The Seven Year Itch

Though I have not been itchy for seven years- I have had odd 'bites' and bumps pop up over the last month. I naively thought I was reacting poorly to mosquito bites and as the problem became more evident, my logic deteriorated and I wondered if I had West Nile or something. The weekend I returned from study abroad I ended up with small red itchy welts all over my arms and legs. I had no idea what was going on and though I was in great discomfort, thankfully my face was not affected. After absolutely inhaling a bottle or two of Benadryl and treating topically with Hydrocortisone, I got them under control and the redness and itchiness subsisted. Since then, on an almost weekly basis I have experienced what seem to be overactive mosquito bites, that appear, swell, redden and itch. The aspect that confused me is that I never once saw any bug....and that is because I was not getting bitten.

For a girl that never goes to the Dr, I sucked it up and went to Urgent Care yesterday. I called a nurse line and explained what was going on and she insisted that I come in right away. Had my swollen forearm not been throbbing and freaking me out, I would have hesitated, but I finally realized that I was ignoring something unusual and concerning...guess my Mom was right!!

So for the first time in a long time I had to disrobe from the waist up.....sick. It wasn't actually that bad but I still HATED it! The doctor checked out the two problem areas, diagnosed me with urticaria, wrote me a prescription, and referred me to an Allergy Specialist. BOO. Not only did I have to go to the Drs, but now I have to go to another one and let them prick me and inject weird things into my body to measure how I react. I'm not too happy about that, but despite my disinterest in paying to take care of my body, it would be ridiculous to ignore this so to the Allergy Specialist I go. The best news of all is that my body could simply be reacting to emotional stress...not like I have any of that in my life right now!

As a side note, do not be alarmed. I do not resemble the Elephant man in any way nor am I contagious or impossible to be around. I just have a red itchy welt here or there.