Started off with a bit of a stuffy nose two days ago. Yesterday, started assuming the sick role, felt a bit feverish but the thermometer only read 37.3 so I'm pretty sure I was just acting out a bit. My cold is getting worse and as of the moment, I have developed a non-productive cough.
The last time I was a bit sick (exactly like this), I let it go so bad (water therapy has its limits!) that I ended up with pneumonia. (Or it could have been PTB and I've been in denial. O_o). After 1 month of coughing and blowing my nose (and consuming a truckload of tissues), I finally had enough sense to take antibiotics. I felt better in around 3 days.
Was on duty last night and my duty-pals were the best. They let me sleep for the most part and by 4 am, I was feeling better and doing consults at the Triage.
If there's one thing I learned, it's to NOT underestimate the power of "being just a little sick" in making one's life miserable. There are few things more annoying than blowing off your nose for the nth time in ten minutes. The thing is, I usually get annoyed with people who come to the ER for relatively mild stuff like 3-days cough and headaches. Every sickness is a unique a experience. And if a person feels sick, then it's his/her right to get not only medical attention but a sympathetic medical practitioner as well.
However, a midnight consult for a 3-day cough is stretching it a bit. Unless you had sudden onset of dyspnea (like my patient who turned out to have spontaneous pneumothorax after an unremarkable history of 5-days cough) or at the very least feel like you're dying, please see a doctor during daylight hours. We'd really appreciate it. Thank you very much.
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