THIS HELPS.....SOMETIMES
Florida is a tropical rainforest this year.... it's been pretty much non-stop rainstorms since June 1. I'm not complaining, because the thunder, lightning and intensity of it all is pretty awe-inspiring. Unfortunately, it does result in some standing water...like in the gully in the preserve behind my townhouse. Standing water=mosquitoes. Mosquitoes=bad for Lynne.
I started the battle with bug bites about 3 weeks ago. If I stay on top of them, use strong topicals repeatedly, take Zyrtec during the day and go into the sleep zone with Benadryl at night, I can sometimes fight my way through it. This time, though... I've collected 8 bites on my ankles, and each day my skin becomes a little more of a raging allergy fest. Had to pack it in today when my eyes started watering and my throat got raspy. I'm lucky to have an immunologist as my primary... a prescription topical, a shot of cortisone, and unfortunately, 4 days worth of prednisone should bring me back to the land of the semi-conscious, and wipe out the histamine drama. Prednisone always makes me feel like I aged about 5 years overnight, so I can't wait to be finished. Too wheezy and sneezy to think like a writer, I unearthed a piece from 2005 from Pearlsoup, written in a similar vein:
I'm A Cottage Industry
All right....I've watched this insect bite for about 6 weeks. Got a lot of bug bites when I moved into a new rental house. Turns out the landlord hadn't treated the lawn, so all the neighborhood insects and critters were congregating in my new yard. You couldn't get the mail, wash your car in the driveway, go out with the dog or water the plants without getting bitten.
I'm extremely allergic to bug bites. I've had minor health crises morph into physical catastrophes from the sting of a wasp, an infestation of fleas from the dog, or a spider bite. I carry an epi-kit for those times in my life, when, if bitten, my throat starts to close. Indoors, with the AC is the best place in Florida for me, or right near the gulf, where the bugs don't predominate.
So, since June, the bites went alway with a lot of Waldryl (poor woman's Benadryl) and Aveeno cream to stop the itch. One remains, right above my ankle. It's gone from bad to worse. The swelling started last week, and it's feverish...there's some contact dermitis too....so attractive!
My healthcare plan won't approve Zyrtec (which I've taken for 6 years) because Claritin is available over the counter. Claritin stopped working for me after 8 years of it. So I haven't had any allergy medicine for about a month. Somehow, the doctor has to get involved and wrestle the HMO to the ground to get me the Zyrtec. That, or I pay $71 a month.
So I gave up and went to the doc. That's when I discovered I'm a cottage industry. I have 6 prescriptions, had an EKG, have an appointment for blood work and an echocardiogram. I gotta go to a lab to have an osteoporosis test, and I fought off their urge to send me for a colonoscopy. They signed me up for an online diabetes wellcare plan and another one for blood pressure. I guess I'll be getting a lot of emails from both of those and have to report my blood pressure and sugar weekly. I'm statin-ed, steroid-id, thyroid-id and hypertensively medicated. Holy crap!
They were so busy with the rest of my anatomy, they forgot to ask me how menopause is going. Don't get me started!
I wish they'd find someone else to make their science experiment. All I had was a yucky bug bite. Now I'm a cottage industry.
Guys... I expect to get a few "poor baby"(s) now.
quid
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