Tuesday, June 28, 2011

What I like to call...The Itchies

Andres and I were videochatting last night and he told me to hang on because he had to put his newly-washed sheets on his bed. And that reminded me... of the itchies! Let me tell you, the itchies are NOT fun. Unfortunately, it seems like the itchies are only something that this gringa gets.


You may be asking yourself: what the heck is she talking about?! What are the itchies?! Oh my goodness, the itchies are these red spots that I get when I go to Chile that itch like crazy! I've gotten them the past two times when staying at Andres' house and there are two thoughts of where they come from. The first and more comforting thought is that they are allergies, and possibly allergies to the laundry detergent (which would be on the sheets and why I was reminded of this). The second thought is that they're fleas. That's right, you read it- FLEAS! Please don't think I'm dirty because I might have had fleas. According to other gringas, how they itch and the pattern of the spots look like fleas. But because they go away when I come back to the U.S. and the fact that no one else in his family gets them (I'm the only lucky one) would make it seem like they're not fleas.


The first time I got them, it wasn't so bad. It was only a couple of spots and I could deal with that. But the second time I was in Chile for three weeks, so I had to deal with many spots all over my body itching like crazy for three weeks! I was applying menthol, anti-itch cream and taking benadryl. It didn't really help. And now that I've been reminded of them, what am I going to do if I get them for nine months?! They might drive me crazy. Andres assures me though that we can go to a doctor and figure out what kind of allergy it is (he's convinced it's allergies). That doesn't exactly thrill me however because what if they have to poke me with all those allergens to find out? What's worse: itching all the time or getting poked a bunch?


I guess I'll find out soon enough...

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