Friday, April 17, 2009

4. Day Blossom

15^C
A perfect Spring day!
I’ve taken the last three days off since I’ve got that ‘cold’ I mentioned in the last post. Well all the medication he gave me is finished and I feel no better whatsoever. So I went back to the doctor to see what he can do about it. I normally wouldn’t have gone, but I had to give some excuse to the school for requesting a third day off! Anyway, off I went to Taebaek – on the way to the bus terminal I took some day time shots of the cherry blossoms (see below).

I got to the doctor, who speaks English surprisingly well and he asked me the basics. How are you feeling? What are your symptoms? Do you have any allergies etc etc. After spraying some stuff in my mouth and up my nose (using what appeared to be an air gun!), he decided it was time for an x-ray. Off I went into this little room.. and he had me stand up against a slate of lead (I think) and hold my breath while he took the shot. Might I add, while he was setting me up he told me that my shoulders were too broad to fit within the slate but my lungs wouldn’t be.

I was asked to sit down for 5 minutes while the developed the x-ray. As it turned out, my frame is bigger than most Koreans’ and therefore my ribcage was also quite broad and didn’t all fit into the image. To top things off; my lungs filled out my rib cage and they barely fit into his little image. After a little more talking in which he stated he underestimated my size and that I’d need a bigger dosage, we came to a solution. I am to take a larger dosage, now including antibiotics, four times instead of three times a day! I now officially have a Bronchial chest infection, this means that I can’t stop coughing, I’ll have a runny nose, and still have pains everywhere. I don’t often get sick, but when I do it’s a bloody pain in the ass.

Now to some lighter news, it’s Cherry Blossom season! Enjoy:

2 comments:

Shai said...

hope you feel better soon mate

Bhen said...

I hate antibiotics! I hope your body is able to cope with it. You'll prolly have running stomach first couple of days. Its coz the antibiotic doesn't only kill bad bacteria, it kills bloody ALL bacteria, meaning you lose the good bacteria in your bowel etc etc. If you have a nice healthy bowel, the good bacteria will have no probs growing back. Unlike me who is still suffering side effects... GRRR

I had a severe cough for 2 whole months last year (hence stupid antibiotic prescription) and ended up tearing a chest ligament! Then I got told be a lung specialist that the only way I can heal it is to stop coughing! Thankfully, he went ahead and prescribed some other medication before I could dong him on the head with his stupid breathing machine thingamgig! My cough disappeared in a week! Yay! Oh and to avoid tearing your ligament, hold your chest while coughing... like hug a pillow or something.

Oh and an absolutely awesome natural remedy for coughs - Boil 2 cups of water with crushed ginger, about 6 cloves (lawang) and 4 whole black pepper. Turn down heat and simmer for about 10 mins to really get the spices to infuse. Strain into a cup and add honey to taste. Drink whilst its nice and hot. Does wonders, and helps you sleep well too. You can vary on the ginger and lawang amounts according to your taste but don't go overboard with the pepper. You have no idea how hot whole back pepper can be when just boiled. .Its kinda the opposite effect to chillies as chillies you only feel on your tongue and not your stomach but with pepper, your insides start burning!

Get better soon!

Love
Bhen