I seem to be finding myself with a round of nasty sinus infections that are wiping me the fuck out. Over the last five weeks, this is the third sinus infection. This latest round started on Christmas Eve, when I woke up to find my right eye completely swollen shut. I originally thought that Rachel had grabbed my eye socket in her sleep, which is a safe assumption since she can be quiet violent in her sleep. During the holidays, the swelling and pain traveled from one side of my eye to the other, causing my upper eyelid to swell up and take over the bottom eyelid. I honestly looked like I got into a fight.
After Christmas, the congestion began. I could barely breathe through my nose and my ears became filled with fluid, creating a permanent ocean sound. By Thursday, I could barely function and couldn't get myself off the couch. Rachel called my doctor to make an appointment, but they were booked for Friday, but told her to call again in the morning to schedule a Same-Day-Illness appointment, which was fantastic. My former doctor would have tried to make an appointment for two weeks from now, when my face was completely filled with fluids.
On Friday morning, we went to the doctor, and low and behold, I have a sinus infection. No surprise there. While being sick isn't funny, the doctor's reaction to my puffy face was actually entertaining. She took one look at me and was utterly shocked that I was still functioning.
Sinuses are air-filled spaces in the skull, located behind the forehead, nasal bones, cheeks, and eyes, that are filled with mucus membranes. A healthy sinus contains no bacteria or germs, but when the openings become blocked from too much mucus build up, bacteria and other germs can grow more easily. What usually results in pain behind the eyes, cheeks, teeth, etc. Apparently, my sinus infection had become so bad, that fluid had begun to build up behind my eyes, which causes the swelling in my eye. Fantastic.
After realizing that I have had an ongoing sinus problem since Thanksgiving, I decided to look it sinus infections tonight, since I couldn't sleep anyway. There are three types of sinus infections, acute, sub-acute, and chronic. An acute sinus infection can last up to 4 weeks, while a sub-acute can last between 4-12 weeks. Chronic sinus infections can last more than 3 months. Realizing that I have been battling the sinus infection since Thanksgiving, I'm assuming that this monster is in the sub-acute category, though if it gets to the chronic stage then I will go postal on someone's ass.
In the meantime, I'm on a Z-pack and Mucinex to clear up the infection. So far, it's been doing the job, proof being that I no longer look like I boxed Mike Tyson in a 30 second TKO. The doctor believes the antibiotic will have me back to healthy by Tuesday. Hopefully this does the job right the first time, otherwise it means more antibiotics for me. In the meantime, I'm failing my duties as blog writer.
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