If you can't describe your symptoms, are you still sick?

The only symptom that I can clearly describe is that it hurts to swallow. Other than that, my throat is not sore, and I have none of the usual head-cold symptoms: no runny nose, sneezing, or cough. There was shivering, so severe it hurt, for an hour or so the night before last, but that passed. And there was a very low-grade fever for about a day, but my temperature's normal now. Other than that, it just feels oppressive, I can't describe it any better. My head does not actually hurt, but it kind of feels like pressure pushing outward on the inside of my head. There's no respiratory symptoms and no sore muscles or nausea or irregularity. And yet I feel miserable. So, am I actually sick? I considered going in to see a doctor, but I don't know what I'd say: "I have no symptoms but I feel lousy."

 

The only thing different was I was using nitrox, which is safer than air as long as you don't exceed the maximum depth; and I never got even close to it.

Well, I did go to see the doctor. He said it's a viral infection. Nothing to be done but let my immune system fight it off and watch for possible secondary infections (new symptoms or a sudden worsening). He thinks it's too soon after my return for me to have caught it on the airplane or from the sick taxi driver.

I've had both seasonal and H1N1 vaccines.

I hate being sick.

 

Yep. They swabbed my throat (that hurt!) and said the quick test was negative and the slow test will come in 48 hours.

So I bought some more Tofutti Cuties (chocolate non-dairy ice cream sandwiches).

 

Agreed, but nitrox gives you more time, and I never got even close to my no-deco limit. Add to that, my symptoms do not resemble the symptoms of DCS.

The doc said it's a viral throat infection. I think he said pharyngitis, but I've probably spelled that wrong.

It hurt really bad yesterday after they swabbed it. I think the nurse swabbed too hard. But today it's back to hurting only when I swallow.

Note that you can stay at 20 feet forever and never incur a decompression obligation. But you always have to ascend slowly. And of course exhale. The real danger comes when you push the no-deco limits, since DCS is probabilistic. Or when you get into technical diving. I met a guy on this trip who used to be a commercial diver. I think he said he did saturation dives at over 700 feet, and decompression took a week. They bring them up in a bell, under pressure, put them in a chamber, and they live in the chamber for a week. Not fun, but the pay was good. Nowadays he said they do most of that work with remote-controlled devices. Instead of divers, they hire video game players. And of course the pay is nothing like it was.

 

I spoke with my doctor's nurse today and she talked to the doc. He said wait until Thursday to see if I get better. -- The upside of a sore throat is I get to eat lots of Tofutti Cuties and chocolate frozen yogurt. I don't feel as bad overall as I did a couple of days ago, but my voice is all weird. Not entirely gone. Just really weird. I have symptoms now, but the symptoms are not as bad as the awful, oppressive but indescribable malaise I had earlier. Now I have some coughing and some sneezing and some green phlegm. The worst of all is not being able to exercise.

 

The diagnosis mostly came from the throat swab (which said it was not strep) and the doc looking at my throat and listening to my chest. I'm not sure what's the difference between signs and symptoms, but since I don't expect a diagnosis over the internet, I'm not sure it matters a lot. I'm just bored enough to come here and complain. There's not much to do when I'm sick. I read mostly, but then I need to take a break from reading. Whoever invented germs is an a-hole. Those, and biting bugs, stinging jellyfish, and lawyers.

Hey, why do they still call them jellyfish? You can't call sea stars starfish any more because they're not really fish. But jellyfish are not fish either.

 

Yep. Pharyngitis is what the doc said. I'd never heard of it before. Good to know it's normal to still be sick at this point. Doesn't mono make you really tired? I'm not especially tired at all.

The FSM didn't make lawyers. Please don't accuse the Noodly One of making lawyers. He doesn't really care all that much about humans one way or the other, but he wouldn't do something as pointlessly cruel as making lawyers.

Why do we have to get sick, anyway? Why can't we all just be happy and healthy and rich all the time and be cuddled and petted and other stuff by an attractive person of whichever gender we prefer?