I Googled It

Can you spot the man trying not to get epiglottitus?

I spent the morning with an ENT (ear nose and throat) doctor trying to get to the bottom of why I've had epiglottitis two times in the past three years, as it is such an unusual and rare condition and that it is so life threatening. We talked about some surgical options and some strategies about not getting it again. He did another scope down my throat and informed me that my anatomy was not working in my favour, kind of like my living room furniture was not arranged very esthetically. I imagined tonsils and tracheas and oesophaguses all shoved in the corner...not very fung shway. Anyways, it was pretty informative and a little nerve racking. As I was downplaying it a bit he said..."the problem is, if you decide to take a road trip to Calgary and your throat starts hurting you'll be dead by Crow's Nest Pass." Yikes! Upon returning home and feeling a little freaked out I decided I would Google it. I learned:

• George Washington died of epiglottitus in 1799.
• Having this condition, I should really be a fifty year old man or a 6 month old baby in Zimbabwe.
• There are more cases of this in Singapore than anywhere else.
• For most people strep likes to stay up high in the throat and not travel down to the epiglottis.
  
• you've got about 8-10 hours to get yourself to a hospital once the epiglottis is inflamed (what does that mean for deep woods camping?)
• The mortality rate in adults is 7%. (that sounds low to me, outdoors here I come!)

A Little Lesson:
I didn't walk away from this thinking oh oh I'm going to die, but instead thinking there are a few things I can do to protect myself, and the number one way is to become optimally healthy...that means:

• enough sleep...perfect, I would like to go to bed around 6:30pm
  
• nutritious eating...thank goodness I love broccoli
  
• exercise... it's about time I started doing this
  
• boosting my immune...hello wheat grass
  
• staying away from people who are sick...my doctor says that's a really big one.
  

These are all good things. I am also considering wearing a mask when I go out in public like they do in Japan when they don't want to get sick. ( joking!)