Medicine or Medical Attention?

I recently became ill due to a terrible bacteria that caused me to have a lung infection. On top of this lung infection a bacteria also spread to my eye giving my bacterial pink eye, I unfortunately thought my eye was just itchy before going to sleep and rubbed it as well as my other eye. When I awoke the next morning I thought I had gone blind as I could not see anything, at first my eyes were glued shut from the mucus drying over night but even when I was able to open them my vision was blurred. The excess amount of discharge coated my eyeballs making them very wet and teary. I went to the doctors and received Novamoxin prescribed to take 3 times a day for 10 days as well as some polysporin eye drop medication.

            It seemed to be working well as my eyes and chest cleared I was starting to feel relatively healthy once again until after a week of taking the medication I had an allergic reaction to it. Just in time for Saint Patrick’s Day I broke out into hives from head to toe, with some slight swelling externally in places such as my ears, lips, cheeks and nose. It turns out I am allergic to penicillin which is what Novamoxin is and just never knew, thankfully it is not an anaphylactic reaction which usually occurs within the first hour of digestion of the medication and can be fatal if not treated immediately.  Although my case was not as dangerous it was still serious, my boyfriend had the pleasant surprise of waking up next to a pink polka-dot balloon. At first we thought some creams might be able to help since I had already stopped taking the medication the day before but more medical attention was needed then some tea tree oil. We went to the pharmacist who recommended Benadryl and within the first half hour of taking the small pills I was knocked out for the rest of the night.

            I woke up the next morning around 8am to open the store at the mall I work at, the manager was unable to work due to a death in her family so I took on the responsibility of covering her shift before I had the reaction. I knew I looked terrible as the hives had not settled down, although they were not as itchy they had doubled in numbers occupying the majority of my body. As soon as I got to work my district manager saw me and sent me home, she insisted that I do not stay and wait for another employee to show up, to just lock the doors and leave, I couldn’t argue with her especially since I felt weak. I couldn’t eat very much; the hives infected my mouth and tongue making them extra sensitive. My teeth felt like little shards of glass against my tongue and my lips split from swelling and dehydration.

Just when I finally thought my luck was starting to turn around and I was becoming healthier, I even quit smoking right before getting sick and have not been able to smoke in month now. Hopefully this is the last of any medical issues I will endure for a while, I now know that penicillin is not the cure for me but in the process of learning, at least I acquired a new bracelet.