I'm Sick

I haven’t been feeling well the past few days.

It’s odd that it just so happened to be on the one weekend that I was just home resting. I’m not sure if the wear and tear on my body just really caught up with me or what.

But. I’m. Sick.

Last week, I think the worst thing that I did was work-related, when I needed to commute from Ortigas to Manila and back just as Emong poured his heart out. I did have an umbrella with me, but it was the kind of rain laden with winds that just rendered an umbrella practically useless.

So it was chilly outside. And I was wet. When I got to my destination in Manila, they were all cooped up inside the room. And with no ventilation, and coming from a five-minute walk, I just began to sweat. Like a pig.

It’s not that I don’t sweat. I’m so used to sweating in fact, that I always have a little towel up my back, living up to the old wives’ tale that sweat drying on your back can make you sick. I just think I have nothing to lose by following such a myth.

So with that, I was wet with rain and sweat, and they were nice enough to point an electric fan at me so I’d cool down and dry up. Something that, in retrospect, may not have been such a brilliant move.

So was that to blame? I don’t really know.

Basta, on Sunday, I woke up with a headache and a fever. I was coughing, or more like barking, and I actually could hardly talk. My mom had wanted me to go with her to the mall to shop for some clothes, but I just couldn’t. I wanted to give in to her every whim for Mothers' Day, but I just wasn’t up for it.

I was hoping it would be over in a day, but of course, I’m not that lucky. I’ve been sleeping with two blankets for the past two evenings, and hardly breaking a sweat, except after drinking my dose of Paracetamol. It’s only when I’m sick that I can be sosy enough not to sweat.

Okay, okay, I self-medicated. It’s part of my hoping that this is nothing other than a simple flu. But I think this has been the worst that I’ve felt since finding out I was poz, other than the time I had an allergic reaction to my ARVs.

I’ve still been reporting to work for the past two days. I’ve just needed to finish some urgent stuff. I’m not sure if anyone is noticing that I’m under the weather, but I’m sure I appear quieter and less personable than usual. I’m moving more slowly as well, mostly because my head hurts.

I’ve been trying to sneak in naps during my trips to and from the office. It’s been tough, but I’ve been at least trying to rest my eyes. I have, though, been able to take a half-an-hour nap after lunch yesterday. I think it helped. And as of yesterday, I’ve been able to sleep an extra hour-and-a-half, going beddy-bye as early as 8:30 in the evening. I still had the chills, though.

I’ve been feeling a bit better today. Been able to get some phlegm moving as of this morning. I know. Eeew. But minus that diri-factor, I’ll be honest enough to say it feels good and I think it helps. I want to get better as soon as possible... well, who wouldn’t... so I’m considering taking some days off this week to rest. Just as soon as I get everything I need done, done.

And with Positivism calling for a celebration of sorts, I doubt if I’ll be able to make it out this Friday night for any gimmick whatsoever if I’m still feeling any bit under the weather. It might be a bit of a sacrifice, but I wouldn’t want to put any other pusits who make it in jeopardy. We’ll see how things go. Hopefully, hopefully, hopefully...

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The Poor Pig

This weekend, I was lazing around watching television when I chanced upon a medical TV show on one of the UHF channels that I very seldom surf through.

Oddly enough, it left me thinking whether I should be pissed or not. Nope, nope, nope. Nothing about HIV on this show. What then?

Hosted by a Doc Bien, UNTV’s Doc on TV was featuring, yet again, the now infamous Swine Flu. Compared to how fast the issue of Swine Flu has risen in the news, I realize how HIV has barely made a ripple.

Now officially called the Influenza A H1N1 thanks to the fact that it has been established to be transmissible from one human to another, I’ve been hearing about it on the news daily for the past week or so now. And deadly as this new virus can get, should I be scared considering I have HIV?

Well, considering that it is an air-borne virus, everyone who shares the air with someone infected can be susceptible. But as discussed on the show, your immune system can put up somewhat of a fight for you. So for us, the immuno-compromised, it may be assumed that more care be taken.

According to their resource person from the Department of Health, a certain Dr. Lyndon, the Influenza A H1N1 virus was a twist of fate wrought about by an interaction among the swine, avian and human strains of flu. Is Mother Nature angry or what?

Initially, I heard it was spreading around Mexico and parts of the United States. So we Filipinos should have felt safe. I was supposedly being protected by huge bodies of water that separate us from these places. But that would be too simple.

As of latest news, countries in Europe such as Switzerland and the Netherlands have seen the first Influenze A H1N1 virus carriers in their own territories, and more alarmingly, it’s also been discovered around Asia, such as in Hong Kong and South Korea. With 615 reported infections world-wide to date, feel free to insert the Jaws-type music here. It’s coming. It’s coming.

I had some questions in mind, all of which they were able to answer on this show.

Is there some way to spot someone who has it? Unless you’re paranoid enough to have one of those thermal cameras like those they have at airports, there are no visible symptoms. And considering that it has the exact same symptoms as the common flu, it's difficult to tell.

Is there a vaccine against this new strain of influenza? No, there remains none to date. Ordinary flu vaccines are reformulated annually to fight the current strain of human flu. It does nothing against the Influenza A H1N1 virus.

Is there some medication against it? Certainly, the DOH is prepared to treat Influenza A H1N1 infections. But although it is possible to start a prophylaxis against it in cases of exposure, preventive medication is not randomly advised because of the risk of developing a resistant strain.

Are there any precautions that can be taken? Wearing a mask protects both the person who is wearing is and the rest of the world around him or her, but is not, at this point, deemed a necessity by the DOH resource person. Everyone should just cover their mouths when they cough or sneeze, and maybe less handshaking and beso-beso.

For any concerns with Influenza A H1N1 infections, you can visit your nearest health center. Or call the Department of Health at (+632) 743-8301, or their hotline specific for Influenza A H1N1 concerns at (+632) 711-1001 or 711-1002.

Oh wait, should I be pissed? Well, certainly, this Influenza A H1N1 virus has gotten more media mileage in weeks, than my beloved Human Immunodeficiency one has in decades. But considering how easily transmissible it is, plus how bad the stigma connected to the Influenza A H1N1 virus is, now targeted against Mexicans, pigs, and even slabs of pork lying innocently in the frozen food sections, I wouldn’t trade in my HIV so readily.

So please, don’t judge the pig. Kawawa naman. He is not my brother.

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Low, Low, Low

I haven’t really been feeling well today. Yesterday was my first day on the full dose of ARVs, and I woke up this morning with a low-grade fever. Using my dad’s old thermometer, I took a reading of around 37.7 degrees Celsius at 5:30 in the morning.

Getting a fever doesn’t usually get me down, but it being one of the Tres Marias I was told to watch out for – rashes, fever and flu – I needed to consider if I had to do something about it.

I’m still hoping the fever was just a fluke. The extreme changes in weather here, from wet and cold in the evening and hot and humid in the daytime, may just have gotten to me. Plus my mom is nursing a flu, and one of my bosses is, too, and still reporting to work. Those just might be some factors.

So with that, I decided I’d take it. The doctor specifically told me not to experiment with Paracetamols should a fever happen, so I didn’t. I was feeling a bit better on the way to work, having been able to work up a sweat on the morning walk to and from the bus routes.

Just before my 9:30 schedule this morning, I got tasked to play messenger, to take a trip to Makati to personally deliver a check to an important contractor. This wasn’t the best day, but I did it.

I drank my meds and headed off in the heat of the Manila horizon. I was there and back in under two hours. We ate lunch here at the office, and here I am. Feeling better. No fever, no rashes, no flu, but terribly sleepy.

Good thing I have a trip to the RITM scheduled tomorrow afternoon. Primarily, I’ll be accompanying a new friend of mine to introduce him to the places and the people and get him started on his "journey". I’ll be able to consult my personal concerns with the doctor as well, regarding the lab results, the fever and the ARVs.

Tomorrow will be another long day.

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