Photo by Deja Williams
So, beautiful people, I’m going to let you all in on a little personal secret. I was recently diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis. Since December of last year I had been having joint pain like no other. Pain would radiate from my knees, my elbows, my ankles, but especially through the joints in my fingers. I have a very high pain tolerance, but the bulging of my joints was so bad that when I even so much as brushed my hands across any surface it would bring me to tears.
That being said, for a while now I’ve been seeing a doctor who prescribed me with medication to help with the inflammation that was causing my hands to swell up like hand shaped balloons. But something kept bothering me about my outrageous symptoms. Nothing added up. Everything essentially came out of nowhere, and no one in my family has chronic joint pain. Plus, I’m athletic and keep myself limber. So what gives?
I started watching what I ate or drank and how often I consumed those things, but I didn’t eat anything that often. I don’t drink sugary drinks like soda and I don’t eat too much bread or anything high in starch or salt either. For a while I was stumped. And then one day I got up to make some tea.
I would use my Keurig for hot water, and I would drink tea at least three to four times a day. I know, it’s a problem. Anyways, so being the soon-to-be nurse that I am, I did some digging. I knew that there was more to this than me just randomly getting sick. I started to ask myself, “when was the last time that I’ve cleaned the thing?” When my answer started to go over seven months I wondered about what that could mean. I rarely used the machine for coffee…so, it couldn’t be that bad…right?
WRONG.
I looked inside the water compartment, and, at first glance, didn’t see anything. I remember thinking to myself that some things require more thought and attention, so I took my phone flashlight and looked inside the water compartment. Honey, there were these little almost translucent floating things in my water. I had a feeling as to what they were but I was in denial. I didn’t want to be honest with myself. But I pulled out Google and asked what that could be in a sad attempt to prove myself wrong. First thing it listed? MOLD.
Y’all. I. Just. About. Died. If the water was starting to mold in the water compartment, then that could only mean that it was really bad in the reservoir where the water is kept nice and warm. So then, disgusted, I looked up, “what are the effects of mold in drinking water” and it listed all of my symptoms. Joint pain, fatigue, headaches and muscle stiffness in the morning. I had been making myself sick slowly for almost a full year, guys. And you very well could be too if you aren’t cleaning your machine properly. Each machine is different by set up, but if you take white vinegar and run it through your system it’ll banish any fungus that’s growing in the machine we all know and love.