Saturday, September 16, 2006
My Feet Smell and my Nose Runs
Confound the nose! There's no end to it.
--Thomas Gainsborough
It has been just over a year since I had my sinus surgery. I've only had two such surgeries in my lifetime, and they were nearly 10 years apart. I tend to have bouts of sinusitis and allergic rhinitis for the most part. Amazingly, I've never had nasal polyps, which is something very common in the CF population. During my most recent hospital stay (only 7 days, woohoo!) my sinuses went from extremely painful to no problematic in pretty short order. I was impressed. Of couse, I am being treated with 5 antibiotics at the moment, along with 2 antifungals, so I don't think there are any cooties that stand a chance anymore. I hope that I'll be able to stay out of the hospital for quite awhile now.
My doc said that every now and then people just have a rough year with CF. I was relieved when he assured us that just because I was hospitalized more than usual, it isn't necessarily an indication of things to come. There were so many factors late time that prevented me from making a full recovery even after a month of IV antibiotics. We had just moved to our first home; I was transferred to a new supervisor at work; several of my friends were having babies; I was travelling more...you get the picture. All of those things demanded a lot of my energy and emotion, and unfortunately, I didn't do the best job at managing my stress.
I've noticed that sinus pressure is usually one of the first signs that things are going awry, so I'm determined to make a better effort to listen to my body and get things taken care of before they are almost too big to handle.
Sinuses are the theme of the day, so I'm including an article below that defines and discusses nasal polyps and how they affect CF patients.
My doc said that every now and then people just have a rough year with CF. I was relieved when he assured us that just because I was hospitalized more than usual, it isn't necessarily an indication of things to come. There were so many factors late time that prevented me from making a full recovery even after a month of IV antibiotics. We had just moved to our first home; I was transferred to a new supervisor at work; several of my friends were having babies; I was travelling more...you get the picture. All of those things demanded a lot of my energy and emotion, and unfortunately, I didn't do the best job at managing my stress.
I've noticed that sinus pressure is usually one of the first signs that things are going awry, so I'm determined to make a better effort to listen to my body and get things taken care of before they are almost too big to handle.
Sinuses are the theme of the day, so I'm including an article below that defines and discusses nasal polyps and how they affect CF patients.
Definition
Nasal polyps are small, sac-like growths consisting of inflamed nasal mucosa.
Causes, incidence, and risk factors
Nasal polyps appear in a number of conditions. The polyps originate near the ethmoid sinuses (located at the top of the inside of the nose) and grow into the open areas. Large polyps may obstruct the airway.
Persons with nasal polyps sound congested and often breathe through their mouths because of chronic nasal obstruction. A runny noseor infected nose is common.
Polyps are seen with allertic rhinitis, (hay fever), chronic sinus infections, and cystic fibrosis. About 1 in 4 people with cystic fibrosis have nasal polyps.
Click here for additional information and pictures from the Medline Plus Medical Encyclopedia--
Current mood: complacent
Current snack: cheer leader bars (mmmmmm!)
Health-o-meter: 80% of baseline
Emotional weather: clear skies
Current mood: complacent
Current snack: cheer leader bars (mmmmmm!)
Health-o-meter: 80% of baseline
Emotional weather: clear skies
