TENG TEng Teng teng.................. :)

 I am officially...... MARRIED! :p

 Now I don't feel special anymore after the wedding :( 

 I know, i know.... Women are just so hard to understand right? When single complain no bf, when courting complain no freedom, when going steady complain no diamond ring, when finally get the diamond ring complain not 'big' enough, when married complain people call them Mdm. Ha ha!

 

 

Just my luck!

2009's present to me --- Shingles (Herpes Zoster). The Chinese call it 'sheng she' "生蛇" (growing a snake). Myth is the head of the 'snake' should not be allowed to travel to meet its tail otherwise the patient will die. It is however, untrue, but I do hope none of you ever get it! It is really TORTURING! :(

This is how the culprit looks like, disgusting right?

Anyhow, I have copied and pasted some info on it, and hope it will come in handy to those who might be unlucky enough to be infected by it. I am now recuperating with the help of antiviral medication and some pink ointment. I almost drank the ointment, I thought it was syrup medicine for my fever. Lmao


Reviewed by Dr Dan Rutherford, GP

What is shingles?
Shingles is a painful rash caused by the Varicella zoster virus (Herpes varicellae), which is the virus that causes chickenpox . Shingles occurs in people who have had chickenpox and is a reactivation of the dormant virus. Shingles often occurs many years after the initial chickenpox infection. Shingles is contagious and may itself cause chickenpox. However, contact with a person with shingles or chickenpox cannot cause shingles.

What causes shingles?
After the chickenpox virus has been contracted, it travels from the skin along the nerve paths to the roots of the nerves where it becomes inactive. The chickenpox virus then 'hibernates'. When the virus is reactivated, it travels via the nerve paths to the skin. It is not known what factors trigger a reactivation of the virus. Shingles generally affects the elderly, but occasionally occurs in children who have had chickenpox within the first year of their lives and in people with an immune deficiency.
Shingles can be a sign of immunodeficiency, caused by HIV or chemotherapy, for example, but most people who get shingles have a normal immune system.

What are the symptoms?

• The first sign that a reactivation of the chickenpox virus is taking place is a burning sensation on the nerve paths along which the virus is traveling. Nerve paths typically form half-circles around the body. The pain and subsequent rash correspond to the position of the nerve paths and are almost always on one side of the body or face only.
  
• The rash is typically accompanied by a fever and enlarged lymph nodes.
  
• Two to three days after the pain has begun, a typical rash appears: small blisters on red, swollen skin. It resembles the type that is seen during an attack of chickenpox but covers a smaller area.
  
• The rash usually reaches its peak after three to five days. Then, the blisters burst and turn into sores, which gradually scab over. The scabs fall off after two to three weeks.
  
• In some people, the area where the rash was located becomes extremely painful after the scabs have gone and can last from a few weeks to several months. This highly unpleasant after-effect of shingles is called postherpetic neuralgia.
  

How can it be prevented?
People who have never had chickenpox can reduce the risk of getting the virus by avoiding contact with people with chickenpox and shingles. Shingles itself is not preventable.

How is it diagnosed?
The patient's medical history in combination with the appearance of the rash will usually be sufficient for making a diagnosis. If necessary, a scrape from the blisters can help identify the virus. A blood sample can also be used to confirm the initial diagnosis.
What happens if it gets worse?

• The rash can become infected by bacteria.
  
• An attack of shingles near the eyes, or at the top of the nose can be associated with scarring on the cornea, affecting vision.
  
• Shingles on the face can, in rare cases, lead to a temporary hearing loss, facial paralysis and a reduced sense of taste.
  

Future prospects
Shingles is rarely serious. In about 90 per cent of patients, the attack normally subsides within a month after the appearance of the first symptoms. Most people only have one or two attacks.
Elderly people in particular may continue to feel intense pain, even after the attack seems to have subsided.

What can be done at home?

• Keep the rash uncovered.
  
• Try not to scratch. Use calamine lotion to ease the irritation.
  
• Use simple analgesics such as aspirin or paracetamol to relieve pain.
  

When should a doctor be consulted for more help?

• If the rash involves the eyes or the top of the nose.
  
• The sores have not healed after 10 days.
  
• The patient has a high temperature.
  
• The patient has another serious illness at the same time.
  

What is the treatment?
Although antiviral medicines such as aciclovir (Zovirax tablets/suspension) can be used, they must be started as soon as possible when the burning sensation begins. Once the rash has been present for more than 48 hours, treatment will be of reduced value. The medicine can reduce the duration of the attack and prevent it spreading. Antiviral treatment probably reduces the duration of postherpetic neuralgia.
The doctor may also have to treat additional complications, such as a bacterial infection. If simple analgesics have not been effective, the doctor may prescribe stronger pain-relieving treatment.

Based on a text by Dr Flemming Andersen

Tagged

Leandra tagged me last week (I think) but I was too lazy to blog but I know she'll bug me about it soon so here goes...

The Rules of Tag are:

1. You link the person that tagged you.
2. You post the rules on your blog.
3. You share six non-important things/habits/quirks about yourself.
4. You tag six random people at the end of your post by linking to their blogs.
5. Then, you let each random person know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their website.


Oh, I'm skipping Step 1 and Step 4 cause I don't know how to link my blog to another person's. I'm helpless when it comes to computer stuff. Anyways, my 6 non-important things/habits/quirks are..


1. I am obsessed about keeping things in order/tidy. I even have the urge to tidy other people's stuff and will do so if no one is watching. Lol

2. I have a whole drawer (or should I say room?) full of brand new shoes, clothes, make-up, stationaries, bags etc because I feel "sayang" to use them.

3. I must take a bath no matter how cold or how early it is in the morning or else I will feel icky. No matter how many times I tell myself it's ok, (eg. when I'm in a hurry or sick) I'll only feel better after I take the "untaken" bath.

4. Speaking of baths, the first thing I do when checking in into a hotel room or apartment when traveling is take a bath. This is followed by unpacking. Ha ha.

5. I must drink a cup of Milo kosong in the morning after I have wake up and another cup at night before I go to sleep. BIG baby. Lol

6. I comb my hair before going to sleep. *Sheepish smile*

Ok, I shall tag Lala, Michelle, Ah Ben, Raenai, Dew and May Kee :)

Bon Appetite

OMG OMG OMG!

I still can't believe I actually ate pig's tongue for lunch today. Not the tail, not the intestine, not the ear or any other part but the freaking TOUNGUE! I'm so totally grossed out right now. Blame it on Gab who tricked me into eating it -- he told me it was pig's lean soft meat. I can still feel it inside my throat. I think I'm gonna go puke now.

Stalked

Yesterday evening, Gab and I went to Everise to buy some stuff. I promised to make him fruit salad and to buy him a bath brush to scratch his itchy back. Lol

Anyway, I was paying money at the counter when Gab suddenly said "Ling, you look at that guy over there, he keep on looking at us and following us." So I looked at him, and he looked back at me then looked at Gab then looked down. He was wearing T shirt and short pants, was quite tall and fair. He looked liked one of the workers in Everise so we just ignored him.

The fruits were pretty heavy so we decided to put them in the car first before we continued shopping. When we walked out, he was still following us and pretended to be looking at some vegetables when we back looked at him. While walking back to the car, I kept a lookout for him (you can never be too careful) and saw that he was still watching us from the entrance. Spooked, I held my handbag close to me thinking that maybe this guy wanted to snatch my bag.

Sensing my fear, Gab held my hand tightly and wrapped his arms around my shoulder assuringly. Thank God for boyfriends right? :) Hand in hand, we walked back to Everise to head to Watsons. That weirdo was still "waiting" for us at the entrance. I wanted to avoid him but Gab said not to be afraid of him, so we just walked past him. He didn't appear at Watsons or at the cd shop next door so I thought we were finally safe.

I was so wrong.

I wanted to go to Popular to get liquid paper and whilst waiting for the lift to arrive I saw him again! He pretended to go into the cd shop we just went out of and I quickly went into the lift, anxious to get rid of this disturbing person. At Popular, a friend of mine called (all the way from Russia) and we chatted for a bit. I was very distracted and kept looking around me. Whilst I was paying for my purchase, I saw him again. I gave Gab a distraught look and together we walked out of Popular.

While we were outside waiting for the lift, the guy keep looking at us from the inside. Gab signaled him to come out. He knew then we knew he was following us so he quickly hid inside Popular. It was so obvious that we already knew that he was tailing us since we were at the supermarket and yet he still thought we didn't know. DUH! What a stupid stalker.

The lift took ages to arrive so we finally decided to take the stairs. That was the last we saw of him. I guess this will be the absolute last time I will ever go to Everise alone. *Brr* I mean, what does he want from us? There were other people in Everise as well, why did he choose us?

Gab said that maybe he was my secret admirer. His mum said that maybe I looked like his ex. Or his long lost sister. Ha ha. Very funny. Thanks but no thanks. As if the world is not unsafe enough for us girls. First a pervert that steals my undies, now a stalker. I am so flattered. NOT.

Happy Birthday to Us

On the 13th of October 2008, yours truly turned 24 ;) This year, Gab's mum threw us a nice bbq dinner. (Gab's birthday is also in October) There were lots of delicious food including lamb, (my absolute favourite) 'sam chan bak', chicken wings, taiwan sausages, corn, noodles, fruit salad and 'rojak'. *Drool*

Our birthday cake courtesy of Aunt Angela :)

Apart from all the good food, I was also blessed with lots of birthday presents and 'ang pows', something which I will never outgrow despite growing older each year. Hint hint for those who missed my birthday present this year :p

My pressies :)

Presents aside, I had a real nice time just enjoying the food and the company around me. I am truly blessed to be loved by so many people. Thank you all for being a part of my life :)

My Trip to Brunei

Taking full advantage of the holidays during Raya, yours truly went for a trip to Brunei. It was really good to see my favorite sister again. (the last time we met was during CNY this year) The highlight of the trip was of course my dearest nephew Jerome aka Ah Nong. He just turned 8 months on the 2nd of October.

Look at me Ee ee, I'm a monkey! :p

I was told beforehand that he is very fussy. Luckily I was a hit with him :) After spending 4 days with him, I came to the conclusion that he must be a worm in disguise. Lol He really couldn't stay still for more than 1 minute (he would climb and step on my tummy) and wanted to be carried or to go 'kai-kai', something which I happy obliged to when he wanted me to -- he is very good at manipulating even at this young age. He only looks like an angel when he finally does sleep but will wake up the moment my sister leaves the room. So basically, you have to be in the same room as him even when he sleeps. Wanna have babies? Better think twice! Ha ha...

Ah Nong and I

There was really nothing much to do in Brunei besides playing with my nephew, (I played football with him. If u can call it that --- basically I held him by his arms and swung his legs to kick the ball) watching TV (which I did until my eyes almost bled, Ha ha) and shopping! (eyes open BIG BIG d) I bought lots and lots of imported goods, a bag, and 2 pairs so shoes. The best part is my kind sis paid for all of my purchases. Lucky me right? :p

My cinderella shoes!

Oh, I also managed to eat at Escapade Sushi and it was heavenly. I don't normally like sushi but Escapade Sushi made all their dishes look so appetizing. Too bad I didn't take any pictures cause we were all too hungry to be bothered. I shall remember to take pictures the next trip so we can all drool over them. Lol

All in all my trip to Brunei was an enjoyable one. I am thankful that my sister is happily married and wish she would move back here so I can play with my dear nephew everyday.

Ee ee misses you and mummy very much and will go back very soon to visit you ok? Promise...

HUGS and KISSES!