Itchiness

Is that a word? Itchiness. I guess and I think I even spelled it right since spell check didn't correct it.

Two weeks ago Thursday, I played golf over in the Quad Cities. We played 36 holes and only occasionally had to venture into the woods to retrieve a misguided shot.

The following Tuesday, while taking off my socks after softball, I noticed an inflamed ridge on the back of my leg just above the ankle. It was in a straight line and while it may not have been poison ivy, it was definitely something that did not agree with my skin. Two more lines, much smaller in size, appeared a day or two later on my other leg. Then a spot here and a spot there on my legs. I read up on poison ivy and such and it's not contagious or spreadable once you are no longer in contact with the oil from the plant, but it often shows up a week on longer after exposure if you haven't been exposed to it before (I don't remember ever having poison ivy). It also tends to show up in streaks.

Just the other day, a rash appeared on the back of my neck! Well what the heck? I'm sure I didn't have my neck in the woods looking for balls. The culprit for this latest event might not be any plant at all, but instead some new laundry detergent that I decided to try. It's Tide with some kind of bleaching agent. The neck rash appeared after my cleaning lady had come and done the laundry, including washing the bed linens and pillowcases...right where I lay my neck of course. My arms and legs have started to get much smaller bumps, but nothing all that noticeable.

So this morning, before going golfing again, I washed my linens and some clothes in a different detergent and picked up some hydrocortisone to put on both rashes to reduce the itching and swelling. So far so good, but it's quite annoying and I hope it's gone by next week when I'm visiting Joisey Ken!