LETTER FROM THE EDITOR: BATTLING BUGS TAKES A TOLL BEYOND BELIEF

The past two or three weeks have been -- what shall I say? -- different. For one thing I was ill enough with a touch of pneumonia to stay home from work at the same time many things were happening at the office. The upshot is that the paper came out without me (a minor blow to the ego) and I learned that it is better in the long run to take care of your health rather than let the sniffles get out of control.

Some of you have been kind enough to mention that you missed this column for a couple of week. Thanks for noticing.

Everyone on the newspaper staff, mostly in the news department but in other areas as well, pitched in those days I was at home learning to breathe again. In particular, Managing Editor Joni Adams stepped in and kept things running smoothly in the newsroom. Her duties already are challenging, but she handled the extra load professionally and productively. Thanks, Joni.

The biggest lesson I learned came from an emergency room doctor who doesn't mince words. After seeing my own doctor and buying out the local pharmacy, things unexpectedly turned from bad to worse.

Sitting in an emergency-room examination room after blood tests, X-rays and a throat culture, the infectious disease specialist looked at me incredulously when I asked if I should stay home from work.

"You guys who think you're indispensable drive me up the wall," he said, looking straight into my eyes. And then he went on. He said complete rest was an important part of the healing process. Moreover, he said, there was a high risk that I would spread whatever it was I had to my colleagues. Did I want to put them through such misery?

In all honesty I could say I wouldn't want anyone, not even my worst enemy, to have what I had. Whatever it was.

By the way, the doctor explained why we probably will never know exactly what I had. In order to specifically identify the bug or bugs causing the symptoms I had, cultures would have to be grown in some lab. This takes time. In the meantime, the high-powered antibiotics and other medications he prescribed would be going to work. The medicine would have much the same effect as a shotgun blast. The doctor hoped whatever it is would get zinged by at least one of the exploding pellets.

Beyond that, the doctor said, tests would have to be made to identify the bug if the medication didn't work. He said that process would begin if there wasn't "significant" improvement in about five days. Fortunately, the new batch of medication did the trick.

Basically, I learned most folks who think they have the flu may or may not be suffering from symptoms of some strain of influenza. There are a lot of bugs out there, and some of them make you think you have the flu.

For one thing, I've noticed a sizable number of people who have allergies are really suffering right now. The mild winter and the early warm weather apparently have created conditions that make life miserable for allergy-sensitive people. This is the first time I can ever remember hearing people say they have hay fever in March. This is usually a summer or autumn malady.

I suppose everything I've learned still doesn't qualify me to be a doctor. Thank goodness there are plenty of well-trained medical experts right here in Cape Girardeau. I suggest if you're feeling poorly that you take advantage of the medical resources we have here. Don't wait too long.

And get a flu shot. I know my wife and I will be in line next fall when the time comes to get the flu shot.

How about you?

~R. Joe Sullivan is the editor of the Southeast Missourian.