As you may recall in a past post, I went to the CVS MinuteClinic to have earwax removed. I was hearing better, but somehow my mind was like, "just for your own safety, don't sleep on the right ear." I've been waking in the middle of the night, so my sleep cycle has been way off.
My 6 week appointment was due at the PCP and I arrived for my appointment early. He was running good this time, and in between talking about my weight (lost 5 pounds!) I mentioned my ear.
Unlike the NP, who used a WaterPik, my PCP used a giant syringe, which he loaded a warm solution and placed it into my ear canal and flushed it. It was actually a little more painful than the WaterPik, but it actually does a better job. There was only temporary hearing loss, but he discovered a huge plug that the NP couldn't get out.
The PCP had a huge curette that looked like tweezers. He told me to hold still, and then, a rush of air went to my ears. The giant plug was finally out. Now my hearing is 100% better.
I will still use the MinuteClinic when the PCP isn't around.
Showing posts with label Minute Clinic. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Minute Clinic. Show all posts
6/20/2009
In praise of CVS MinuteClinic, or your wax out in a jiffy
This might seem like the grossest thing in the world, but it's also the least harmful healthwise.
Over the past two decades, my love for music has given me occasions of earwax impaction, thanks to headphones and the like. The first time I had it in 1992, my right ear was plugged solid, and when ExpressCare in Hyde Park was still open, I got my ears cleaned out and all I could see was this brownish-yellow plug of hard wax. A thing of beauty - if you're into cerumenical exorcism.
Over the past week, my right ear has been full of wax. I would wake up at 4:30 in the morning, one ear plugged. Today, rather than shelling out $100 to go to the ER, I went to the MinuteClinic over at Porter Square in Cambridge. I actually went there yesterday to check out the joint (not before seeing a bum nearly get run over on Somerville Avenue and enter the CVS on a mission only he understood) but as the Minute Clinic closed at 7, I decided to return today.
I got there around 3:30. I signed in my information at the kiosk, and as there was no one waiting to be served, the very nice Nurse Practitioner took me not 5 seconds later. (If only this could happen at my PCP, who takes me one hour later than scheduled!)
After filling in my health details (and took my pulse and BP) she performed the procedure. She had a device like a WaterPik for the ears and sounded like a Crest SpinBrush. Both ears were plugged pretty good, but the right one was giving me the most trouble.
The left ear went first. After a few seconds of blasting through the thick goo that was my earwax, my left ear was clean. I was, to paraphrase the mighty Kate Jackson, "in the land of CFH (cerumen free hearing)."
The right ear, on the other hand, was more difficult. First, it was irrigated with the WaterPik, then some of the wax was extracted with a curette. Once the curette hit the sensitive part of my ear (to the point where I said "Ouch!") she stopped and gave it another hit with the WaterPik. Then she stopped and said, "there is still a little bit wax is right near the membrane - I don't want to go any further because I might rupture, but you can continue using the ear drops or salie solution to soften it some more. It will likely come out on its own, but come back here if it doesn't." (She laughed when I said, "How come I know a lot more about my ears versus my blood pressure and weight?")
I still feel a little bit of fullness in that ear (about 80% CFH), but with the Similisan Ear Wax relief (which made my earwax removal much more pleasant), I believe she will be correct. Once I lay my ear on the pillow, maybe the fluid/wax will roll right out and I'll get that great rush of air to my ears - that 100% CFH.
The CVS MinuteClinic is a godsend and a convenience that can't be beat. Even if you don't have health insurance (I paid my copayment), the prices for certain situations are far more reasonable than you would have to pay at an ER, although not all situations can be covered at the MinuteClinic. (Have a snakebite? Have a gash? Have H1N1? Not recommended.) It is also much faster to be seen at a MinuteClinic for a minor health situation versus the inconvenience of scheduling an appointment with your PCP to be told, "It'll clear up in a couple of days." And PCP's can't be seen on weekends, after hours, or other inconvenient times unless you're in a life-threatening situation.
It could be why MinuteClinics haven't shown up in Boston - the mayor doesn't want "retail infirmaries" treating people with minor illnesses. This is because MinuteClinics would compete directly with "world class" hospitals and doctors for patients at a much lower cost and would diminish the role of the PCP as the gatekeeper of all health issues. It doesn't make sense for people with minor injuries have to wait for care from their PCP, especially on the weekends, or have to shell out a much higher copay at the ER. The "continuum of care" will still be there; it just took the urgency of the situation and the ambition of the patient to take action.
That is why I made the choice to have my earwax situation taken care of now, rather than waiting two weeks for my PCP to do the same thing and have my ears plug up worse. This is why I had to go to Cambridge to do it, and I'd do it again above Mayor Menino's (and my PCP's) objections. In some cases, the People's Republic of Cambridge does the right thing for its people, even if they're not full time residents.
Over the past two decades, my love for music has given me occasions of earwax impaction, thanks to headphones and the like. The first time I had it in 1992, my right ear was plugged solid, and when ExpressCare in Hyde Park was still open, I got my ears cleaned out and all I could see was this brownish-yellow plug of hard wax. A thing of beauty - if you're into cerumenical exorcism.
Over the past week, my right ear has been full of wax. I would wake up at 4:30 in the morning, one ear plugged. Today, rather than shelling out $100 to go to the ER, I went to the MinuteClinic over at Porter Square in Cambridge. I actually went there yesterday to check out the joint (not before seeing a bum nearly get run over on Somerville Avenue and enter the CVS on a mission only he understood) but as the Minute Clinic closed at 7, I decided to return today.
I got there around 3:30. I signed in my information at the kiosk, and as there was no one waiting to be served, the very nice Nurse Practitioner took me not 5 seconds later. (If only this could happen at my PCP, who takes me one hour later than scheduled!)
After filling in my health details (and took my pulse and BP) she performed the procedure. She had a device like a WaterPik for the ears and sounded like a Crest SpinBrush. Both ears were plugged pretty good, but the right one was giving me the most trouble.
The left ear went first. After a few seconds of blasting through the thick goo that was my earwax, my left ear was clean. I was, to paraphrase the mighty Kate Jackson, "in the land of CFH (cerumen free hearing)."
The right ear, on the other hand, was more difficult. First, it was irrigated with the WaterPik, then some of the wax was extracted with a curette. Once the curette hit the sensitive part of my ear (to the point where I said "Ouch!") she stopped and gave it another hit with the WaterPik. Then she stopped and said, "there is still a little bit wax is right near the membrane - I don't want to go any further because I might rupture, but you can continue using the ear drops or salie solution to soften it some more. It will likely come out on its own, but come back here if it doesn't." (She laughed when I said, "How come I know a lot more about my ears versus my blood pressure and weight?")
I still feel a little bit of fullness in that ear (about 80% CFH), but with the Similisan Ear Wax relief (which made my earwax removal much more pleasant), I believe she will be correct. Once I lay my ear on the pillow, maybe the fluid/wax will roll right out and I'll get that great rush of air to my ears - that 100% CFH.
The CVS MinuteClinic is a godsend and a convenience that can't be beat. Even if you don't have health insurance (I paid my copayment), the prices for certain situations are far more reasonable than you would have to pay at an ER, although not all situations can be covered at the MinuteClinic. (Have a snakebite? Have a gash? Have H1N1? Not recommended.) It is also much faster to be seen at a MinuteClinic for a minor health situation versus the inconvenience of scheduling an appointment with your PCP to be told, "It'll clear up in a couple of days." And PCP's can't be seen on weekends, after hours, or other inconvenient times unless you're in a life-threatening situation.
It could be why MinuteClinics haven't shown up in Boston - the mayor doesn't want "retail infirmaries" treating people with minor illnesses. This is because MinuteClinics would compete directly with "world class" hospitals and doctors for patients at a much lower cost and would diminish the role of the PCP as the gatekeeper of all health issues. It doesn't make sense for people with minor injuries have to wait for care from their PCP, especially on the weekends, or have to shell out a much higher copay at the ER. The "continuum of care" will still be there; it just took the urgency of the situation and the ambition of the patient to take action.
That is why I made the choice to have my earwax situation taken care of now, rather than waiting two weeks for my PCP to do the same thing and have my ears plug up worse. This is why I had to go to Cambridge to do it, and I'd do it again above Mayor Menino's (and my PCP's) objections. In some cases, the People's Republic of Cambridge does the right thing for its people, even if they're not full time residents.
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