Not to freak anyone (or myself) out, but what I had sounds an awful lot like the Mumps (which is a word that, if you say it to yourself enough times, sounds absolutely ridiculous).
I figured this out when I looked at my (still slightly swolen) tongue in the mirror this morning and it looks kinda lumpy along the side. So my stream of consciousness went a little like: hmm… bumps.. bumpy bumps.. bumps bumps mumps… I wonder what mumps looks like…. So I look them up, and find the symptoms. Which include:
– face pain
– swelling of the parotid glands
– fever
– headache
– sore throat
– swelling of the temples or jaw (temporomandibular area)
Thet pretty much describes my experience to a T. Treatment suggestions only offer “get immunized when you’re little” (which I was), and “take anti-inflammatories to reduce pain and fever, and wait it out.” So no trip to the doctor for me. But I’d be interested to know if I actually contracted the mumps.
I suppose I could make a more definitive self-diagnosis if I were a male, since another of the symptoms is accute testicular pain. Yowzah. To any guy friends: hope I didn’t/don’t give it to you!
I had the mumps in my early teens. Holy not-fun, Batman!