Friday
Moderator
So... an abscessed tooth can become septic (blood infection, very lethal) alarmingly fast. Meaning in hours. Also meaning that’s actually one of those “essential medical” appointments. Not necessarily with a dentist, but at the very least with a GP who can give you some powerful as f*ck antibiotics to either start taking now, and call 911 if/when/as soon as you spike a fever...or to keep on hand to start taking the moment you spike a fever...or whatever other steps/interventions they recommend.
Scary part out of the way?
Most people’s bodies are very very good at encapsulating those übernasty infections (hence they abscess)... and most abscesses can survive for weeks/months before they rupture and infect the surrounding tissue & poison your blood, infecting all of your other organs (sepsis). Most people’s immune systems can also hang tough for at least a few hours, so as long as you don’t ignore a sudden fever? You’ll probably be just fine.
But you really, really, reeeeeeally want to call your doctor and let them know your dentist says you have the worst abscess they’ve ever seen... and now the office is closed... so how do they recommend you proceed?
To leave on a slightly more uplifting note? :woot: My ex had a fairly normal tooth abscess, got it taken care of, and lost 40 pounds. In a week. :banghead: Aaaasrgh! Men! :hilarious: What had happened was that it had such a slooooooow intermittant leak that his lymph system / immune system had been in overdrive for most of the past year, but it was also keeping the infection in check. That beer gut he thought he had? And just couldn’t seem to work off at the gym? Was actually him retaining fluids in that big left side channel the lymphatic system uses In the abdomen. He spent more time in the bathroom than pregnant chick for the next week (every 20 minutes, aall day, every day... and then on the hour every hour at night)... And then walked away from the whole thing all sleek & svelte. :facepalm:
I DO understand the urge to put it off. One of my traumas is around having teeth be shattered, the fragments creating massive infection, and then emergency surgery on them without anesthetic in the field. I don’t do dentistry easily or well. So I really do get it. And it’s still worth calling your doc for their professional opinion/advice about what you should do, next.
Scary part out of the way?
Most people’s bodies are very very good at encapsulating those übernasty infections (hence they abscess)... and most abscesses can survive for weeks/months before they rupture and infect the surrounding tissue & poison your blood, infecting all of your other organs (sepsis). Most people’s immune systems can also hang tough for at least a few hours, so as long as you don’t ignore a sudden fever? You’ll probably be just fine.
But you really, really, reeeeeeally want to call your doctor and let them know your dentist says you have the worst abscess they’ve ever seen... and now the office is closed... so how do they recommend you proceed?
To leave on a slightly more uplifting note? :woot: My ex had a fairly normal tooth abscess, got it taken care of, and lost 40 pounds. In a week. :banghead: Aaaasrgh! Men! :hilarious: What had happened was that it had such a slooooooow intermittant leak that his lymph system / immune system had been in overdrive for most of the past year, but it was also keeping the infection in check. That beer gut he thought he had? And just couldn’t seem to work off at the gym? Was actually him retaining fluids in that big left side channel the lymphatic system uses In the abdomen. He spent more time in the bathroom than pregnant chick for the next week (every 20 minutes, aall day, every day... and then on the hour every hour at night)... And then walked away from the whole thing all sleek & svelte. :facepalm:
I DO understand the urge to put it off. One of my traumas is around having teeth be shattered, the fragments creating massive infection, and then emergency surgery on them without anesthetic in the field. I don’t do dentistry easily or well. So I really do get it. And it’s still worth calling your doc for their professional opinion/advice about what you should do, next.