Seemed like a good idea at the time

I know what I forgot to blog about, and if I don't, I expect Merry will tell everyone anyway! I suppose it's too funny a story (in retrospect) to keep to myself.

Well, I don't ever remember having earache before, but in the middle of the Kessingland week, my ear started to feel very odd and sore. Not really bad, but of course I wondered if it might get worse and I may end up in agony at some point. I couldn't decide whether to go straight to the doctor or not, but decided a 'wait and see' policy would have to do. So there I was, in the middle of a Suffolk field, in a caravan, with all my normal resources (local chemist, doctor, acupuncturist friend, homeopath) a long way away. And then I had a brilliant idea! I had a perfect, anti-bacterial liquid immediately to hand, or perhaps I should say, immediately at boob. It is recommended to apply breastmilk when a baby has a little eye infection (sticky eye), and it really does clear it up. So, breastmilk in the ear seemed like a perfect solution (pun intended!). So I expressed a little into a cup and put a few drops in my ear. I did that one evening, and the following morning, but by the next day things were worse. The ear was quite sore, I couldn't lie on that side, and it had got totally blocked up and I couldn't hear anything with that ear. So I phoned the local doctor's surgery and got an appointment to see the nurse.

I told her all about my symptoms, and then she peered into my ear with her clever ear-inspection thingy (otoscope?). "Oh, you've got a horrible fungal infection in there," she said. "It's all white and damp." Then I remembered. And told her about my attempts at self-medication. She did a perfectly professional job at keeping a straight face, although was clearly nonplussed by this apparently normal-looking stupid weirdo! "I've never heard of it (breastmilk) being anti-bacterial and working against sticky eye," she said. "I'll have to ask my microbiologist friend about that! But even so, the ear is enclosed and warm and probably not a good environment for putting anything into ......" I had to admit she had a point! And felt rather stupid .....

Several conventional antibiotic eardrops later and things are much improved. So remember, potential earth-mothers out there, breastmilk does not cure everything!