Eric's Beijing Diary

Well, the infection in my left ear finally cleared up. The one in my right ear is back, though. For some strange reason, the drugstores here in Beijing don't carry the hydrocortisone drops, so I picked up a bottle of the other kind (Ofloxacin). But I decided not to use it. I have been fighting this thing for over two weeks now. Enough is enough. Let the body heal itself naturally. After all, 100 years ago they never took ear drops for an ear infection. Don't even have to go back that far. Cut that century in half. When I was a kid they never gave you medicine for an ear infection. They poured hot butter in your ear. In fact, we didn't even call them "ear infections." I never, never heard that expression when I was a kid. We called them "earaches." You don't hear that word anymore. I heard it a lot, actually, because of my name. But my point is that the terminology has changed as medications have become more available. I certainly believe in medicine, but I am afraid it is getting to be too much of a good thing. We live in an overmedicated world. Anyway, I am back in the crisp, cool air of Beijing, now, so perhaps it will go away.