Fue uno de esos días de finales de invierno en los que estaba perdida
entre sombras. Había terminado la consulta afónica y el cansancio me hacía
sentir que era gris, que podía estar allí o no estarlo y que nadie lo notaría…
absolutamente nadie.
Me puse a leer algunos correos pendientes antes de
apagar el ordenador.
Uno de ellos llamó mi atención. Comenzaba así:
“I was
born on November 1934. With high blood pressure I am currently taking Valsartan
800, Amlodopino 5mg and Simvastatina 10 mg every day. I play tennis three times
a week, and 18 holes of golf once a week with an ocasional 9 holes of golf or
extra tennis.”
Me detuve a mirar quién era el remitente. No me sonaba y supuse que alguno de mis pacientes ingleses le había dado mi dirección a aquel señor.
La historia me pareció interesante… estimuló mi curiosidad y los nubarrones en mi cabeza
empezaron a disiparse mientras la leía.
“On friday
10 August I was finding it difficult to see so my wife took me to our local
doctor´s surgery where I saw a lady doctor, who referred me immediately to the
ophthalmic clinic in the nearby town of Hastings. However they were unable to
see me that afternoon and instead made me an appointment in the hospital of
Eastbourne, which I visited three days. A junior consultant there diagnosed
keratinoconjunctivitis and gave me some drops to insert. On my third and final
visit there, he called in a senior consultant who diagnosed possible herpes behind
the left eye. He advised me not to take steroids which he said might be
prescribed for me by my next opthalmologist when I returned to the Hasting´s
hospital.
However
when I saw my next ophtalmologist in Hastings she recommended steroids. When I
reported the advice of my senior consultant not to take them, she merely repeated
her recommendation for me to do so. I couldn´t check with my own Doctor as he
was away but other Doctor advised me to follow the advice of my current
ophtalmologist.
Several
weeks later during September I noticed some blistering around the nostrils but
this didn´t last more than a day or two and I neglected to take any medical
advice. At the start of October – as we were leaving our English house- the
blisters became more serious but were still only a minor nuisance and I was
unable to take medical advice as we were travelling out to Spain by car.
After
arriving here the blister disappeared, but then re-appeared a week or so later
as I had a permanet cold. On visiting the Beach pharmacy, the lady there
suggested the blister were due to cold sores/herpes and recommended a cold sore
cream. This worked for a time but when the blisters kept re-appearing I opted
for Compeed to cover them up. However my cold continued and the blisters got
worse.
It seemed
to be spreading down my front and back as well as my temples. My head hair
itched and there were more lumps there than ever before. I visited Dr X who
initially prescribed Zovirax and Zovicrem. But this failed to solve the
problema. He therefore gave me a blood test – the results of which I have and
will bring with me but have no reproduced. (These are attached below.) He gave
me a course of Aciclovir in tablet and cream. Unfortunately the blisters
continued to come especially on my Leith nostril. We traed in total three
courses of Aciclovir tablets and cream. But the problem persisted.
Repeated
application of the Acyclovir cream has eventually moved the blisters to my body
where despite using it on every blister, the problem remains. We also tried a
short course of an antibiotic in the hope that the cold would disappeared and
with it the herpes. This appeared to have worked but as soon as the antibiotic
course was finished, my cold returned and the herpes problema re-occurred.
The
blisters seemed to move down the front of my body until just below my chest, then
it switched to my back and has gradually worked upwards towards my head. My
belly button also requires cream to keep it free from blisters – as does my
left nostril. I keep on applying the Aciclovir cream and my wife pricks and
removes the fluid from the blister son my back. After several tubes of
Aciclovir cream (6 in all), I am still uncertain whether we are making
progress. The herpes now feels as it is in my hair.
I feel more lethargic and much colder than usual, the cold has recently become heavier
and when the blisters appear I tend to have a sore throat, but I am unsure how much
of this is due to old age and how much to the herpes infection. For the first
time in my life my gums are feeling tender and sore.
While it
is tiresome and annoying herpes is a problem I can live with but prefer to be
without. I understand that it may recur but I would welcome a clear period for
a time. Can you help me?
Thanks”
Al final copiaba los resultados de unas serologías
para herpes, que eran positivas para el anticuerpo IgG del virus herpes tipo II
y el resto negativas.
Con la certeza de que aquello no sonaba para nada a
clínica de herpes y con gran curiosidad por conocer a una persona tan meticulosa,
le contesté de forma escueta lo más razonable:
“I need to
see you.”
El día que apareció en la consulta… (Continuará)
