In all of my life, I never was a sickly child. I was born premature and was exposed to things so early that when I reached toddler age, I never got sick. I didn’t have any chronic issues like asthma or diabetes either. In elementary school, I would get recurrent strep throat, so my doctor suggested I get my tonsils out. I think I’ve had strep once since having them removed. I said all of this to say…I don’t get sick. Well, when I first moved out to Houston, I woke up to get ready for work and felt super sick. Usually when I feel sick, I take some Dayquil or NyQuil and I feel better. So before work, I took some Dayquil thinking it was just a cold. I had been in New Orleans the previous weekend to see Megan Thee Stallion in concert and the weather went from the low 80s to like the low 50s in a matter of a few hours. That day at work I had an EKG class so I was like this shouldn’t be that bad. I went through my day and my symptoms just kept getting worse. I had developed a severe migraine, my appetite went away, my throat was sore, I had chills, and I felt nauseous. I ended up getting through the class because I knew I had to pass the test at the end of the class. I was off the next two days so on my way home I made an appointment to go to the urgent care at like 7:30. It was about 5 when I got home so I decided to take a nap. I didn’t wake up until 7:20 but luckily, I was able to reschedule for the following day. If you know me well, you know I don’t like falling asleep on the couch or falling asleep in my scrubs. I just think falling asleep in scrubs is nasty especially when you’ve been in the hospital all day, whether you’re around patients or not. I don’t like falling asleep on the couch because that’s what my bed is for. Unfortunately, this day I was too tired to even walk up the stairs. I eventually gathered all my strength, took a shower and then went to sleep.
The next morning, I woke up and couldn’t talk. My voice was completely gone. I could barely whisper. This scared me for two reasons, one: I’m a talker, I love to talk. What am I without a voice? Two: I obviously got worse overnight, so this is really serious. I just kept asking myself um what could possibly be wrong. My appointment was at 9 so I got there about 8:50 and waited for them to open the door. I signed in and everything and waited about 15 minutes to go to the back. When I got to the back, the nurse took my vital signs. My blood pressure was up, and I had a fever. Guys, by now you should know your body. I knew my blood pressure was probably elevated because I didn’t feel good and I knew I had a fever. The doctor came in to check me out and said I had laryngitis. Laryngitis is the inflammation of your voice box from overuse, irritation or infection. Can you guess what mine was from? Pretty sure you guessed correct: inflammation and overuse or my vocals (probably from the Megan the Stallion concert). So, the doctor recommended taking Claritin and Benadryl for my allergies and vocal rest. I had to go three days without using my voice. It was a very trying experience for me. I went to work that Friday still with no voice, but my preceptor and I made it work!
With all of that being said nurses, we must become self-care socialites. We have to take care of ourselves in order to do our jobs and take care of others. And I don’t just mean physically I mean in all aspects, emotionally, socially and mentally. For me, a typical self-care day is laying in the bed all day, watching my favorite movies or shows and cooking. I do not leave my apartment for any reason on these days. This is when I’m most relaxed. After pay day lol, a typical self-care day includes a pedicure, manicure, eye brows threaded and a facial. Tell me about your self-care rituals.
XOXO,
The Klassic Nurse