Monday, December 8, 2008

Hospital Visit Number 2 & 3

During the winter months of the year I have a recurring problem. This problem involves the excessive perspiration of my feet. The problem is bad to the point that by the end of the day my feet are drenched with perspiration. You can imagine the odor that accompanies this problem.

I've been trying all sorts of antics to remedy the problem. I've applied baby powder to my feet. The logic to this is that the powder would absorb the excess sweat that is created by my beautiful, stinky feet. It works to a degree. However, it doesn't complete the job. The feet still stink. It's like the Peanuts character Pigpen. An odor that is unavoidably recognizable.

On the second day of my hospital visit. I was nervous about my soggy socks and odor. As the first visit but it seemed to be worse. Maybe I didn't go home the night before. This type of thing happens even on work days. Drinking whiskey in Korea is a Marathon of longevity. It's fun too. And when it's time to start heading back home you might find yourself holding some ladies hand. Where you end up at night is discovered the next morning as your stretching out of bed to get ready for work. I'm pretty sure that wasn't the reason though.

It made for an embarrassing moment. Your feet are bare and the Doctor is poking his little needles into you. The entire time that lingering smell manifests itself. I wonder if they have some sort of acupuncture for excessive sweat from the feet?

The Doctor is done with his poking. A stream of different nurses are in and out of the curtain room around my unfortunately small and uncomfortable bed. I feel bad that they have to smell my feet odor. It makes me very, very self conscience.

That night (Thursday) I went out to my regular hole in the wall spot for drinking and socializing. It's quite the spot the "1950's Western Bar". When I first started dropping into the spot back in April of 2007, it was the music that drew me in. I literally lived about 7 minutes away from the place that's elevator time included. Needless to say, it became my favorite spot to sit down and socialize. The people there are the sort that finds solace and comfort in whatever way they know how. Mainly solace and comfort is found in a bottle with this crowd. Sure, there are always exceptions.

When you frequent a place over a period of time you begin to see patterns. These patterns, social or otherwise makes an interesting impact onto our psyche. It allows us to let down our guard. In many respects it allows for contact with the outside world from our own. I made many friends and so it's always nice to visit 1950's Western Bar even when I live an 8 Dollar cab ride away now.

I didn't make it home that Thursday night.

Friday morning, I stretched out of bed washed up and headed to the subway station with my friend who's place I crashed at for the night. She was heading to work as was I.

I'm not completely sure why the hospital insisted that I have three visits or sessions. When I asked about having to come for the third one the receptionist laughed.

In a slightly broken Korean Grammar, "Do I really have to come tomorrow? My ankle doesn't hurt any more. I can walk on it now".

Now the problem was climaxing. I have the same smelly socks on and my feet aren't particularly doing so well. A spot opened up later in the afternoon for me to slip out to the hospital and back before teaching my last class for post kindergarten reading (An after school program for kindergarten graduates... Ha).

I quickly grabbed some baby powder found in the teachers office a few days earlier. Most of the teachers were in class teaching. I powdered up my feet. Boy were they soaked. It's crazy that it's being said here but seriously.

I had two options. Eat free food left over from lunch or go to the hospital and pay $10 to be poked with needles. Lunch was great by the way... meatballs with rice and some fried potatoes with little slices of ham. The choice was obvious, right. That's exactly what I did. Free food.

There was no third visit to the hospital. Maneuvering around is not at all uncomfortable. Things are looking up.

5 comments:

Alexandra MacVean said...

So sorry to hear of your struggles with your feet. I wish I had a magic remedy to suggest...hmm...I'll ask around.

You made me chuckle from your last paragraphy...free food or needles. For me...I will ALWAYS choose something else other than needles. :P

The Geeky Quill said...

Yeah, I'd pick the free food too.

My daughter had foot odor problems. (She'd kill me if she knew I was talking about it.) She started using Nourish Spa Shampoo over her whole body. The foot odor went away. Who knew?

It's from Trader Joes, so I have no idea if you'd be able to get it.

C Woods said...

Several suggestions:

Have you tried antiperspirant on your feet? In Larry McMurtry's "Texasville" Carla applied antiperspirant under her boobs to prevent sweating there. If it works under your arms, why not on your feet? If it's not strong enough to prevent perspiration, maybe an underarm deodorant would reduce the odor. In the U.S. you can buy "odor eater" shoe inserts; not sure if they would be available in Korea.

How about wearing 2 pair of socks to absorb the perspiration? Or keeping several pair of clean socks in your desk, briefcase, or jacket pocket to change throughout the day?

Try sprinkling your socks with a bit of aftershave. When your feet sweat they might smell like a manly cologne instead of sweat.

C Woods said...

Perspiration-wise, we are exact opposites. When I get hot, my head sweats and my hair gets wet. Sweat rolls down my forehead, so I need to wear a sweatband in the summer. Also, my face gets so red that people think I'm about to have a heart attack. When my husband and I return from our daily brisk walk, in summer months he has to remove all of his underwear and clothes because they are soaked with sweat. I just need to stand in front of a fan for a few minutes to cool down my face and head. My clothes are dry. Isn't it interesting how, despite the similarities of all humans, our bodies behave in such diverse ways?

b. luis grey said...

Yes, it is very interesting how individuals respond to food and outside influences (physical & socially) differently. It definitely makes each one of us unique.