Low Immune Response

The dress is packed and shipped.  Almost all of the favors are done.  Half the programs are done.  The catering is FINALLY settled.  And, I have a cold.

It's well known that stress lowers your immune response as does cold weather.  Winter in Buffalo plus last week's night/day/night schedule really did a number on my defenses.  So, I am hitting the bottle tonight, Nyquil, and hope to sleep better than I did last night.

At least today was Grand Rounds Wednesday, so no clinical work for me.  I got to come home early, run those errands - like shipping all of my wedding items - and take a nap.  Now, having finished some odd and end things here, I am ready for bed.

Maybe tomorrow my head won't feel like it weighs 20 pounds instead of the standard 8, and I won't feel like taking a Yankaur and sucking out anything I can reach followed by some deep NT suctioning to get whatever's left over.  For you non-medical folk, I could explain, but it's probably better that you don't know what that means.

Until tomorrow, more pedi intubations I hope, and no slobbering into my mask...

**funny story, stop reading now if you're grossed out by mucous:

When I was a medical student I was doing a surgery rotation in Cardiothoracic surgery.  Those cases typically last about 5 - 6 hours.  One day I had a cold, so I timed taking my dose of cold medicine (the six hour kind) until about the time the patient would be going into the OR.  I figured it would at least cover me for the whole case.  Well, you can imagine what happened.  The patient was 1/2 hour late getting into the room, and so we were running late on the case.  Usually, when we start "closing" you can almost predict about 1/2 hour or so to finish all the suturing and applying bandages. 

So, at about the 5 1/2 hour window my cold pill starts to stop working, and I can feel the congestion starting to build up in my sinuses.  We get to closing and my nose starts running.  I have my face mask on, but I can feel a little dripping starting to happen, and I try to quietly sniff as much as I can to keep it back.  I see the CV fellow (fellow = resident who already graduated now getting advanced training in a specialty) looking across the patient at me every once in a while but not saying anything.

We get the patient closed, start applying the bandages, and the nurses start to take down the sterile field.  I step back and start to take my gloves and gown off, and as they start to load the patient I ask the fellow if I can be excused for a minute and that I will be right back.  He looks at me with a slight grin and says, "Finally going to blow out that loogie you've been working on for the last 1/2 hour?"  I was so embarrassed but quickly ran to the ladies' room where I took off my mask to find it, you're right, full of the mucous that had been running/dripping out of my nose.

I quickly washed my face, blew my nose and grabbed another cold pill out of my locker and then casually went back to the OR to help move the patient up the ICU.  I think that was the worst cold experience I ever had.  Thank, God, there's now 12 hour strength cold tabs.

Tags: Yankaur, NT suctioning, viral syndrome, immunosuppression, Nyquil, cold medications