Monday, June 04, 2007

Multipurpose Utility Fluid

Caution! This post mentions eyeballs and infections and gross biological stuff. In case you can't handle that.

Did I mention how cool breastmilk is?

That sore throat I mentioned turned into a bad one, and Limelet had been runny-nosed for a couple days, so we all went to the pedi/family caregiver. Not strep, luckily. The pedi thought it was likely haemophilus (a bacteria), since it was going around, and we'd had contact with children the weekend before. Since the teething trauma had been especially bad last week, I was up really late for several nights in a row, so my immune system was apparently down pretty low.

I think Limelet got the infection first and got better first, I was next, and TheLimey was the last. I was miserable Friday and got steadily better over the weekend, except that it somehow migrated up through my stuffy nose into my right eye. I realized last night that it was not allergies--it was full-blown pinkeye.

I was really annoyed for a few hours thinking that I'd have to go all the way back to the doc and pay for yet another office visit and also get antibiotic eye drops. Then when Limelet awoke me at 11 for a brief nighttime social visit, I suddenly remembered that I already had the cure on hand. As it were.

I've used breastmilk for Limelet's eyes and for his ears, too, which was recommended by the pedi (and La Leche League, of course.) So why not mine? I started last night, rinsing the eye with saline first. I've been using it for less than 24 hours, and the eye is vastly improved. Almost better.

It's like magic! I guess it's also like immunoglobin A, keeping bacteria off mucosal surfaces, 'n' stuff. Not to mention the environment-specific antibodies.

I was already going to nurse as long as I could, but now I'm even more enthused.

3 Comments:

Blogger liz said...

I realized later I should have called this post "Medicine Chest" -- hyuk, hyuk!

6:19 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

There was an article in Mothering Magazine not long ago all about the curative powers of breastmilk. Guess what the title is?

8:13 PM  
Blogger liz said...

I plead cryptomnesia!

12:09 PM  

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