Do I need an antibiotic?

Hello from the land of the miserable colds.  I have been sick for over a week now, and boy do I love it.  I woke up on Sunday and felt like I was getting sick.  I chose to ignore it and get ready for church.  I went with my family to the first part of our church meetings.  At the end of that hour, I decided I should go home and get some rest.  My throat was on fire.  I don't remember having a sore throat hurt that bad in a long time.  Even my silver bullet halls blue ice cough drops had little effect on my throat.  I knew I was in for a fun one.  The next morning I was so miserable I actually called in sick.  I have never done that before.  I have gone home early from work on two separate occasions but never have I canceled my whole day.
I knew with the sore throat that it would lead to a cough.  Sure enough I have been coughing for all of last week and continuing into today.  It feels a little difficult to breathe and I wish I could just suck all the junk out of my lungs instead of having to cough it all up.  I have a good friend who is my physician.  I sent him a text, and asked if he thought I should have an antibiotic.  He asked me a few questions and said yes lets put you on one.  So hopefully I will start seeing some relief in the next 24-48 hours.
I have become a little gun shy about toughing things out ever since my younger healthy brother ended up on a ventilator in the ICU for over 10 weeks.  He caught the flu H1N1 and it progressed to pneumonia.  He almost died.  If a young guy who is in far better shape than me can get that sick that fast it makes me a little concerned.  Now I don't think that every little sniffle needs an antibiotic, but because I felt like it was hard to breathe I talked to my physician.  I could have just called a buddy and had him call in an antibiotic for me without consulting my physician, but I wanted to get his opinion on my situation.  If you are concerned that you need an antibiotic consult your doctor.  Being tough isn't worth several hundred thousand dollars in hospital bills or ten weeks in the ICU and several weeks in physical therapy.  Take care of yourself this cold and flu season.

That is all

What do you do when you get a cold?

Sunday I woke up feeling a little odd.  I felt like I might be coming down with something but I got up and got dressed for church.  I made it to the first part of church but I knew I was getting sick.  I went home and started the "healing routine".  This cold is miserable.  I have been very blessed in that I think I have gone nearly 2 years with out a cold.  On Sunday my throat was on fire!!!  Literally on fire, ok maybe not literally but I wouldn't have even flinched if I had flames shoot out of my mouth.  I took some NyQuil and went to bed.  Monday I woke up feeling like I had been hit by a runaway freight train.  I canceled my patients and laid on the couch all day long.  I usually work through anything but this cold hit me hard.  Here is my I have a cold routine.  I love NyQuil and DayQuil.  They don't last that long but they work like a charm.  I also take insane amounts of vitamin C I just took 5000 mg.  I drink plenty of fluids and rest as much as possible.  I am not aware of much more I can do when hit with a cold.  If you have any tricks or tips please pass them on.

That is all

Cold Sores

Yesterday I had a mom bring her 8 year old daughter into my office.  She had been to an urgent care clinic the day before.  The urgent care clinic told the mom that she needed to see a dentist and gave the child an antibiotic.  I sat down and looked at this poor little girl and she has sores in her nose on her lips and chin and all over her gums.  They looked like little pimples that she had popped and that they had crusted over.  I know for those with a weak stomach this may be a little disgusting.  But I immediately knew what it was.  This poor girl had primary or acute herpetic gingivostomatitis.  Basically that's a big word for a cold sore outbreak.  It most commonly occurs when the kids are between 2 and 3, but can occur in adults as well. 

I have learned over the years that when it comes to treating cold sores early treatment is the best way to go.  The earlier you treat the shorter the duration.  I love to prescribe a medication called Valtrex for patients with cold sores.  It is an amazing drug.  If you take the pills as soon as you know a cold sore is coming on most of the time the cold sore will not appear at all.  If you get cold sores talk to your physician or dentist and get a prescription you can thank me later.  I have also heard that taking the supplement L-Lysine will decrease the number of cold sores you get.  Just two tips from a guy who deals with them on a regular basis.

That is all