Swelling subsided ..? 17 7 17 (14) 25 1 21

From 17 7 13

The first time after my return from Scotland that this inflammation flared up was 20th June and now for the second time July 11th that is 21 days later when the original problem manifested itself June 5th that is only 15 days earlier than the second.

Curiously on the first occasion in Scotland the attack was the most ferocious for in addition to an inflamed right forearm I had two bumps also to my neck above my right scapula perhaps no great surprise that these two locations are on the side of my body most exposed to attack during night time as I sleep on my right side.

But on the last occasion among the area inflamed say up to six inches say 12- 13 cm on the inside of my arm the bites one big one and two smaller ones closer together with a separation of less than a cm say 1/4 inch for the smaller bites a good inch and a half away or 4 cm from the bigger one I reasoned that possibly by my own scratching the inflamed area with a view to seeking some relief I had myself caused the swelling: until that is I saw the evidence in the actual bite marks..?  

Well on the second occasion the doctor Ali Ahmed I'll call him put me on 500mg tablets 3 times a day of the antibiotic Kefexin for 7 days, a broad spectrum type according to my Nursing Sister wife, together with 5 mg tablets of Desloratadine Actavis, one per day, an antihistamine to quell the skin irritation all of which worked well or so it seemed with the swelling disappearing and the irritation subsiding after a few days' of taking the medication.

17 7 13 continued, as recalled 17 7 17…

So this day I had my appointment with another doctor, not Dr Ali Ahmet as noted already to which I had mixed feelings because principally he refused to engage in conversation about the likely source of my problem, when I could have told him I wasn’t surprised at a recurrence because I continued sleeping in the same bed though I had changed my bed linen..?

Well this next doctor I saw believe it or not appeared to be from the same country but somewhat older and with more of a bed side manner than the last doctor and this time I asked the receptionist beforehand what his nationality was when she replied he is a Somalian.

Perhaps unsurprisingly then he too refused to be drawn into a conversation about the likely cause when now I soon desisted from trying to engage him on the subject: I showed him pics from my smart phone of the swelling and inflammation from 2 days before when I was first bitten which I had taken to allay his possibly thinking I was going there to waste their time at the health centre over something and nothing because the swelling had subsided so much since then.

But then he quickly started to prescribe even stronger medication no longer in the mild but in the stronger cortisone category: a 1% emulsion of Elocon which I should administer once a day at the same time of day for 2 weeks together with the same antihistamine of Desloratadine Actavis as before.

Well when I returned home I decided to forego this latest treatment since the swelling had abated anyway and the irritation had to large extent subsided and as I read on the list of instructions about its use once opened it would only be usable for a limited time…

These two experiences left me with a poor impression of Somalian doctors who’s main preoccupation appeared to be with writing out prescriptions when I guessed this in some way was related to their remuneration package. Have a good day everyone as I hope your health service providers are more amenable to a proper two-way discourse? hahaha