt when I have a sinus infection). I would take advil and sudafed (behind the counter). Hope you feel better soon!

[RedSuedeShoes]

Hmm, I would probably just heat the olive oil in the microwave, then stir in the jarred garlic and let it sit for a few minutes before straining the oil. Or if you have a tea ball/strainer maybe you could just put the garlic in there instead? I don't think I'd want chunks of garlic in my ear but I don't know that it would hurt anything.

I agree a warm rice sock might feel really good.

And if you think it could be a sinus infxn, and want another crazy idea, we have had great success with curing sinus infxns by adding 2-3 drops Betadine to regular neti pot solution. We do it once daily if we just have a cold and don't want it to become a sinus infxn, but several times daily if we already have a sinus infxn. It has worked amazingly well for us.

[Tondi G]

I would try taking something like Mucinex ... maybe if you can get the congestion and inflammation calmed your ear and throat might feel a little better. I also suggest the garlic oil in the ears.

[gatorsmom]

Do you have allergies? My sinus infections flare up worse on the days I've forgotten to take my zyrtec. So in addition to ibuprofen you could take an allergy medicine and see if it helps some.