Tuesday, August 21, 2007

*cough cough*

Poor Ben. He's got a sinus infection.

For a few days he had one of those fevers without accompanying symptoms, and then when the fever dropped down, his nose filled up. And then the nighttime coughing started—last night, he coughed so hard it gave him a headache.

So we went to see the pediatrician today. Before she came into the exam room, I bet Ben a dollar that she would exclaim over how tall he'd gotten (because that seems to be the obligatory thing that people always say to him). Yes, I am teaching my child to incorporate gambling into daily living; you got a problem with that? But she didn't say it! Ben demanded the dollar anyway. Because I'm an old softy (and doing a lousy job of teaching my child how gambling works, apparently), I did give him that dollar at bedtime. I tucked it in his Mason jar of cash. "I collect money," Ben told me. It's not his only collection, either. He also picked up a bunch of beer bottlecaps along the lakefront. Gambling, beer paraphernalia, and money collecting—you can't say that atheists don't raise children to have tiptop morals!

Anyway, the doctor prescribed amoxicillin for the sinus infection and recommended giving him Claritin, Mucinex (I just love the generic name, guaifenesin), and drops of saline in the nose followed by vigorous nose-blowing to clear out the sinuses. Or as I like to put it, he's to "blow his nose till he cain't blow no more." It's not an instant cure, so he's still coughing a fair amount tonight. But soon he'll get better.

On the plus side, we had some time to kill at Walgreens while waiting for the prescription to be filled. So we headed to the candy aisle, which amused me by being home to not only vast quantities of sugar and fat, but also hosting the Alli and other weight-loss products in a sealed case. "I'm fat. I really need some help losing weight. Where's that Alli stuff? Oh, here it is. Huh. It's locked in this case. I don't see an employee around here, either. What's this over here? Large Lindt bars, tins of mini chocolate truffles, king-sized candy bars, and sacks of candy? Hmm." My eyes scavenged the entire aisle until I finally found my manna: Sno-Caps. Eh, they're not as good as last time. Should've just grabbed the king-size Snickers Almond, man.

11 comments:

Feral Mom said...

Wow! The carpet matches the drapes! I mean, err, the template matches the nom de plume. I love the new look.

Poor Ben. Hope he feels better.

Psycho Kitty said...

Happy Late Late birthday. Erg.
I hope your boy feels better. I love his collections! Most excellent.
So I bought a neti pot last week. It is sufficiently gross that the Boy wants to use it, please please please. It seems to be helping the snot levels chez SBFH.

The Absent Minded Housewife said...

Mucinex? That makes me quite giddy!

redfox said...

If you bet him a dollar that she WOULD say it, and then she didn't, wouldn't you normally owe him a dollar, in fact?

Orange said...

Okay, so I suck at teaching gambling. I said if she said it, I'd give him a dollar, so he and I were on the same side of the wager, betting against the universe.

Anonymous said...

Mmmm... SnoCaps.

My husband also swears by the neti pot. I personally haven't gotten to a state of misery where I have tried this nose enema device but I'm sure it will happen. He's a pusher.

Mel said...

Hi. Am a new reader and Tertia's darling sister. I am also a happy clapper but promise not to do any clapping or hallelujahing on your blog! My son is also a big collector and also a big money lover. I swear its those Jewish genes but he always has money and I always seem to owe the guy money! Dig your writing!

momo said...

Another good thing for nose trouble is to do the nose blowing while stading in a warm shower. That's what my doctor told me to do--the warm vapors make it less irritating and loosen things up. Does Ben like showers? I hope he feels better soon!

Orange said...

Momo, I recommended that to Ben, but he was gonna shower this afternoon, and then the power went out owing to crazy wind/rain storms, so he'll shower in the morning and blow snot all over the tub.

Sister Mel! I feel like a movie star has dropped by for a visit. I have far more heathen readers than happy clappers--you bring a touch of diversity to the joint.

Letter B, neti pots sound so disgusting. Pretty sure I'll never, ever try that!

Becky, I don't know why Mucinex makes you giddy. Didn't seem to do much of anything for Ben, alas.

PK, that's your second round of belated birthday wishes. I accept! Thank you! Now go and hose out your nose or something. You probably achieve some sort of zen centeredness when irrigating your sinuses, don't you?

Feral, glad to see your Hollywood ways have not made you too hip to visit here. The drapes, as you know, are thin, and we'll not discuss the carpet here.

Delia Christina said...

my Roomie and i were just wondering my medications weren't given better, happier names. you know, like, instead of Mucinex, they could have named it Goo Gone. (ok, that one was already taken.)

or, instead of Cialis they could have gone with Engorge. It would be better, i tell you.

(yes, this was a totally random comment.)

E. said...

Mmm... Snickers Almond.

Yeah, the locked case at the grocery store. I'll never forget my first semester of grad school, when I had to ask a teenage employee to get my an Early Pregnancy Test out of the locked case at my local supermarket.

I don't know if Ben is too young for this, but in my experience nasal irrigation always helps clear up a sinus infection. It's like the saline spray, only more hard core. I use the "neti pot."