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Last Saturday I had the pleasure of taking the boys to Urgent Care to be checked out after being feverish for a few days. For the entire story you can read my post "Mama Called the Doctor and the Doctor Said" on my old blog www.tahoebrowders.blogspot.com.
The diagnosis was an upper respiratory infection for both boys with double ear infections for Sam. We were given a five day dose of antibiotics for each boy especially considering they had been exposed to strep throat while playing with their cousins.
We finished the antibiotics yesterday but Sam continued to put forth a fountain of snot all day yesterday and this morning. And Ben coughed his way through his rest yesterday, through bedtime last night, and for a couple hours after waking this morning. The doctor we saw last Saturday encouraged me to bring the boys back for a follow-up if their symptoms persisted. I figured this was a good choice considering that I had been dealing with a sore throat since Wednesday.
We arrived at Urgent Care within minutes of them opening this morning.

Here's the good news:

Neither of the boys are running fevers.
Sam's ears are no longer infected.
The drainage that is causing Ben's cough and Sam's snot-nostril fountains seems to be mostly allergy related (nothing a little Zyrtec won't cure).
I am not running a fever.
I do not have ear infections.

Here's the bad news:

Because of the continuous feel of snot in his nose, Ben has become a picker....yuck!
Once it's been picked it is often smeared on the nearest shirt (including mine).
Sam's nose is red and nearly cracking where it's been wiped a hundred times in a few days.
No matter how much lotion I put on my hands it doesn't seem to counteract the dryness caused by the never-ending hand washing.
AND, now for the piece de resistance...
I have strep throat.