My skin was infected. Again. I tried to make it disappear with hope and tea tree oil, but it got worse anyway. So, on Friday I caved in and went to go get antibiotics at the walk-in clinic.
I got the same doctor who advised me to "get pregnant" because "it might" make my eczema better. "Well hello!" Dr. Dummy greets me brightly. "You're back. What can I do for you now?" Golly, she makes me feel special.
I explain to her that my eczema is infected again. "Again?" she repeats accusingly, but friendly. How does one retaliate to that tone?
"Well, just so we don't see you back here all the time, I'm going to prescribe Fucidin, which is an antibiotic cream." Guess she likes to see me as much as I like to see her.
I sigh. I think for a moment and ask tentatively, "Remember, last time I was here, you were going to prescribe Prednisone?"
"Yes?" Dr. Dummy nods without looking up.
"Well, I had Eczema Herpiticum in August and I feel a cold sore coming on. I was thinking that.."
"You want to do a short course of Prednisone to clear up your skin quickly for the holidays?" She finishes for me, abruptly.
She's not exactly right. I actually have a job interview on Tuesday and I really don't want to get Eczema Herpeticum again, ever. I figure I can clear up my eczema quickly, and hopefully, EH won't come a knockin' on my door. If I do start to break out into EH, my back up plan is to take my prescription of Valtrex, which is expensive.
Prednisone is a strong oral steroid. It works quickly. I know she only wants to give me the Fucidin, but I back my request up with reason. "I don't have a drug plan right now and I know Prednisone is cheap. Can I have that and the oral antibiotics this time?" She looks at me. I add, "I can take a prescription of Fucidin too and just fill it when I need it later."
She writes the prescriptions for the oral antibiotoic, Prednisone and Fucidin. It wasn't too hard to convince her at all. I don't feel completely right for some reason. It was too easy. She never once examined my skin. It's almost like she really didn't care, as long as I got better somehow, and wasn't in her office all the time.
As for my part in this dirty, little exchange? What can I tell you? Sometimes, price has more to do with my choice of self-care than anything else.
