I’m sure my sinuses are pretty screwed up. I tend to get sinus infections once or twice a year. So when I get sick (cold or flu), I really have to watch out for sinus infections. Since Christmas, I’ve been fighting off a bad flu. But today, I determined (due to my intimate familiarity with the symptoms) that I had finally sucuumed to a sinus infection.

Since moving from California, I’ve been dreading finding another doctor. My previous doc was awesome and I really miss her!

I picked a doctor out of my work’s provider directory (simply because he’s close to where I live). So far, I’m impressed: his office has lots of interesting medical gadgets that I’ve never seen before:

• A barcode-scanner-like device that takes your temperature by “swiping” across your forehead. Apparently it’s more accurate than the “traditional” ones that the docs stick in your ear?!
• Some kind of “radar” device that checks for ear infections. They stick it in your ear, you hear some buzzing noise, and then it displays some numbers that “trained professionals” can tell whether you’ve got any ear problems.
• A “breathing treatment” device that administers drugs through vaporization. The drugs they gave me supposedly loosens the mucus in my air passages.

This new doctor seemed very knowledgeable, although being a sinus infection “veteran”, I’d already heard all the advice before (saline irrigation, over-the-counter medications raising blood pressure, etc). Although I’ve historically taken Tequin (antibiotics) for my sinus infections, he prescribed me Levaquin (same family was Tequin) which he said had less side effects.

I guess I’m pretty superficial judging doctors by their “bedside manners” and how cool their medical equipment is. My sister (a doctor) tells me that I should be judging doctors by their “cure rate” (how often their diagnosis and treatment is correct). I don’t know… that swiping thermometer was pretty cool!