I have definitely learned my lesson.
I don't think I'd ever encountered poison ivy before. I'd heard the saying, "leaves of three let them be" but it wasn't until after pulling out a few weeds along the border of our property,
with my bare hands, that I realized my mistake. I immediately ran inside to wash up but it was too late.
At first, the rash was just on my lower legs. After a couple days with no improvement (in fact, it was getting worse), I went to the doctor, who gave me
Prednisone to help clear it up. After four days the medicine was gone but I wasn't feeling any better. The itching was driving me crazy and nothing was helping. All of a sudden I started to itch ALL OVER and I couldn't keep myself from scratching. I wanted to crawl out of my skin.
When I woke up the next morning, my
entire body was covered in a rash - arms, chest, stomach, back. I tried to stay calm. I took a cool shower, slathered on some lotion, and tried to do as little as possible.
Inevitably, I started to get antsy, so I wandered into the kitchen and turned my attention to chili.
My
Rancho Gordo order had arrived recently and I was eager to try the beans I'd heard such good things about.
The chili was good, although I'm not sure a hot/spicy meal was the best idea for my condition.
It's now been a month and I STILL have scars on my legs. I'm never going near poison ivy again.
