So yesterday my night ended at 2:00 as I woke up thinking about the ancient and idiotic practice of doctors bleeding patients. (And I don’t mean bleeding them in the Obamacare sense, but in the opening-veins or applying leeches sense.)
My face was throbbing from this cold. With every heartbeat I felt my stuffy forehead and cheeks pulsing, and for the first time I understood why those old-timey doctors, with so little to go on, concluded that diseased bodies were loaded with excess “humours” that needed to be released.
At that moment, if some kindly old quack had offered to surround my eyeballs with crescents of sucking leeches, I’d have said, “Hey, let’s give it a try.”
It was a lost day. I scarcely ate, drank, moved, or thought. I did drag myself out around noon to walk the dogs, figuring my lassitude might be caused in part by lying around and a little walk might help. But nope. I dragged myself through the walk, then dragged my sorry butt right back to bed afterward.
Thus the lack of blogitude yesterday.
There are all kinds of symptom-reducers for colds and believe me, I’m grateful for them. But not one does a thing to combat the heavy, throbbing stupidity.
I continued to suck zinc. Made myself eat and drink. And finally by the time I dragged myself from bed to couch to binge-watch episodes of House of Cards (season 3; so far not as marvelously wicked as previous seasons, but still a good fix for any political junkie), I started feeling human again. Half human, at least.
In the evening I took the advice to enjoy a long HOT bath and to force down an extra helping of Nyquil (since I’m not a whiskey person). Gawd, that stuff is foul. I try to tell myself it’s polyjuice potion and will have results that are worth the ick.
I slept in all the way ’til 3:00 this morning. When I woke I thought I felt good. After a pot of tea I realized I felt good only by comparison with yesterday. But you know, that’ll do. That’ll definitely do.
Glad you’re starting to feel better!
Old practice, not obsolete. My cat was just discovered this Sunday to have polycythemia, which is treated by phlebotomy (aka “bloodletting”). They simply let a bunch of blood out and hope the demons come out with it. Well, sure they claim to have more technical reasons now, but its the same old routine. Funny coincidence to see it mentioned here.
Oh Claire… One of the problems with life is that just when you are starting to get ahead of the game something out of left field smacks you in the head. I do hope that this is one of those bugs that go through the system quickly and you are back on your feet soon.
IL Tim — Definitely a weird coincidence! I was surprised, when reading about it this morning, to discover it still had applications (probably not for treating colds, though). I hope your cat’s demon’s were properly released.
MJR and Ellendra — Thanks for the good wishes. It’s just a garden-variety cold, but it’s definitely got me flattened.
“applying leeches sense”
You know they still do that, right? Not quite in the old way, but to draw off excess fluid build-up and encourage circulation (like across the wound when an amputated finger has been sewn back on).
Don’t ask about the medical maggots.
Srsly, Bear? Leeches?
And …. um, definitely I’ll refrain from asking about the maggots.
Glad to hear you are feeling better. Since you mentioned maggots:
http://www.monarchlabs.com/mdt here’s where you can get some for your next gangrenous wound.
Eeeeew, furrydoc! You, too? Clearly I have a lot to learn (much of which I would rather not know). I’m definitely glad that neither maggot therapy nor leech therapy are needed in the treatment of colds.
I believe that Medicinal leeches are most commonly used these days in the context of microsurgical replantion or transplantation.
Once upon a time, my wonderful primary care physician got to treat some complications from this kind of procedure. Now she gets to truthfully tell all her other patients that she did, in fact, once use leeches on a patient. 😉
Here’s an article on the topic.
Glad you’re feeling better.
Medical Maggots? A brand name? I guess I just have generic flies around my house.
Somebody’s making money… hope they don’t cost as much as Daraprim (pyrimethamine) did.
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/health/2015/09/18/company-hikes-price-5000-drug-fights-complication-aids-cancer-daraprim/32563749/
Just because the FDA has OK’ed them, it now makes it legal to use maggots? No way. I have nothing against maggots, they work! But “legalizing” (and trademarking) the use of them is suspect. Or maybe I’m just too cynical these days!
Glad to hear you’re doing a bit better. I hope the furkids appreciated the lengths you went to for them.
Maggots… oh yeah. I’ve found them in bed sores when patients are neglected, mostly at home. On the farm, lots of other places.
But just think of it this way… without carrion eaters, maggots, other bugs and microorganisms that feed on dead tissue – both plant and animal, just imagine how deep in dead things we’d be each day. 🙂 Not something we would want to discuss over dinner, but definitely a natural process we’d miss in a hurry if it vanished.
AFAIK, bloodletting is still the only treatment for hemochromatosis. It’s a genetic condition where the body hoards iron to the point where it causes damage. Usually it’s done through the Red Cross these days.
Trivia point: Hemochromatosis also makes people more resistant to certain types of infections, including, but not limited to, the Black Plague. It’s believed that this is why hemochromatosis is so much more common among those of European descent.
I’ve seen enough people with the “if it cures XYZ, then use it for everything” aproach that it’s easy to see how some misconceptions came about.
without carrion eaters, maggots, other bugs and microorganisms that feed on dead tissue
As well as their larger relations, hyenas, buzzards, vultures &such.
Mother Nature’s a bitch, but she knows what she’s doing.
Had to debate some anti-hunters this week. Damn Disney’s heirs to hell.