Bug Bites Can Be Bad

Last Thursday was a beautiful day, so I ate lunch outside and sat outside after work. At some point in the evening, I received what ended up being quite a bug bite (you'll see why). I first noticed said bug bite when it began to itch. I slathered on my trusty anti-itch gel that I have to have sent to me from overseas (they don't sell it in a gel form in the US. You can, however, get a prescription for it in a liquid suspension). This anti-itch stuff is amazing. It is a gagillion times better than any anti-itch stuff you can buy in the US. I first discovered it on a trip to Italy where I hosted a Suzanne Buffet for the local mosquitoes (thank god I didn't get roman fever, not that I think they still have malaria in Italy), and I've been hooked ever since.

Anyway, I digress. I used the gel, but my neck welt still itched. I used more and went to sleep. The next morning, it itched, but when I scratched it, it sort of hurt. I put more gel on it. Throughout the next day or so, it bothered me. At some point, I scratched it and a sort of crusty center came off. After that it sort of stopped itching. I remember thinking this was odd -- mosquito bites normally don't have crusty centers like say spider bites do, but spider bites don't normally itch. The weekend progressed, and the welt got bigger. By Sunday night there was a red line radiating out of the quarter sized welt on my neck. I now have what I think is a case of what I think is blood poisoning.

I don't know why I never get normal illnesses like, oh say a cold, but I don't. I get weird things like hot tub rash and a fructose malabsorption disorder. I went to the doctor yesterday, and he prescribed an antibiotic that will get rid of everything from "lyme disease and rocky mountain fever to staph or other skin infections." He didn't diagnose me with blood poisoning, but clearly there is some sort of subcutaneous infection. I guess I can just say that I have a neck infection. Lovely.