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Post by debutante on Jul 9, 2018 8:53:30 GMT -5
In situation comedies, people can get an illness which serves as a catalyst for misadventure.
I can't recall the exact number of times I've seen The Three Stooges or Buggs Bunny come down with larangytis. The fact that they are attempting to communicate without words sets the stage for the episode's farce.
I never met anyone in "real life" who actually got this disease. But even so, the humor wasn't lost on me when The Stooges or Buggs would elaborately pantomime to be understood.
Yesterday (and into today) I came down with the genuine artcle. And it turns out this is not the least bit funny when it is real. I never realized how much I take "speaking" for granted.
I can make myself understood through pantomime, but my audience doesn't have that amusing look of befuddlement on their faces. In fact, people seem to be getting annoyed because they want to talk with me and I can't reply.
This is also irritating because I can't imagine where I picked up the virus. I haven't been around anyone who had any symptoms.
This makes me wonder how the religious can voluntarily adopt vows of silence. What purpose does it serve to become irritated yourself and then annoying to others? I can't imagine why they think God would look in favor upon this.
Thank heaven for cell phones. I can text my family in the same room if need be.
Still, this illness isn't amusing to anyone. I had to cancel out two appointments. And weirdly, no matter how many programs used this as a plot device; somehow it was never apparent that larangytis actually gives you the worst sore throat (and corresponding upper respitory illness). So on top of frustration, I feel pretty miserable.
Anyhow, this made me realize that some "humor" might border on the offensive. My larangytis should go away in a day or so.
But how I wonder, how do people who are permanently mute feel about cartoons and shows which make lack of the ability to communicate funny?
I'm sure I'll get over my foul mood when this fades, but i doubt I'll ever look at situation comedies the same.
-- Debutante
*48 hours of silence and counting...
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Post by faskew on Jul 11, 2018 9:07:30 GMT -5
Most humor is about something bad happening to someone else. It's the classic "slip on a banana peel". Road Runner and Coyote is 100% bad stuff happening to Coyote.
What's acceptable varies over time. I collect music and I have many MP3s of songs from 1900-1930 that are "ethnic" - where the singers do an Irish, Italian, Negro, etc. accent and sing stereotypical stuff (the Irish are always drunk, the Italians have lots of kids, the Negroes are eating possum and dancing after work.)
Look at the stuff the Marx brothers used to do: Chico did Italian stereotypes, Harpo was a proto-rapist, chasing women and trying to touch them.
Humor doesn't travel well to other times or cultures. And yes, much humor is hurtful. Jokes about physical deformities, race, rape, politics, etc., can be very cruel.
Hope your voice comes back soon. Better that than your vision, yes? 8->
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Post by debutante on Jul 11, 2018 13:58:10 GMT -5
Hi Fred:
Yes, it's better than having a problem with vision. But whatever this virus is -- it's brutal.
I haven't been this sick in years. I've spent the past four days in bed. The family is bringing meals to me.
It's not just the voice -- my muscles are hurting so badly I can barely walk. My throat is on fire and I am having coughing fits every few minutes.
I really don't know where I caught this. And I am trying to keep away from my family because I don't want them to catch this.
I generally have good overall health, but this has hit me like a ton of bricks.
I hate being like this. My family has so many responsibilities that taking care of me just adds additional stress. This shows no signs of going away anytime soon.
I am beginning to wonder if being older means I have less ability to fight these things off.
--Debutante
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Post by Deleted on Jul 11, 2018 22:05:59 GMT -5
Oh, my, sounds like it could be strep throat. Have you had the stuff from your throat tested?
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Post by faskew on Jul 12, 2018 8:47:04 GMT -5
Have you heard the phrase, "80% of your medical problems happen in the last 20% of your life"? Yes, as we age, we become more vulnerable to all sorts of things. Our resistance is lower, our immune system doesn't work as well, we become less tolerate of heat and cold, etc. Aging is the cruelest thing in the universe. Bit by bit, our bodies fall apart, pain becomes part of everyday life, we can't do the things we used to love, we can't eat our favorite foods, our hearing goes, our vision goes, our strength goes, and so on.
As is often pointed out, humans are the only animals that know they will die. It's not a matter of IF, it's a matter of when and how. This knowledge influences our religions, art, cultures, etc. We can rage against the night all we want, but death always wins in the end.
Now that I've done the perky, feel-good part of the post, I'll move on to the depressing stuff.
LOL - just joking.
Sorry you're in pain. I think all of us here on this board are of any age to have had similar experiences. I have some chronic neuralgia myself, that can lay me low for 4-6 hours at a stretch. When it hits, all I can do is take a sleeping pill and be unconscious until it's gone. No cure, no treatment. Sigh.
We can hope that your's really is a virus or some such that will last 5-10 days and then disappear. Keep us updated. And get well soon. 8->
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Post by debutante on Jul 12, 2018 8:58:30 GMT -5
Lily,
No -- my husband said he had light symptoms earlier in the month and thinks I caught this from him. So, he's sure it's just a virus. He said antibiotics wouldn't help.
I was up all night coughing and trying to make myself comfortable. Nothing works.
I've took some kind of cold medicine last night. I'm not sure what it was -- my daughter heard the constant coughing, so she brought something up to me.
My husband told me to stay in bed and not exert myself. It doesn't seem this is getting better. I hope it ends soon. Constant coughing is exhausting me.
-- Debutante
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Post by debutante on Jul 12, 2018 9:10:00 GMT -5
Hi Fred,
Thanks. I know you're right and age has something to do with it. It has hit harder than things did when I was younger. It also seems to be lasting longer.
I just don't like being sick because it stresses people out. Weirdly, when unusual things happen, my son's autistic fog seems to vanish.
Yesterday he walked into my bedroom and asked if I was still sick. When I replied that I was -- he said that if I wasn't getting better, soon he'd see to it that I would be hospitalized. Now when an autistic tunes into something long enough to start planning solutions to something -- it means I must really be in bad shape. I feel bad about that. My husband and daughter are both into medical careers so they aren't worried. It my autistic son that is becoming stressed out.
--Debutante
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Post by faskew on Jul 12, 2018 9:58:34 GMT -5
Have you had all the "old people" shots? Shingles? Pneumonia? And so on. Every little bit helps. I take all the shots, plus I'm paranoid about public places. I try not to use my hands to open doors, push buttons, etc. in stores. And I used alcohol hand lotion as soon as I get home. The old medical joke is to never touch anything above your chin with your hands unless they've been sanitized. Mouth, nose and eyes are all doors just waiting for germs to come in.
The pain and coughing sound miserable. Seems like there should be something you could take to reduce the bad effects of those. Maybe your son is right - could be hospital time.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 12, 2018 13:36:17 GMT -5
I'm the same way with that germs thing. I have hand sanitation wipes and and alcohol liquid sanitizer with me at all times except at home. I also can't stand it when I'm in a store or anywhere where someone is coughing of sneezing in the air right where I'm walking. I turn around and go another direction.
As far as age making one sicker than when younger, I don't know how to think about that. I think it depends on one's immune system, and I suppose that could vary regardless of age. I know I've had more severe illnesses when I was younger such as in my early 20's. Really bad chest cold with lots of coughing and chest congestion where phlegm would collect in my chest and would come up to my throat to choke me. Very scary. And it lasted for weeks.
I always read that the older one gets, the less susceptible to cold germs because of becoming immune after so many colds as a child and through the subsequent years. Do cold germs mutate just the same as flu viruses? I don't know. But anyway, my last cold was very mild and I got over it relatively quickly. I think maybe not so much age as the type of the cold virus one has caught.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 12, 2018 16:45:49 GMT -5
Lily, No -- my husband said he had light symptoms earlier in the month and thinks I caught this from him. So, he's sure it's just a virus. He said antibiotics wouldn't help. I was up all night coughing and trying to make myself comfortable. Nothing works. I've took some kind of cold medicine last night. I'm not sure what it was -- my daughter heard the constant coughing, so she brought something up to me. My husband told me to stay in bed and not exert myself. It doesn't seem this is getting better. I hope it ends soon. Constant coughing is exhausting me. -- Debutante I don't think it's a safe assumption that your illness is related to your husband's earlier in the month. If this doesn't get better soon, and as to how severe it seems to be, better to get another diagnosis soon! |
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Post by faskew on Jul 13, 2018 13:32:48 GMT -5
Lily - your immune system weakens with age, but there are lots of variables, especially genetics. Yes, some things you develop better immunity to, because of being exposed when young. But that's not something to count on. Some things, like shingles, you only get when old if you had them when you were young (chickenpox, in this case).
When it comes to viruses, paranoia is your friend. 8->
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