Thursday, October 16

So close, and yet so far

Well, it's official: Tim has another boil.


I was starting to get my hopes up, because it'd been around two months (since the last time I posted about it) since he'd had one.


But he got another one -- and in yet another new strange place: his nose.


We were hoping that it was just inflamed because he was fighting a cold but the bottom of his left nostril got more and more swollen. And so he went in to the doctor to have it confirmed.


The best part? It's actually in his nose. Ewwwww. Poor fella.


It's disheartening for him (and me) to be sure. I think we were both starting to get our hopes up that he was officially getting a break from any more boils. The relentlessness of a chronic condition -- including a propensity toward MRSA, apparently -- is what truly wears you down.


But, to be fair, it's not all that surprising: MRSA actually hides out in the nose. So we're going to have to go back to swabbing with the anti-MRSA stuff, ick. Better safe than sorry though.


In part, his success has been due (I think) to not reusing towels or clothes, though that really increases our laundry load. It's money well-spent when you consider the pain and frustration of boils, let alone the co-pays for doctor visits.


The other big factor is that his light therapy has really been keeping his skin clear. Unfortunately, he's been starting to burn, even with sunblock, so they have to cut back on time/visits. And, as I understand it, he can't get light therapy indefinitely, since there's an added risk of skin cancer.


What you have to love about Western medicine is that nearly every solution creates a potential problem.


For now, though, he's relatively clear and actually vaguely comfortable (in between boils) so that has to be our priority. That and putting sunscreen on him as thoroughly as possible before each light session.


Anyway, we actually have some fun planned: My mom grabbed some screening tickets from the student center. And they just happen to be for Max Payne, a shoot-em-up that Tim wanted to see. We have to stand in line for an hour or so, but for a free movie I'm game.


So we'll go down to the University District and have Tim get in line, then I'll go and grab some cheap teriyaki (gotta love student-priced food) from an old favorite place of mine, and bring it back to him so we can eat. A cheap night to be sure!


I know I've mentioned this before, but you should always check any weekly papers your town has. That's where most movie screening tickets are offered, though sometimes regular papers offer them, too. Sometimes, you just go by a shop and pick up the passes; other times, you have to mail in a postcard or something. Either way, that's a pretty cheap flick!


I'm off to get some work done, we have appointments before the movie so work has to be done early today.

Labels: , ,

5 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

Just a thought...

I don't know specifically which illnesses your husband suffers from, but noticed the eczema tag at the bottom of this post...and since you mentioned western medicine fixing one problem and creating another...

Have you tried an elimination diet? Eczema is often caused by food allergies....eggs, wheat, corn, dairy or soy are the big ones. It might be worth it for him to give one a try...or see an ND if the MD solutions aren't working out.

October 16, 2008 at 12:08 PM

 
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I wish I lived in a bigger town with those screenings. We never have them here.

October 16, 2008 at 4:09 PM

 
Blogger Wendi said...

Boils are no fun! Just wanted to let you know that I'm having another All You magazine giveway in case you wanted to enter!

October 16, 2008 at 5:19 PM

 
Blogger Abigail said...

Wendi,

Thanks for the heads up. Folks, definitely check out this offer -- and all her cool freebie information!

October 16, 2008 at 10:30 PM

 
Blogger Abigail said...

Aw, blueviolet, sorry to hear it. But remember that lots of movie chains have rewards that can lead to free movies and such.

Also, MyPoints and CokeRewards can you get you free tickets.


Savingcent,

Tim's eczema has been there literally since the day he was born. They've done the gamut of things, including the elimination diet. Apparently, it helped tone down some of his allergies (for while he was allergic to his own hair, which I've never heard of before) but not much for eczema.

What is working for his skin right now is light therapy. Essentially a tanning bed, but a different kind of light, I guess. And you can wear sunscreen and still benefit. It keeps his skin pretty close to clear -- only in the crooks of his elbows, backs of knees, etc.

But what you say is true. For anyone with skin conditions or allergies or even fatigue, sometimes an ND is great. I found one doc who was both an ND and an MD. It was really the best of both worlds.

October 16, 2008 at 10:40 PM

 

Post a Comment

Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]

<< Home