My ear is swelling for some reason. It's not an infection of the ear canal, but something affecting the cartilage. It hurts like hell and I don't even know what it is yet. I haven't injured it in any way (not that I know of). I suspect it's a bug bite that developed into an allergic reaction. The ear is painful, reddened, puffy. It started out as a small painful spot in one of the upper ear crest crannies, but now it's spread to most of the ear itself. There is also a painful tender bump by the TMJ.

Hurts too much to sleep! I've been up.

Plan for today is to go to the ER and have this checked out before said ear falls off.

::Gaahhh!

Eeeekkkk, i hope it's nothing serious, and you'll feel better soon

Oh that sounds painful!  Hope your better soon! ((((hugs)))

I hope the drugs help heal the infection.  Ear pain is the no fun!  Be careful - you don't want this to get any worse.  

Edited because I don't think durgs will help much - drugs work much better!

Durgs are nice .... and right now, drugs are even more helpful! The antibiotic is really helping with the swelling. and it's been only an hour since I took a hydrocodone but I can actually touch my ear now without causing intense pain.

The only thing that makes me nervous is that the hydrocodone can be addictive for some people.

Patchouli Herb update

Day 1: Just washed my hair with the Patchouli Herb bar. So far so good! It seems a lot less drying than the Carrot Milk & Honey. It's drying at the rate of my CO hair, possibly a teeny bit faster but not by much. This is a good sign. My hair is so silky right now with no frizz. It's as if I'd CO'd. It's technically not a shampoo bar but a soap bar, but the CV soaps are supposed to be milder than their shampoos. And because I've been COing for months now, it would make sense to switch to the mildest soap possible.

2nd day on CVPH. Last night I wet-combed and sock-curled for bed to be consistent with the last experiment. The wet-combing was very smooth and snag-free. My hair feels much better with this bar than when I used the Carrot Milk & Honey. So far, this is the closest I get to CO hair.
Still, the ends are a little drier than usual. I keep thinking it’s the lack of Giovanni. For this wash with Patchouli Herb I did put on a bit of Suave CS on the ends before washing, so maybe the dryness is because of the clarifying nature of Suave CS.
Lost about 20 hairs with CVCMH and 40 hairs with CVPH, from all the lathering, which I found that I couldn’t do very well. It didn’t lather well because I either didn’t have enough water, or was afraid to scrub harder. Other people are lathering wonderfully! I must be doing something wrong.
Anyway, scalp today – no itch.

Quote:


LOL Bikerbraid!  I saw that before you fixed it and laughed!  But, I thought given you're current condition, maybe you were on some durgs for the pain!   

Patchouli Herb

Wash day: For this wash with Patchouli Herb I did put on a bit of Suave CS on the ends before washing, so maybe the dryness is because of the clarifying nature of Suave CS. Lost about 20 hairs with CVCMH and 40 hairs with CVPH, from all the lathering, which I found that I couldn’t do very well. It didn’t lather well because I either didn’t have enough water, or was afraid to scrub harder. Other people are lathering wonderfully! I must be doing something wrong.

2nd Day: 2nd day on CVPH. Last night I wet-combed and sock-curled for bed to be consistent with the last experiment. The wet-combing was very smooth and snag-free. My hair feels much better with this bar than when I used the CVCMH. So far, this is the closest I get to CO hair. Still, the ends are a little drier than usual. I keep thinking it’s the lack of Giovanni. Anyway, scalp today – no itch.

3rd day: forgettable results.

4th day hair. The scalp still feels pretty good. I might have to wet it down a bit, but otherwise I feel okay. The hair feels soft and moisturized, maybe just a tad dry, but much better than with the Carrot bar. Hair got tangled in 30mph winds but I had a lot of fun swishing it around. Okay okay, tailbone hair, NOT good for letting loose in a windstorm. But I detangled gently afterwards and braided it after getting to G's place.

5th day: noticeable amount of grease on the scalp now. My hair is really sectioned. I like how the Patchouli shampoo worked out at first, especially for the scalp, but not how things ended up by the end of the week. Maybe it's because I let it loose in the wind yesterday, that it feels different. Tonight I'll do a wash with a new shampoo bar, hopefully the Pumpkin Spice variety, and see how that works.

Verdict: Slightly more gentle than the Carrot Milk and Honey. However my hair ended up kind of limp and strange after the second day. The scalp was quite happy though. The bar's scent is fantastic. I will put this on the shelf for occasional use.  

Next bar: Chocolate Orange Twist

Hair. Did a wash yesterday with Chocolate Orange Twist. That's worked out so far. I dutch-braided last night for the first time ever, and I kind of wish I'd waited until the hair was suffiently dry because it turned out kind of damp, crispy, strange. It was my first dutch braid but I'm pretty happy with the way it turned out evenness-wise. Except for the left side of the head where the hair wasn't "scooped up and added" properly.

 

Hemlines guide. I'm still working on the visual hemlines guide. 'Tis been a crazy week. So far I think there's enough of each hemline in each of the 3 broad type categories (straight, wavy, curly)

Ear. (TMI) It has been leaking pus for the past week, and it's finally calmed down. I was finally able to sleep on my right side last night.  The antibiotics have been working well, been eating yogurt, been saving the hydrocodone for more necessary times, and the pain has lessened immensely. By the middle of the week, I was able to touch the ear. Now the pain is almost completely gone.

edited to add photos