The Medicine Dilemma
I don't like taking medicine. I would rather eat burned toast for upset stomach, or drink honey and lemon for a sore throat than take any pill. I've never really gone for essential oils, either - I think my natural skepticism has a detrimental effect on their potency.
In my head, I know if I get a headache, if I take something for it right when it starts, it will go away a lot faster than if I wait until it is a full blown headache to take medicine. But inevitably I put it off, thinking the headache isn't that bad, that it will go away on its own. And sometimes it does. But sometimes it doesn't and the headache gets so bad that I have to take something for it, and then it will go away. Why not take it when the headache starts and spare myself the discomfort? I don't like taking medicine and would rather not take it if I can avoid it.
And then there is the allergy thing. I am allergic to cats. I live in house with four cats. I am no stranger to the stuffy nose, the stinging eyes, the itch after they've drooled or rubbed their heads on me. And yet, I don't take allergy medicine unless I feel pushed to do it, and since most of the time I'm "used to" the allergic symptoms, I don't bother.
Last night, I must have pet one of the cats, and then rubbed my eye. As I was lying in bed trying to sleep, my eye itched. It wasn't just the eye ball itself, but the rim around it, the bones in my eye socket. I didn't want to scratch it because I wasn't positive I'd gotten whatever cat residue off my hand, so I just lay there in torment until I finally fell asleep. This morning, my eye wasn't bothering me so much, but a mosquito bite on my arm was itching like crazy, and the back of my throat had a tickle in it, and I figured I'd take an allergy pill and get it over with.
Usually I take a 24 hour allergy pill, a generic Claritin, but I only had one pill left of those and for some unfathomable reason, I thought I'd save it, so I took a Bendaryl instead. Even though I'd just woken up about an hour before and was wide awake when I took it, within half an hour of taking it I was asleep again. Trying to wake up and get my chores and stuff done this morning was a battle. I've finally come to realize that when medicines say a side effect is drowsiness, they really mean it! For me, Benadryl works just as well as if I'd taken a sleeping pill (not that I'd know for sure because I've never taken a sleeping pill) and I've decided that from now on, I'll only take Benadryl if necessary at night.
If I took pills more often, would my body become more accustomed to them so the side effects wouldn't be as great? Would their potency for whatever I'm taking them for also not be as strong? Am I just odd that I'd rather deal with a slight headache than take a pill that will make it go away? I don't know. I do know that sometimes I'd rather just deal with the original discomfort than with the side effects that come with taking medicine.
In my head, I know if I get a headache, if I take something for it right when it starts, it will go away a lot faster than if I wait until it is a full blown headache to take medicine. But inevitably I put it off, thinking the headache isn't that bad, that it will go away on its own. And sometimes it does. But sometimes it doesn't and the headache gets so bad that I have to take something for it, and then it will go away. Why not take it when the headache starts and spare myself the discomfort? I don't like taking medicine and would rather not take it if I can avoid it.
And then there is the allergy thing. I am allergic to cats. I live in house with four cats. I am no stranger to the stuffy nose, the stinging eyes, the itch after they've drooled or rubbed their heads on me. And yet, I don't take allergy medicine unless I feel pushed to do it, and since most of the time I'm "used to" the allergic symptoms, I don't bother.
Last night, I must have pet one of the cats, and then rubbed my eye. As I was lying in bed trying to sleep, my eye itched. It wasn't just the eye ball itself, but the rim around it, the bones in my eye socket. I didn't want to scratch it because I wasn't positive I'd gotten whatever cat residue off my hand, so I just lay there in torment until I finally fell asleep. This morning, my eye wasn't bothering me so much, but a mosquito bite on my arm was itching like crazy, and the back of my throat had a tickle in it, and I figured I'd take an allergy pill and get it over with.
Usually I take a 24 hour allergy pill, a generic Claritin, but I only had one pill left of those and for some unfathomable reason, I thought I'd save it, so I took a Bendaryl instead. Even though I'd just woken up about an hour before and was wide awake when I took it, within half an hour of taking it I was asleep again. Trying to wake up and get my chores and stuff done this morning was a battle. I've finally come to realize that when medicines say a side effect is drowsiness, they really mean it! For me, Benadryl works just as well as if I'd taken a sleeping pill (not that I'd know for sure because I've never taken a sleeping pill) and I've decided that from now on, I'll only take Benadryl if necessary at night.
If I took pills more often, would my body become more accustomed to them so the side effects wouldn't be as great? Would their potency for whatever I'm taking them for also not be as strong? Am I just odd that I'd rather deal with a slight headache than take a pill that will make it go away? I don't know. I do know that sometimes I'd rather just deal with the original discomfort than with the side effects that come with taking medicine.
Comments
Post a Comment