Friday, April 15, 2011

Google Can Be Bad For You


Another beautiful spring day in NC.  The sky is blue, the sun is shining, everything is green, lush… and covered in a dusting of yellow pollen.  If I had one complaint about living here, allergy season would be it.  I never, EVER had a problem with allergies until I moved here.  But the pollen around here is unreal.  Most places, you wouldn’t know it’s allergy season until you started to feel bad.  Around here, you SEE it before you feel it.  Cars, porches, asphalt, picnic tables, and sidewalks are all coated in a familiar yellow dust.  The result? Headaches, sneezing, itchy eyes, and today it feels like my head is going to explode out of my eyeballs (a mental image my co-workers really appreciated).

I also have a somewhat abnormal symptom- my tonsils swell.  I doesn’t hurt and I don’t have trouble swallowing or breathing;  mostly, it’s just uncomfortable.  In a moment of weakness yesterday, I decided to Google this symptom and see if anyone had some advice on the best ways to treat it.

Of course, I read through several forums which all made me panic immediately with warnings such as “See your doctor IMMEDIATELY.”  And, “You need to keep Benedryl handy in case your throat closes up completely.”

Crap.

I wouldn’t say that I’m afraid of the doctor, but I definitely don’t like going if there’s not a good reason.  I also don’t like taking a bunch of drugs, especially when the FDA is constantly pulling stuff that was previously deemed “safe.”  I’ve had the tonsil-allergy problem ever since I’ve moved here without serious complications, so I’m going to pass on the doctor’s visit, unless it continues past allergy season.  In the meantime, I’ll keep pumping myself full of OTC allergy meds.  The FDA hasn’t found any problems with those yet :)

1 comment:

  1. you're allergic to the state...i think you need to move to the midwest immediately!

    ReplyDelete