About three weeks ago I woke up feeling slightly off. By slightly off I mean that I had a headache from hell, congestion and nausea. I dragged myself to work and was kindly sent home by my boss.

I rested at home, overloaded on vitamin’s and waited to get better – I didn’t. Eventually I was forced to admit my stubborn – anti-doctor – approach had failed. I visited medi-clinic and was put on a course of Anti-biotics. I still didn’t get better. I went back and was put on another course of anti-biotics. Around this point I started to lose some hearing in my right ear. Fantastic! Ok, so it wasn’t so much loss as a constant feeling of being stuffed. Exactly like when you are traveling by air. It did make my overall hearing blunted.

So at this point I got a little worried.

I am generally a very healthy person, despite being a smoker, and don’t usually get sick for longer then two or three days at the most. It wasn’t so much the headaches – which were very painful – as the complete and utter lack of strength in my body. Maybe I was just being a hypochondriac, or as my girlfriend terms it, a “whiny little bitch,” either way I wasn’t happy. I dragged myself to work a few times but found it almost impossible to concentrate.

My work was very understanding through the whole affair. More understanding then I probably deserved considering the short time I have spent with them. I felt extremely guilty about missing work and being generally useless but they never made me feel bad about it.

So how did I get sorted out and what the hell was wrong with me? Basically a very nasty virus. A bad, evil little thing that crept inside of me and mined my bodies resources. The loss of hearing came from a “stunned nerve” in my middle ear; it’s not serious but could still take anything from a few weeks to a few months for it to be completely normal.

Despite visiting a doctor twice and taking a bucket-load of medication I was ‘cured’ by a another doctor. He quickly examined me, stuck me on a course of anti-viral’s and cortisone and explained very simply what was wrong with me. Within in three or four days I feel a hundred times stronger, the headaches are gone and my hearing is returning.

The point I want to make from all this is that South African doctors are far too liberal with the prescribing of antibiotics (and other medications). There is a feeling of “oh well, I’m not exactly sure what’s wrong. Let’s see if a course of antibiotics sorts it out.” This can turn out to be a waste of money and time. Not to mention usual side-effects that come with such a course.

I am not advocating any kind of mistrust in doctors – it is important to trust and respect medical professionals – but it is also important to have an understanding of whether you are just being given medication to see if it sorts you out. The immune system is an incredible thing and will often fight back if given enough time and rest. However, don’t be like me and wait too long to go to a doctor from belief in an invincible immune system and then waste time and money on useless medication.