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Today’s photos are from our post one year ago today. Please click here for more details.
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| When visitors first come to Africa, they often confuse cheetahs and leopards. Cheetahs are easily recognized by the dark “tears” coming down their faces. |
This particular article from the New England Journal of Medicine discusses the issues for patients without COVID-19. They are exhibiting medical symptoms that require attention from their doctors or local emergency room/hospital.
Many such patients are terrified of visiting a doctor’s office or a hospital emergency room which may be packed with COVID-19 patients awaiting treatment.
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| Lilies are beginning to bloom in the river. |
Based on Mumbai as the nation’s worst hotspot and epicenter right now, we’ve known if one of us became ill unless it was imminently life-threatening (from what we could decipher), we’d have to self-diagnose and treat ourselves to the best of our ability.
With all the hospitals in Mumbai, including the private facilities filled with COVID-19 patients, there is no way either of us would consider a doctor or hospital visit if we became ill unless we determined we had the virus and needed emergency care.
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| Three elephants on the river. |
Most drugs may be obtained without a prescription in India as long as it’s not a narcotic. Tiny pharmacies are found in busy open market areas. Before we were in lockdown, we stopped at one of those street-side pharmacies to refill my meds for hypertension, as mentioned in a prior post.
, the pharmacy couldn’t refill my exact prescription containing two drugs, so I opted for a dosing alternative. But, no doubt it’s been in the back of my mind about what we’ll do if one of us becomes ill with some other ailment.
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| Lois and Tom, friends from the US who came to visit us for three weeks in October 2018. We had a fantastic time when they called and stayed with us. We hear from them often. |
At this point, there would be no alternative but to self-diagnose and treat to the best of our ability. So, when five days ago, I started experiencing pain in my right cheek. I dismissed it as some weird headache. Since I am not prone to headaches, rarely ever getting one, I started to be concerned after three or four days.
When I was diagnosed with advanced coronary artery disease in February 2019, resulting in triple cardiac bypass surgery, the only symptom I had for several weeks was a pain in my jaw on both sides of my face. I had no chest or arm pain, shortness of breath, or tiredness, which often present before having a heart attack.
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| Tom and I were at Aamazing River View in October 2018 when friends Lois and Tom were visiting for three weeks. |
Thus, a few days ago, with a new pain in my face, of course, I worried about the grafts failing and causing a new series of symptoms in my face. I didn’t say anything to Tom, preferring not to bother him, and decided to give it a few more days to see what would transpire.
The pain was exacerbated. By early yesterday afternoon, I mentioned it to Tom, who’d asked me over the past few days on several occasions if I was OK, to which I replied, “I’m fine.” But I wasn’t acceptable.
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| Happy hippos… |
I’d already spent considerable time researching online, unable to find a direct correlation between cheek pain and heart symptoms. But, last year, I’d never considered the weird jaw pain was symptomatic of three 100% blocked coronary arteries.
After all the research, I could come up with two possible conditions; an abscessed tooth or a sinus infection. There’s a facial nerve condition I’d researched, trigeminal neuralgia, but those symptoms didn’t seem consistent with my current discomfort.
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| A bateleur we spotted in Kruger. |
After researching possible antibiotics and treatments for each of these two other options, it appeared the best solution for either condition is almost identical: taking antibiotics, specifically Z-Pack (Azithromycin) for a five-day course, along with hot packs and Tylenol (Paracetamol).
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| Two females and one male enjoy the shade under a tree in hot weather. |
Fortunately, before leaving the US, we stockpiled good-sized supplies of various emergency-type drugs, including Z-Pack (Azithromycin). I decided to start taking the first dose of two tablets the first day and one tablet each following four days.
After taking the tablets with a big glass of water, I began the hot packs using hot water from the tea kettle and a folded washcloth every few hours while continuing with the Tylenol.
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| It’s easy to spot male lions with the big mane surrounding their faces, whereas the females do not, as shown in the photo we took in Kruger. |
This morning I awoke with a 50% improvement. Hopefully, I’m on the mend. We’ll see how it rolls out over the next few days. In the interim, I cut back on the walking to half my usual distance to give myself time to heal.
It’s only under these dire circumstances that I have self-treated to this extent. This information is not intended as medical advice for our readers. We suggest you seek medical care in the event of any medical concerns during this time of COVID-19 and into the future.
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| We couldn’t have been more thrilled to see a giraffe in our garden. He took off quickly when he saw us, so this was the best photo I could take. |
It’s very different here for us in lockdown while in Mumbai, India. Most of you with any medical concerns can readily contact your usual health care provider for assistance. It’s not the case here during this challenging time.
Stay safe. Wash your hands. Wear a face mask in public. Social distance.
Photo from one year ago today, May 5, 2019:
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| Lounging lion laying low…For more details, please click here. |