Relief

It's weird. My legs don't look all that bad. The poison ivy is very mild. The chigger bites I've gotten are bothering me more than the ivy.

Helping in this fight is using better drugs.

For the first time I actually went to a doctor right away. She prescribed a strong steroid based anti-itch cream and also advised me to pick up a over-the-counter foam type cleanser designed for poison ivy contact. It really helps.

A factor for the future is a bug repellant I can leave in my car. I usually use sprays but due to the heat this summer I wasn't willing to risk leaving a pressurized can in my car. Having a DEET 40 pump spray just for the car solves the problem---and will hopefully keep chiggers away and insects too.

Since I'm going to be going tubing down the Dan River this weekend with a local hiking group (apparently we should call it a hiking and floating group now) I'll be able to give the bug spray a try in just a couple of days. Before we do the Dan River we'll be hiking to a few waterfalls around the Hanging Rock area. Temperatures are forecast to be around 90. Should be fun!

Comments

Naquillity said…
i had a terrible bout with chiggers awhile back. they itched something awful. i used some rubbing alcohol and benedryl cream. it helped a little. advil is good for the swelling. glad you were able to get something stronger though. hope it works.

sounds like you've got a great weekend plan in place. don't forget to take lots of pictures to share with us. and be safe. have a great day.

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