Ear infections, and why do we get so stupid /lazy??

It's 405am in the morning. I probably shouldn't be bloging, but I'm looking for distractions - any distractions! I've been up since 1am with intense ear pain. Anything I can do to keep my mind off of it until 7am when the urgent care clinic opens up... well I will do it. I'm so tired, but if I try to lay down, it hurts worse, though it's strumming so much right now, it's hard to believe it. I have a hard little knot just behind my ear... and my ear is so swollen it's at a different angle than normal. It looks like it's trying to detach from my head!

It's my own fault, my ear has been achy the last few days, and that usually means an ear infection is coming. I didn't want to believe it was coming, because I've not had an ear infection for 2 years. In the last 4 years I've only had 2-3 ear infections. In case you are scratching your head, let me explain.

I have allergies, my sinsius are shaped funny and I have asthma to boot. This means that my sincus/ears/throat systems get backed up easily, and at one point in my life, I had 4-6 ear infections every year, and probably 2 bouts of broncitis. And I was generally misrable, with constantly ringing ears.

After one very bad ear infection, the nurse practitioner I got instead of my then normal doctor suggested a neti pot.

It works! as long as you use it. Over the last 4 years I've only had 2-3 ear infections, and 1 bout of bronchitis. Some of this might have been luck... but I've had plenty of flu like episodes, I've just not going upper respiratory like I used to. I still have the ear ringing all the time, but if I'm using my neti pot regularly, it's not as bad.

This is major for me!!!

Anyone that has problems with allergies/colds/sinus issues I hardily recommend the neti pot. Most drug stores carry them now, and they don't cost much, usually $10.00. And instead of buying those fancy expensive packets I just use kosher salt. One $2.00 box lasts a really long time..

So why is this ear infection that is making me tear up my fault?

Because I get lazy, and don't always use the neti pot like I should.

When I'm not sick, I try to use it in the morning before work, and once in the evening at least 1 hr before bed. If I'm sick you can use it up to every 2 hours. Any time I start feeling more stuffy or the ringing gets worse, I try to use it more in the evenings.

But the last few weeks we have been traveling on the weekends, and even though I took the pot with me, I didn't use it like I should. That helped get me out of my good habits.

I like to use it at the kitchen sink the best, so sometimes especially at night, I'll skip it because it's too much bother to go downstairs, or it's already bed time and I don't like to use it right before bed.. my nose is alittle runny after using it, and as I have a CPAP machine, well, runny noses and CPAP hoses don't mix. And if Jerry and I are running late in the morning, it seems very easy to skip it, even though it only takes 3-4 minutes to do.

All bad excuses, and I swear, on my current ear pain, I will not be so lazy again!! and I swear, the next time my ear get's twitchy like this, I 'll go to the doctor before it hits psycho lunitic pain. I just can't believe how fast it goes from twitchy it kind of hurts to full out, swollen red pain!! I felt ok (just achy) until about 9pm last night. By 1230am I knew I had a serious problem... I gave up at 1am, I've taken the max I can of Ibuprofen, I've been doing the neti pot every couple of hours, and I've been using heat which helps. somewhat. I wish I could make jewelry right now, but I'm so tired and groggy I'd probably hurt myself. So instead I wait, wishing I could sleep, wishing I could at least lay down, trying not to concentrate on the pain because that makes it FEEL worse.

It's now 431am.