pulmonologist, and doxycycline

I had telemedicine with my pulmonologist this morning. It transpired that I was supposed to have had bloodwork at the same time as the sputum samples, but neither I nor the Mt. Auburn registration office noticed. So, I'll be doing that next week, when I'm in that part of Cambridge anyhow.

One of the three samples showed some S. aureus, so Dr. Koster prescribed a course of antibiotics. When she asked what antibiotics I should, or shouldn't, be taking, I told her that I've done well with tetracycline, based on which she is prescribing the related doxycycline. I will need to be careful about what I eat when for the next ten days. The list of things to be particularly careful about includes yogurt, which will be inconvenient.

Doxycycline is commonly used to prevent malaria, so the instructions and notes include "avoid being bitten by mosquitos when trying to avoid malaria," followed by advice on how to avoid contact with mosquitos. I am also supposed to minimize exposure to direct sunlight, which will be fairly easy this time of year.

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