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I had my first ear infection (in both ears) in my life (as far as my mother knows, im 24 now) about a month ago. I also had puss patches on my tonsils and I did not end up having strep or anything, just the ear infections. I had no idea I even had an ear infection because my ears didn't hurt or anything. I figure I just didn't know what to expect or what to look for.The drops for the ear infection hurt more than the ear infection itself!

Anyway, in the last couple of weeks I have been feeling off. The two times I've taken my temp, it's been 99.5 or so. Is it normal to have a regular temp over 99? I know not everyone is a 98.6. Could this be a sign of another ear infection? Overall I just feel kind of run down and tonight my stomach feels weird but overall Im not close to vomiting or anything. I also have a bit of a headache.

Also, I wear earplugs a lot these days, I have a lot of trouble ignoring sounds at night and they make it hard for me to fall asleep. I use the foam ones that fit in the ear and whatnot. Could they have caused my ear infection? Could they cause one in general? My ears sometimes feel itchy way deep inside in the morning after I remove the plugs. I use one pair for a week or so and then toss it and use new ones.

Thanks for any advice you might be able to give me.

I have a bad cold right now - when I blow my nose, the mucus is yellow sometimes.

I have a Nasonex spray that I use when it's smoggy out, or humid, and my throat feels like its closing in - I have allergies to mould, dust mites, trees, grass. I'm getting this closed-in feeling during this cold right now.

Should I be using my Nasonex spray while I have this cold? I just read on a site that if you have an infection in the nose, you shouldn't use it. Do you think I'm okay or should I ask my doctor?

Thanks!

(Background - Lizzie, 16, from the UK)

Hi! I only started my periods in November last year, but I haven't had a period since December. The two I had last year were really quite painful and heavy, and since then I've seen no signs of a period at all. I'm not sexually active, so it can't be that, and although I had major exams in summer, during the holidays I wouldn't say I was at all stressed. Any idea what it could be?

Thanks in advance x

Is it true that a male yeast infection can be treated by putting Monistat on the head of the penis every day for a week?

Also, can BV be spread from one partner to another?

I'm very prone to uti's for some reason, and suspect I have one right now. I'm seeing my doctor tomorrow to figure out what's up, but my question in the mean time is: I've been feeling feverish, but I just took my temp. and it's completely normal - what could this mean? I've felt unusually warm all day/some of yesterday and sluggish but ... no fever. I guess I just don't understand what could be causing me to FEEL like I have a fever when I don't.

thanks

~A

I have a 17 year old step daughter who has a Mirena IUD. It was inserted in March of 2005 (shortly after the birth of her son). She said she hasn't had a period, except for occasional spotting since having it inserted.
The last few days she said she has felt crampy and had very severe PMS symptoms (cramps, headache, general all over body aches). She started bleeding a few days ago and today noticed it was heavier than normal. To the point that she bled through a regular tampon. Not enough to stain her jeans but enough to get on her underwear.
She says she has not been sexually active in over 2 years (since she got pregnant with her son) She says she checked her IUD string recently and it was there. She said her upper body is sore. Not numb. Not painful just kind of achey. She had rather large clots (about the size of a quarter) and she said that has NEVER happened. Not even before she had the Mirena.
Is this something I should take her to the hospital for or should she call her dr tomorrow and make an appointment to have it checked? Or is this something that can happen on occasion with the Mirena and we should just continue to watch her?
She's pretty scared and I'd like to put her mind at ease. I've been using google to see what I can find out and I can't find anything (not even on their website-but maybe I'm missing something because I'm a little worried about her)

ok... so i've definetely been fighting something the past few days but it's kind of odd... my temps been on and off around 99.4 as opposed to around my usual of 98.5 ish but all other times ive been sick ive always been real sick with a whole lot of clear symptoms and with a fever near 103.... my only real symptom is a loss of proprioception when im doing something that requires balance (balancing on one foot with eyes closed, gymnastic type moves etc), or right when first standing up (bp's 90/60 which is normal for me, pulse 88 which is higher than the normal 68-72ish...) any ideas? im not terribly worried about it but it just strikes me as odd because i have no obvious symptoms and i've always been one of those people that have abnormally high temp fevers when theyre sick. I have no ear pain, no sore throat, no vomiting, no decrease in intake of liquids or food... or anything else I can think of. I've been known to pass out during extreme heat and once after i gave blood, neither of which apply, and my last concussion was 7 months ago with a clear ct scan after..... I know its a pain that I go into excessive detail, but im an emt and have been kinda confused as to the only symptom really being balance loss and an increased pulse rate.

This is really disgusting. Basically, when I used the restroom and wiped, there was a larvae of some kind on the toilet paper. I'm terrified that it came from my body and I want to know what it is. If it is some kind of parasite, I'll be going to the doctor asap. I'd rather not go running to the doctor if this isn't actually something that came out of me though. PLEASE help me identify it. Is this some sort of intestinal parasite? Do I need to be treated?
( Under here... )

THANK YOU for any help!

i've been having stabbing pains in my brain for most of my life. the pain only lasts about a second or two, but it hits repeatedly at unpredictable intervals over periods of 1-3 days. during the time i have these "headaches", i move involuntarily, can't think straight, and colors and light is very vivid and painful. my doctor gave me cafergot, but it doesn't seem to be effective. usually i deal with the pain by trying to sleep. sometimes ibuprofen helps.

what is going on??

My brother hurt his back lifting and carrying heavy things.
It's his lower back, and the pain spreads from the middle, out and down a little towards his sides.
Is it safe to massage it out, or would that do more damage?
Also: should heat or cold be applied?
Any other suggestions?

x-posted to naturalliving

I'm debating over whether or not to make an appointment to see my doctor over the cramps I've been having.

Before I went on the pill (Aviane) my cramps were very intense and unbearable to manage without OTC medication (either Midol or ibuprofen). I saw my doctor about this and she didn't see any cause for concern and gave me a prescription for a higher strength ibuprofen.

Now I have stopped taking the Aviane and have been off it for approximately eight months. The cramps have returned and they seem to be about the same intensity as before.

My concern is that the pain seems to be focused more towards the sides near my hips rather in the center and the pain shoots almost halfway down my thighs. After I took the recommended dosage of an OTC strength pain med, thankfully, the pain completely vanished.

Should I be worried?

Thank you very much in advance.

My step son was recently diagnosed in the ER with having pneumonia. He is 18 months old. On top of the antibiotics, they gave him an inhalier.

What is the reason for this inhalier?

Also, my SS comes from a home where his mother smokes in the car and smokes in the house. Could there be a possibility that he has asthma and we don't know about it? All of the information I have read on the internet shows the inhalier being used with asthma patients.

Hi i have ibs. Lately it has been better. But last night we went to dinner, and i may have had some trigger foods. I did eat bread beforehand to coat my stomach.

about 3 mins into walking home, i started to get severly sharp pains in my stomach, so bad that i was hunching over in pain (even though there were people around, how embarrassing) and cursing under my breath. about 3 blocks away from home i was sure i wasnt going to make it (without crapping my pants), but my fiance was really trying to get me to make it home. I finally got home, and had a minimal amount of diahrea. the second time i went i noticed some pink in my stool, maybe. do you think it was blood? the rest of the stool was watery and light brown. i started to panic, and told my fiance that blood in my stool means internal bleeding and that i should go to the ER if i have more bloody stool. I havent went to the bathroom since then (last night) except for peeing.

Does any type of pink indicate a bloody stool? If I have it again, should i go to the ER?

Any other advice? I'm a little worried. I've been eating bland foods today like toast, soup, plain waffles, apple sauce and water. My tummy still feels a little strange.

Background: I'm 23 F, 108 lbs, 5'2". I've never had a bloody stool before. I have Ibs and i'm lactose intolerant (i take lactaid supplements when i really really want to have dairy).

hi,

i'm 22, and i have endometriosis. i use the mirena iud as my main form of treatment to stop menstruating, and to help control/ maintain daily cramping. i used it for 1.5 years before, had it removed last christmas but had it put back in this past july because the daily cramping and monthly periods became so incredibly painful again. i use brevicon bcp daily, no breaks, to try and help suppress ovarian cysts, which i got monthly when i used the mirena before. so far i don't think i've had any cysts, or at least none that have ruptured (every one or two months i would have a cyst rupture up until this past february).

i forgot to take a pill a few days ago, and then was fairly late in taking one the next day. i took them as soon as i remembered but they were late nonetheless. as soon as i forgot to take the one i started having minor spotting again, but extremely minor. after i had the mirena in i had a "period" when i normally would have had one, but it was quite different and according to my gynaecologist, the way it was, was showing that the hormones from the mirena were causing my period to stop. last night i had a fair amount of bleeding and had extremely sharp cramps, particularly around at my cervix (where it would normally hurt during a period). for pain i take codeine daily (tylenol 3) and sometimes naproxen. i've had to resort to dilaudid before, and i really could have used some earlier it was getting to be that painful.... but again, it has been like that kind of pain before.

do you think this is anything to worry about, maybe caused from the missed/ late pills? this is around when i would have a period anyway, so maybe could it be related to that? i have recently moved from british columbia, canada to quebec and am still learning french, and so i can't exactly just walk into a doctors office and start telling them the problem. i am waiting to see a gynaecologist here, but i'm just wondering if anyone has any ideas? any ideas or input would be greatly appreciated..... i can still contact my gynaecologist if need be, but not until monday.

xposted to endometriosis

Okay, I also have some questions. My intial post was here, dealing with chest pressure and difficulty breathing. ( Some more background info catching you up to today )

My questions:

#1 - Can someone give me an idea of what a 24 hour heart monitor is like? I didn't get much info from them about it and I'd like to know what to expect.

#2 - She wants me to start with a half of an ativan (I think it's .5mg?) and said that it could make me a little sleepy. Anything I should watch out for if/when I start taking it?

Since Wednesday night, I have been fairly nauseous and having some diarrhea (mostly after eating or drinking). There are 2 likely causes, and I was wondering if you all had any thoughts.

First, and most obvious, I started taking celexa (the SSRI antidepressant) that night. I took the first pill , 20mg, around 8pm Wednesday and woke up in the middle of the night nauseous. The diarrhea with eating/drinking started the next day. I've been on lots of SSRIs and other antidepressants in the past (prozac, zoloft, and others) and rarely had any side effects at all though.

The other, maybe less likely possibility has to do with my birth control. I've been on desogen for about 6 months now, but was having trouble with it (was actually getting my period during the active pills and not bleeding during the placebos), so my dr advised me to skip the placebos this month and go right to the next pack to shock my body back on track. That's something I've never tried before, so I imagine it could make me sick as well. The first day of the placebos should have been Monday, so Wednesday when I got sick was probably about the time my body realized hey, somethings not right here.

Obviously the celexa is a more obvious culprit.. but I really hate to stop taking it if its possible it could be related to something else. I'm really hitting the bottom of the list in terms of antidepressants that might work for me so I dont want to throw away any possibilities. Any thoughts?

How long should I wait out a cold?

I have a history of allergies and chronic sinus/ear infections. In the past I have taken Allegra 180, Duraphen, and Rinocort nasal spray for allergies. But since I have been trying to conceive I have been off all of this since May (My doctor is aware) Other than some itchyness things have been going well until this week. At first I thought it was allergies but now I am sure it is a bad cold or sinus infection that started on Tuesday.

Symptoms are

watery eyes,
sneezing,
Stopped up nose that drips but I can't blow
terrible sinus pressure
sore throat

I hesitate to go to the doctor since I am already immune to so many antibotics I don't want to take them unless I have to. Although I feel crappy I have felt worse so I am trying to fight if off with my usual allergy meds. If it moves to my chest I am going to the doctor for sure but otherwise how long should I give my body to fight it off on its own before going to the doctor?

Also I am drinking lots of water (about 7-10 16oz bottles a day)but any other suggestions would be welcome especially on how to deal with the sinus pressure in my face.

Also any idea why when sitting in my car driving or sitting at my seat my nose becomes completely blocked but when I stand up and begin walking around it clears a little?

a few days ago i had more than normal discharge from my eye, mostly at one time.
the inside corner of that eye was very red and weird looking. but no other part of the eye.
there was some burning. it went away.


now the inside corner of the lid(on the same eye) is red swollen and dry.
after taking a shower, there now appears to be tiny red BUMPS all over the upper lid,
as well as scattered throughout UNDER my eye, on the skin.

is this an allergic reaction?
or an infection?
bad eye makeup?

i am not itchy. it just burns.
i should note theres nothing going on on the actual eyeball part of the eye.

should i wait this out? or go see a doctor.