With all the modesty in the world, I am a good-looking 40 year-old woman. A decade ago, I was a secure young girl severely responsive to the fact that I caused men to turn and gape as I walked. I never had trouble with the opposite sex. I did have a problem warding off protective girlfriends. And even today, 20 years on, I still manage to draw men's interest.

But in the last ten years, nothing is the same. I have been troubled by a vast continual bout of bad breath. This is something that has restrained me incalculably in all aspects of my life. Because I was acutely aware of the problem, I felt my sense of worth push downwards. All my life, I have been faithful to sound oral hygiene, but the bad breath would simply not wither away. In fact, it seemed to worsen over time.

Frantic to heal this trouble, I tried everything. Different toothpastes and mouth washes. I changed my toothbrush every month. I could loose my keys and money, but would never leave home without my mini toothbrush and dental floss. I even chewed on parsley each morning for a time because I was told it was an ancient solution. But no. Nothing helped.

Without Medicare or an alternative health insurance, I was my options were limited. Finally, I joined up all my savings to pay a visit to my dentist. I was diagnosed with gum disease. In fact, my gums are frail and bleed over and over again, which has distressed the development of my teeth, which are weak, yellow and some are even shifting. I am clearly heading towards loosing some teeth. There didn't seem to be a reason for this as it was obvious my oral hygiene tendencies were indeed outstanding. So I was sent for a head scan. My dentist saw there was a fundamental problem there that had to be diagnosed.

The scan clarified the problem was much more troubling than basic gum disease. It showed a surprising lining that extended from my nasal cavity right down to my bronchus. Puzzled, my dentist had me off for a huge amount of tests. With the results back, I was immediately recommended to a specialist.

The diagnosis was incredible. The culprit of my bad breath was nose drops. A full check-up showed that halitosis was the least of my problems. And it all sunk in for me then.

Approximately 10 years ago, I recall being affected by a cold. Nothing special. It was a cold. Just a cold. I took the usual recommendations from the chemist - an aspirin for the headache, drops for the nose, lots of lemon tea and a few hot baths.

But I remember it did take forever to cure. So, I headed for the chemist to get anything stronger, and was recommended to proceed with the nose drops to help me breathe better overnight.

I didn't see, at the time, just how much time had passed. All the cold symptoms withdrew, except the blocked nose. I continued with the nose drops, because I couldn't breathe without their help.

That was 10 years ago. For 10 years, I have been addicted to nose drops. I never went for medical aid to heal my addiction because I never saw this as an addiction. Nose drops! Who would have seen it was so injurious?

All this time, I never supposed so many problems would come of this. But I now saw the guilty party for my heavy head, bags under my eyes and a heavy chest. My throat is regularly filled with mucous, and my lungs don't seem to take in all the air I need. Even climbing a set of stairs has become a test for me. My cardiovascular system has also been affected. Heart failure, or congestive heart failure, is a condition in which the heart won’t pump enough oxygenated blood to meet the requirements of the body's other organs. A heart attack, or myocardial infarction, is also a potential danger.

So, now I am setting up for surgery. Four surgeries, to be precise. With an approximate healing time of 6-9 months. It will also include a huge exercise program of body building, created to strengthen my destroyed muscles and tendons.

I am paying a high price for my ignorance. Had it not been for something as simple as halitosis, I could have paid a heavier one. Bad breath may seem a simple devil that haunts you for bad oral higiene, but it may well be the telltale sign that something much more disturbing is affecting your health. In conclusion, bad breath saved my life.

And to think that all this was the result by just a bout of flu that did not heal as it should.

A huge "Thank you!" goes out to the wonderful sites which helped me research for this article - Medicare system, Cardiovascular Disease, bodybuilding and bad breath cures.