Allergy Attack…Arrghhh!!!!

I decided to go swimming on Monday after more than 3 weeks of no physical activity. Final exams, semester break and a field trip to Singapore and Indonesia really kept me away from any meaningful exercise. The 40-minute session in the pool was really good and I could feel myself sweating profusely throughout. Should be good for the body right? Not this time as the next morning I started to feel lower back pain when I woke up. Dismissing anything amiss, I went to attend lecture as usual but instead of being able to shake it off, the prolonged sitting in less than ergonomic chair in the lecture hall led my condition to get worse. By the time the day session finished I was struggling. Even simple bending or twisting was becoming more painful than before.

The situation got worse and by bedtime I knew I was in trouble. I slept lying on my back the whole night without any possibility of rolling to either side. Imagine being in the same position for more than 6 hours. When I woke up this morning I decided that it was time to go see the doctor.

The waiting at the military clinic wasn’t bad as I was called into the doctor’s office not long after I “reported sick” at the counter. The examination was short and sharp. “Any allergy?” he asked, “No” I said. Off to the treatment room with a prescription in hand, and a jab shortly followed. I felt a little better almost immediately and drove back to my apartment.

As I sipped my coffee and read my newspaper, I started to feel this niggling itchiness around my eyes. Ops....am I allergic to the medication? Nahhh.....don’t think so. Within 5 minutes my eyes were all swollen and after consulting my chief nurse (my wife Lin) who is a veteran in allergy department (she is allergic to almost all antibiotics and half of the pain killers in the global inventory!!!!), I quickly put on my uniform again and drove back to the clinic.

Voltren is the culprit

I was attended to almost immediately upon checking in at the clinic. “Yes, you have an allergy here. Any difficulty breathing? Are you aware of any allergy you might have? Are you allergic to any painkiller?” All of which I said “No” to. Another jab and it was all done. Went back feeling sleepy and fell asleep until almost 2 pm. Still feeling groggy as I type this entry.

Red and puffy eyes......still there shortly after the second jab but the itchiness was gone almost immediately

Yes, I know now that I’m allergic to this “Voltren” and must remember to mention it next time before being prescribed with any medication. I guess remembering my childhood cartoon series “Voltron” would help me to permanently remember the name. Hahahaha ......

The city is slowly being swallowed by a heavy downpour. Perfect signal to jump back into bed. I was just starting to put another gear into my thesis writing before all this happened. Oh well, I guess Jawaharlal Nehru and his nonalignment foreign policy can still wait. Life is full of surprise!!!!

Heavy rain on the way to break the current dry spell