An encounter with Streptococcal

It happened over the course of a day. My throat begun to tighten and by evening I could barely swallow. My throat burned.
I lost appetite! My body shut down!

Day 2 I suffered a fever and general body weakness. I called in sick.
Swallowing required attention and commitment. It felt like swallowing broken glass.

By the 3rd night I was having weird dreams. I became empathetic of mouth and throat cancer patients.
I begun to suspect I had strep throat because I didn't have the usual flu symptoms. My fears were confirmed.

I was placed on a penicillin medication whose side effects are as bad as the sickness; headache, stomach pain, dizziness and itchy eyes. I thought I would ask for something milder but my requests fell flat. Doctor told me I had received the standard adult doze and that I need to hung in there. She said if I didn't finish the doze I would expose myself to Rheumatic Heart Disease, talk about a wake up call.

So how did I get Strep? Well it's caused by streptococcal bacteria and spread when someone with strep sneezes or coughs. The tiny particles are released into the air and breathed in by others.

I feel better but still have 5 days of medication to finish the doze. Sigh!