Don't Scratch the Itch [or] How I Met the Plague Commonly Known as Hives
Saturday, or three days ago to be precise, my mom and I were working in our backyard. About midway into the three hours that we worked, I felt something bite my left elbow. I figured that it was a mosquito, since I didn't see what bit me. And since mosquito bites don't bother me all that much anymore, I didn't think anything of it.
The next day, my elbow had swollen into this nice big red spot. Because of this, I knew that I was allergic to whatever bit me. So, I made a few guesses. My first one being a big ant, my second, a spider [of some sort]. Immediately, I was able to rule out the ant, since they generally prefer to attack bite your ankles and the lower part of the leg. So, I figured it was more likely to have been a spider. And although it itched a lot, I didn't think anything of it.
Monday or yesterday, whichever you prefer. Anyway, Monday morning, I woke up to find a few small red spots on the back of my hands and wrists, along with a few others located on the upper part of my legs. I wasn't sure what it was, but it wasn't bothering me at the time, so again, I didn't think anything of it. When my parents came home, I had them look at it. That's when my mom noticed that the bumps were not only on my hands and wrists, but all the way up both arms. She found a rash on both my stomache and back. Then, she had my dad look at me, and that's when we realized that the bumps had spread to the entire length of my legs. Then, I began to itch.
Both of my parents thought it might have been hives, so they had me take some dayquil. After dinner, I still had a good number of bumps and some of them were itchy but, I seemed to be doing alright. I played a few card games with my parents, and then walked over to the bathroom mirror to get a look at my stomache. I found it both my stomache and chest were completely covered in bumps. I looked at my back, and it was the same thing. Then I looked at my neck. The front of it seemed to be doing alright but, the sides of my neck were really bad. Particularly the right* side; that one was the worst. *(And by right, I mean left.)
I went back to the living room and asked mom to look at me again. When she saw how bad it had gotten, she called Kaiser's "help line." The nurse immediately made an appointment for me to see a doctor in Urgent Care that night. By this point, I was really scared. I have never had hive in my entire life! Also, I wasn't exactly comfortable with having to sit in a waiting room full of people. While we waited for my name to be called, I could myself shaking, so I opened my book. Unfortunately, I was shaking so much that I had to rest one hand on the book, while the other held the book in my lap. After a few minutes, I noticed that the bumps had grown bigger in size and were accompanied by even more bumps.
My name was called and a nurse led me to a room to take my temperature and blood pressure. My temperature was fine but, my blood pressure was just over 100 and my blood pressure is usually really good. The nurse knew that wasn't right, so he did my other arm, and it measured around 86. When I saw the doctor, he confirmed that it was hives caused by the bug bite and gave me a perscription for an Antihistamine. It's a lot like Benadryl, only a little stronger and I have to take it ever eight hours. So, no driving for me. In fact, the medicine kicked in a few hours ago and the medicine makes me feel a bit tipsy, which might explain why this post may not make much sense. (^^;
And, although it makes me tired, I refuse to go to sleep right now because sleeping throught the day does bad things to me. Not only that, but I want to be awake for most of the day. I like to do things. Anyway, I should stop now before I embarrass myself any further.
The next day, my elbow had swollen into this nice big red spot. Because of this, I knew that I was allergic to whatever bit me. So, I made a few guesses. My first one being a big ant, my second, a spider [of some sort]. Immediately, I was able to rule out the ant, since they generally prefer to attack bite your ankles and the lower part of the leg. So, I figured it was more likely to have been a spider. And although it itched a lot, I didn't think anything of it.
Monday or yesterday, whichever you prefer. Anyway, Monday morning, I woke up to find a few small red spots on the back of my hands and wrists, along with a few others located on the upper part of my legs. I wasn't sure what it was, but it wasn't bothering me at the time, so again, I didn't think anything of it. When my parents came home, I had them look at it. That's when my mom noticed that the bumps were not only on my hands and wrists, but all the way up both arms. She found a rash on both my stomache and back. Then, she had my dad look at me, and that's when we realized that the bumps had spread to the entire length of my legs. Then, I began to itch.
Both of my parents thought it might have been hives, so they had me take some dayquil. After dinner, I still had a good number of bumps and some of them were itchy but, I seemed to be doing alright. I played a few card games with my parents, and then walked over to the bathroom mirror to get a look at my stomache. I found it both my stomache and chest were completely covered in bumps. I looked at my back, and it was the same thing. Then I looked at my neck. The front of it seemed to be doing alright but, the sides of my neck were really bad. Particularly the right* side; that one was the worst. *(And by right, I mean left.)
I went back to the living room and asked mom to look at me again. When she saw how bad it had gotten, she called Kaiser's "help line." The nurse immediately made an appointment for me to see a doctor in Urgent Care that night. By this point, I was really scared. I have never had hive in my entire life! Also, I wasn't exactly comfortable with having to sit in a waiting room full of people. While we waited for my name to be called, I could myself shaking, so I opened my book. Unfortunately, I was shaking so much that I had to rest one hand on the book, while the other held the book in my lap. After a few minutes, I noticed that the bumps had grown bigger in size and were accompanied by even more bumps.
My name was called and a nurse led me to a room to take my temperature and blood pressure. My temperature was fine but, my blood pressure was just over 100 and my blood pressure is usually really good. The nurse knew that wasn't right, so he did my other arm, and it measured around 86. When I saw the doctor, he confirmed that it was hives caused by the bug bite and gave me a perscription for an Antihistamine. It's a lot like Benadryl, only a little stronger and I have to take it ever eight hours. So, no driving for me. In fact, the medicine kicked in a few hours ago and the medicine makes me feel a bit tipsy, which might explain why this post may not make much sense. (^^;
And, although it makes me tired, I refuse to go to sleep right now because sleeping throught the day does bad things to me. Not only that, but I want to be awake for most of the day. I like to do things. Anyway, I should stop now before I embarrass myself any further.