Perhaps just more than a Cold?

   Well here I am six days later and still fighting off the “THE COLD”, or side effects there off.  Well five days ago, I gave up, and went to the doctor for meds.  Seems what was a cold morphed into a slight bronchial lung infection.  I am now on my final day of a five-day regiment of Azithromycin, which is an antibiotic found to be effective for this type of thing.  That combined with some Muslex to aid in getting some of the gunk out of my lungs, has help put me back on to the road to recovery.

   In doing some research, I have learned about gram-negative and gram-positive bacteria.  Seems like the type of bacteria I feel victim to was the gram-negative variety of bacteria.  The interesting thing about colds is sometimes the thing that really makes you sick is not the cold, but the side effect flare-up of other things that can grow while your immune system is busy fighting off the cold virus.   So as it turns out, a bacterium’s best friend turns out to be a virus!

   Well today, I can once again breathe without having to take what feels like forced breaths.  Unlike a couple of days ago, I can also take a deep breath without feeling a slight deep-seated pain on the right-sided of my chest.  And last night was about the first night in three weeks that I did not have to keep blowing my nose throughout the night.  It was also the first night I was able to sleep in increments greater than a couple of hours, unlike the last couple weeks. 

   I find it truly hard to imagine what things were like back before there were the medicines we have available to us to-day.   When it comes to illnesses, I must say, “I do not long for the good ol’ days”!

People still ask, “How long does a Cold last?”

   Seems that one question people keep asking is “How long does a Cold last?” 

So I’ve done some more research and the answer remains the same.  Still looks like now mater what you do, you can look forward to seven to ten days of misery, or at least un-comfort, before things will get better.  To complicate matters, cold viruses, like the flu bugs, change as they hop from host to host.  Thus, guaranteeing they will find future hosts who lack the immune system to fight them off, before they get a chance to invade and multiply.

    Things to watch for though are symptoms that go beyond that of those of the cold which started the whole mess.  The side effects of having that sore throat, fever, blocked nasal passages among others, is the increased risk of infections caused by other bacteria which takes advantage of the situation.   Other factors that can affect outcomes is the level of stress you are experiencing at the time.  Increased stress has been shown to weaken the immune system.

   So, if after 10 days, you are feeling worse than when it started, you may have something else your body is fighting, other than the cold which started things.  Secondary bacterial infections can be very serious, leading to worse things such as bronchitis, pneumonia, meningitis, sinusitis and even middle ear infections.  If you keep running a fever (higher than 38.5°C/101°F), this is a good sign that a bacterial infection has taken hold.  If you are experiencing any of these including the fever, after 10 days, the recommendations are to get yourself in to see your physician and get checked out.  An antibiotic is likely going to be recommended and prescribed to fight of the infection.

   I have read that Zinc supplements can help shorten, or at least lessen the effects of the cold, if started right away.  I have tried this myself and did not see any positive effect and as such cannot recommend it myself.  But, I have some Zinc sitting on hand just incase.  Maybe next time, if I don’t wait a couple days to start?  I do take one tablet of vitamin ‘C’ each day, and though scientific research has not yet proven it to be helpful, I’ve been cold free for over a year, which is a first.

   So, it’s too late, you already have the cold and are wondering what you can do?  Well you might be surprised that Chicken Soup, does help, at least in that it gets fluids into your body along with some healthy nutrients.  Your favorite pain reliever and decongestants will also help to at least, reduce the misery.

   I wish you luck in either fighting your cold, and or, hopefully keeping your possible future cold at bay.

Just in case you are wondering.  This is the enemy each of us must fend off.

The Cost of Healthcare.

   Each of us, keep hearing about the high cost of health care.  One of the first things that pops into mind is the high incomes of doctors and medicines.  There are perhaps a number of other factors to consider as well.  We are told that electronic medical records is the answer to driving down the high cost of health care, but is it?

   First, addressing the doctor income question, most people would agree that making a couple hundred thousand a year is a very good income.  I agree, it is much higher than my sub-three figure income, but is it out of range for what they do?  Consider that many corporate CEO’s of large multi-state banks, or major corporations, make near or much more than a million each year or in other words the same as many wall-street brokers.  I would say doctors however that based on these examples, doctors are underpaid.  Doctors save lives; not too many corporate CEO’s can say the same.

    Next, consider the cost to move to all electronic records.  Is this being done for free?  Last time I investigated, the cost was millions per hospital to move into electronic medical records.  Is there going to be better health care at lower costs as a result?  Probably not anything close to what is being sold to the public, is more likely the answer.  Will care be better?  Well, other doctors and hospitals will have better access to records, if they can accept the data files.  After all, everyone runs the same software don’t they? Oh, “Sad Mac” attach I think.

   What about the cost of drugs?  Well, you got me on this one!  The drug company’s sell the very same drugs to other countries for a fraction of the cost they charge us Americans.  They do this, they tell us, as it’s the only way to re-coop the cost of the drugs being sold overseas.  When was the last time you heard a major drug manufacturer tell stock holders they were selling anything at a loss?  I rest my case on this one.

   What about the cost for the medical equipment?  Is it too high you might ask.  Well that depends on what you want the hospital to use on you, the next time you might ever have to go into a hospital for tests or treatment.  Or for that matter, on another member of your family!   Everyone wants to have the best for them and their family.   It should be no surprise, this is not the least expensive route to take to health care.  That latest and greatest CT Scanner, you know, the one with 64 slices of whole body scanning in under a minute comes at a very high cost.  The typical CT Scanner or MRI Scanner will set you back a good couple million US Dollars, by the time you place it inside a room and supply power to it.  If you could set it outside in the parking lot, you might get by for a mere 1.5Mill, but who would want to get scanned on a cold winter or rainy day?   Yes, our health care is expensive, but then a Ferrari is more expensive than a Smart Car as well. 

   So is our health care expensive?  You bet it is.  The thought of what would happen if I did not have any health care insurance is very scary.  This is perhaps reason for some form of sponsored Major Medical coverage program through the government to cover serious illnesses, but not routine illnesses?  Just remember, bottom line is, “You Get What You Pay For”!   So be careful the next time you demand CHEEP Healthcare!

HumpDay.

  All I’ll say is, “Humpday is way overrated!”

But on a really good note, work provided free Pizza today for Lunch!

Sure beats all the bad news going around these days.   For those who have recently received bad news, I wish for the second half of your week to be much better.  Hang in there, don’t give up.

It’s humpday tomorrow! Woopee….

It’s hump-day tomorrow! Whoopee….

OK, perhaps it’s not on everyones top ten list of great things to celebrate, but it why not. By noon tomorrow we will have the first full half of the week behind us. From that point forward each of us will be able to count down the hours until the weekend finally arrives.

I am slightly concerned in that I am about four hours behind at work. No, make that about four days behind, but it feels like four weeks based on the stack of papers I have yet to get sorted filed, marked, copied, read, absorbed, folded, stacked, scanned and shredded. But isn’t that part of what makes work so much fun?

Fun is what you make of things. Overall, I really do try to have fun at work. Otherwise it would really be hard to stay possitive and enjoy what I’m doing.

Infastructure Bailout!

    It’s hard not to be thinking about the economy these days.  What with home sales down to there lowest since the mid-eighties, new job layoff announcements on almost a daily basis, a stock market the bounces more than my old Super-ball, and the news broadcasters reporting and hyping each tidbit in the process.  Then we got to hear about some of the worlds largest banking firms receiving billions of dollars in bailout money for which we have yet to hear how it was spent. 

   So there’s now more bailout money being sent out to individual states, reportly to be used for infrastructure rebuilding.  I am not sure if all this bailing-out is good or bad.  But, having read the reports of the condition of our bridges throughout the country, it’s seems like spending some money to replace many of them may be a very good idea.  At least there will be something visible left afterwards that we all will be able to see where the money went!  And in the meantime, it could help provide a real and visible jump start by providing new construction jobs, which right now are badly needed.  Though not the ultimate answer by any means, it will provide a starting point that all can see and perhaps help them to see past the present and once again into the future. 

   Though things could get worse before this year ends, I prefer to believe that things will get better.  Better is not that I will get rich, for in many ways I already am.  I just do not have the money to prove it.