Was "Cellulitis blows,"now, "Parotid problems"

[George K]

@kluurs said in Cellulitis blows..:

Seems like a weird place for that. Could it be a dental issue that has migrated?

That was my first thought. I saw my dentist in January for a cleaning, etc. No issues were found at the time. I have no pain in the posterior mandible, and all the teeth there are good.

[Mik]

Hope it heals quickly and painlessly.

[Jolly]

Gettin' old ain't for sissies.

[mark]

Definitely does not sound like fun. Hope it heals quickly.

[Copper]

I had swelling and some pain like that, in that area in 1962. I was in the second grade. It was caused by a wisdom tooth. They pulled the tooth and no more problem.

Getting old brings all kinds of new medical education.

I recently developed chondrodermatitis nodularis helicis (CNH) on my left ear.

It is a little bump on the top of the ear that can really hurt. It was probably caused by too much golf in cold (mid 30s) weather. I didn't talk to the dermatologist yet, I'm hoping it just goes away.

But I learned about a new condition, chondrodermatitis nodularis helicis.

[Catseye3]

George, how you feeling this morning?

[George K]

@Catseye3 said in Cellulitis blows..:

George, how you feeling this morning?

Meh.

Slept shitty.

Pain is a bit less and the swelling hasn’t progressed, so those are good things. No fever afaict. No appetite, whatsoever. Had bouillon for dinner last night.

Just took my 3rd dose of Augmentin, hopefully it’ll start kicking in today. Usually takes about 36-48 to see anything.

Thanks for asking.

[George K]

Sialolithiasis.

[Catseye3]

@George-K How did you find out?

[George K]

@Catseye3 went to the dentist, just to be sure it wasn't anything dental (it wasn't).

I called up my ENT friend and fortunately he had an opening this afternoon. He claims he can feel the stone, but I'm not convinced. We did a CT scan, that shows, maybe, something on the right side, about 1.5 cm in size, but it's not calcified, so we're not 100% certain it's a stone.

Still symptoms, etc are all consistent.

Treatment: Hydration (moar (cheap) Scotch water). Antibiotics. Finish the entire course (of course). And things to stimulate salivation: chew on a lemon (really?) or hard candy.

Jolly Rancher order placed.

Followup in 4 weeks, or sooner if things don't get better. He says that, with luck, I'll take this stone to my grave. Too big to extract through the stoma, so the parotid gland would have to go. I HATE that operation.

[Mik]

Good to know, though.

[taiwan_girl]

@George-K sounds serious.

Take care of yourself!!

[Klaus]

Hmm....

I'd go with the second option of hiring a specialist for oral massages.

[brenda]

Improvement yet, George? Able to sleep alright?

Anything that makes the face or head hurt is miserable?

[Mik]

Yes. Do give us an update.

[Jolly]

Better to know than not. Hope the treatment course works well.

And speedily...

[George K]

@brenda said in Cellulitis blows..:

Improvement yet, George?

Marginally better. Just marginally. No fever, but the entire parotid gland is still swollen and painful.

Able to sleep alright?

No. Because of my neck arthritis, I'm a side sleeper. Can't sleep on the right side because of pain. Went to bed at 10, up at 1 for 2 hours, slept from 3 to 5.

Anything that makes the face or head hurt is miserable?

Any pressure on it. Moving it.

A twist in the tale. My ENT called last night to ask how I'm doing, and I told him what I mentioned above. He wants to switch antibiotics - he was disappointed when I told him I was on Augmentin. So, that's the plan for today.

Additionally, there's a cause for concern on the CT:

Sam (the ENT) says he wants things to quiet down wrt infection and then follow up with a CT with infusion.

[Mik]

What did he put you on?

[George K]

@Mik said in Was "Cellulitis blows,"now, "Parotid problems":

What did he put you on?

We're going to switch to clarithromycin, I believe.

[Mik]

I'd suggest 5-10 mg oxycodone at bedtime. Less pain = more sleep.