So after my proud post about Digging for Spring, I had a few things pop up that were NOT in my flower beds.

Thursday night I had what looked like a blood blister on my middle finger. It hurt and was really ugly. Hubby squeezed it for me until blood and puss came out. Attractive, right? 😉

Friday night my hands kept going numb. It was like they were constantly falling asleep.

After a restless night of tingly hands, my right forearm began itching and a raised hive covered the entire inside of my right forearm. Tiny bumps followed shortly and my hands ACHED. My knuckle joints were very stiff and felt like they were on fire. My nose itched constantly and my lips were tingling. Something just wasn’t right.

I did what any mom/wife/daughter/friend/teacher, who has too much to do, would do. I took some ibuprofen and Benadryl and went about my business. 

After about two hours the ache in my hands was less and the majority of gigantic hive had gone down.

Next came the itchy bumps inside my elbows. Benadryl gel was my fix for them.

Sunday morning the ache in my hands was back. The bumps on my arms itched with greater urgency and my face and neck began to break out in hives with bumps. It was awesome! (Awesome like a flesh-eating fungus on my face)

More Benadryl. More ibuprofen. I tried to keep cool and calm, but still had too much to do, so I didn’t stay still for long. I am a multi-tasker. I can itch, scratch, swell, and work at the same time.

By Monday, Hubby suggested that I maybe I should get my bumps checked out, after I finished all of the to-do’s we had to do (of course). I told him I would keep pumping in the Benadryl and it would go away eventually.

Tuesday was hotter than the previous days and apparently my bumps did not like the heat. The hives on my face were throbbing. My arms were itching with a vengeance. That stupid blister on middle finger was looking like an angry volcano poking out of my skin. I called the doctor to see if they could fit me in at 1:00 the next day. (I would squeeze in a quick check-up before my hair cut, getting groceries, and picking up kids from school. Like I said, I was too busy for these bumps.)

Those who work in the medical field are saints for putting up with people like me, those that are too busy for their own good. The nurse carefully examined my bumps and assured me it was not serious but the nurse practitioner would be, “Right in.” Nurse Practitioner Amber looked at my ailments, asked a few questions (approximately 378 questions), and gave her diagnosis.

The big, ugly bump on my middle finger was a spider bite.

The horrific hives were a contact reaction to poison sumac. 

1. I had no idea how a spider could have bitten me on the TOP of my middle finger.
2. I had not spent ANY time hugging any poison sumac.
3. I did not have time for these reactions.

So it turns out my biggest problem was that I did not react to my issues. I was allergic to reacting.

My hesitance in getting the hives healed and spider bite seen caused me to have days of discomfort that weren’t completely necessary.

After just one night of taking the steroid antibiotics, my rash was considerably less caustic, my hives had much less height, my spider bite, well it still looked bad, but at least everything else was feeling better.

I guess the moral to this post is: Don’t be allergic to reacting.

If there is something in your life or your health that is hurting you, seek the attention of those who may be able to help you. Don’t be too proud or too busy to ask for assistance. Don’t be too stubborn to admit you need attention. Mostly, put energy into intents that help heal the wounds of daily life and put positive purpose behind your efforts to maintain your healthiest self. (You are too busy not to.) 🙂

By: Melanie A. Peters

P.S. The spider bite probably came from the work gloves worn in my gardening efforts. I am a ding dong and had them stored in the garage.

P.P.S. I have now Googled “poison sumac” images and am ready to identify whatever gave me those heinous hives.