Healed

July 11th, 2007

Saturday morning I woke up with my back covered in what looked like black fly bites. I immediately suspected that some renegade insects had penetrated the defenses of our house and feasted on my flesh while I slept. However, beyond some paranoid swatting at the lone fly I did find buzzing about the kitchen, I forgot the incident. Then Kayla took me up to the Moyie River to kayak. It was a great trip--about an hour and a half from near the border station at Eastport down to the Moyie Crossing picnic area. However, at the end of the float I realized that my legs were covered in welts--just like the "fly" bites I had earlier. I was justly outraged and wondered vaguely if I had contracted some sort of parasite.

Since Saturday it has been like a detective's mystery, trying to sort out the pieces of my new "disease". After several experiments I determined that the welts were caused by an insect, probably wind-borne, which attacked me within minutes of stepping outside the house. Liberal applications of DEET and complete clothing coverage helped, but if there was so much as a button hole not covered and sufficiently sprayed, the little buggers found their way in and began wreaking havoc. Welts sprang up all over my body, wherever the insects found passage.

Monday evening I decided to offer my body up to science in one last-ditched experiment. I would mow the lawn (a two-hour job) with no insect repellant and wearing only shorts and a tee shirt. This was my way of plumbing the depths of the problem, to see how nasty the critters could be. I had also decided that I couldn't stay indoors the rest of the summer, and that this would be my way of standing up to Mother Nature's assaults.

Well, the bugs won that engagement hands down. When I returned to the house my upper body was completely covered in red welts, big bumps the size of quarters merging around smaller bites that wove a tell-tale path from my belt line straight up to my neck. I conceded defeat and called a dermatologist.

Luckily, before I could shell out hundreds of dollars in medical fees, I began reading on the internet to try to self-diagnose. Based on my research, I believe that the culprit is some form of mite (tiny arachnids like chiggers or miniscule ticks). We are all being nibbled on constantly by various mites and other invisible creatures, but my body was having an allergic reaction to either a new pest or an unusual population explosion of the mite. The hives on my skin were my body's overreaction to the mite's nibbling. So, Tuesday morning I bought some strong antihistamine (Claritin), popped a tiny tablet and... was immediately healed. It's actually quite miraculous in my opinion. I go from complete misery to absolutely no sign of welts or bites anywhere, within 24 hours.

It's been like a rebirth. I spent all evening outdoors tonight, soaking up the beautiful summer and enjoying everything with new eyes. Being stuck indoors is akin to a serious disability for me... and I've been spared. I can't express how grateful I am for the miracle of modern medicine.