What's teeny-tiny, gets under your skin and makes you miserable? C-H-I-G-G-E-R-S! That's right, folks, I have chiggers. Apparently I need to wear heavy-duty insect repellent whenever I am in the yard for any length of time, and not just at night.
It all started last night, when I took my knee-highs off and saw that my left foot was covered in red bumps. I thought that was odd, but figured I must have brushed against some poison ivy or something. I applied some calamine lotion to the area, put on cotton socks, and went to bed.
This morning, I woke up to find these bumps had spread...to the other foot, up one leg, on my back, and on my butt. I called my unofficial parish nurse, who assured me that I most likely did not have chicken pox (my fear, since I've never had it). She did, however, encourage me to get my bumps looked at by a doctor.
So I drove into downtown Danville, waited at the walk-in clinic for an hour, and emerged with a diagnosis of chiggers and a prescription for a topical cream. I have now applied this cream from head to toe, changed clothes, stripped the bed, and am preparing to wash everything in hot water.
Guess this means I'll have to postpone my plans for a pedicure...
1 comment:
Hey Patti!
Just in case the topical cream doesn't work. When I was at summer camp as a counselor. We dealt with chiggers by putting clear finger nail polish over the bumps. Apparently, chiggers like to burrow. When you put the polish on, it seals them in and "suffocates" them. It's a bit barbaric, but it always worked.
Best wishes in fighting them off :)
They aren't much better in East TN, either.
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