The Mouth Opening Story

The weather is sickening hot. As a result, I am down with sorethroat. I just sprained my ankle 2 weeks ago when I fell at the staircase. Oh no, it's really one wave after another before it subsides. While my ankle is recovering quite speedily, I have this new situation to worry about as my KK trip is just one day away. Immediately, I went to see doctor. Found the Indian lady doctor a bit funny.

At the consultation room:

Me: "Morning, doctor."

Doctor: "Morning, what's the problem?"

Me: "I am having sorethroat, since last night."

Doctor: "Come, lie down on the bed and let me check."

I was puzzling, was this neccessary? I am just having sorethroat.

Doctor: "Take a deep breath. Breathe... Breathe... Breathe..."
(she was placing her testoscope on my chest and the back to check here and there)

After completing the check on the bed, we were back to our respective seats and she checked my blood pressure.

Doctor: "Open your mouth and say "ah"."

I followed her instruction.

Doctor: "Why ah? You can't open your mouth big ah? Just open your mouth big and say "ah"."

I was trying to do what she asked. She found it hard to see the condition of my throat or place the thermometer underneath my tongue to meassure the temperature.

Doctor: "Don't move your tongue. No, no, don't move your tongue. Ok, look at me. Just open your mouth like this."

She opened her mouth widely. I looked at it and felt like staring at a big black shark jaw. Ahahaha...

I tried hard to coorporate to fulfill her instruction but I just couldn't open my mouth wide enough and control my tongue which moved unknowingly and caused her difficulty to place the thermometer.

Me: "I can't. It's painful on my right jaw joint."

Doctor: "I notice that you have a problem opening your mouth big."

Me: "Sometimes, when I chew hard food, there's sound at the joint of my right jaw and I feel uncomfortable and slight pain as if it's not properly joint."

Doctor: "Can you put a lot of food in your mouth, like other people eating a big burger?"

Me: "I've never tried that. I just eat with the normal portion of food in my mouth."

What's the definition of normal portion when it comes to this case? I wonder...

Doctor: "Ok, place your fingers at both the joints near your ears. You see ah, when you open your mouth, you can feel the gaps deepening as you open it. Can you feel it?"

Me: "No, I can't. it's painful on my right jaw joint."

Doctor: "No, no, no. Look at me."

She demonstrated how she opened her mouth big and asked me to place my fingers on her jaw joints to feel the gaps deepening as she opened her mouth. I did as asked.

Doctor: "Now, do it again. Can you feel the gap?"

Me: "Yes, I do. On the left joint but not the right joint."

She held her fists, simulating how the upper jaw (maxilla) and the lower jaw (mandible) meet to form the emporomandibular joint (TMJ) and the correct movement when we open our mouth. She also demonstrated creatively how the lower jaw and upper jaw move when they are not properly joint. Hahaha...

Doctor: "Well, there's nothing we can do about this problem."

She then moved her jaw vertically and horizontally continuosly to show me how I should 'exercise' my jaw. Hahaha... like a robot, damn funny.

Doctor: "Do this, ee.. oh..ah... ee...oh.. ah...but don't over do it lah. Maybe you try to practice opening your mouth wide, say 10 times a day."

Me: "Doctor, I am going to KK on Thursday. Can you give me something strong to cure faster? "

Doctor: "I will give you antibiotic for 2 days. Should I give it for 2 days or 5 days? Ok lah, 5 days lah."

I was in the consultation room for about 1/2 hour, with majority of the time spent on having the mouth opening lesson. Tuoi ngiao....

At the dispensary:

Nurse: "Lew Man Lee. This is for sorethroat. This is the antibiotic. This is for fever and this is for cough."

Me: "Huh? I don't have fever and cough, why are you giving me the medicine?"

Nurse went to check with doctor and came back to her "window".

Nurse: "Doctor said, the fever and cough will come soon."

Me:".... what? So, I don't need to take the medicine if I am not having fever or cough, right?"

Nurse: " So you wait lah, take the medicine when you have fever and cough."

Wah, like this also can???

I left the clinic speechless after paying the bill. Yiii.... Where is the lozenges for sorethroat? I went back to the clinic and asked the nurse.

Me: "Why isn't there any lozenges for sorethroat?"

Nurse: "Sorry, we don't have lozenges. You have to go to the pharmacy to buy it yourself."

Tuoi ngiao.... Speechless....

Hell, I was sneezing non-stop after I took my bath at night. There's symptom of having blocked nose soon. Issshhhh.....

Keeping my fingers crossed and pray hard that I have a speedy recovery and will be fit to proceed with my KK trip . I just don't want to miss the white water rafting and mount KK. God bless me.