If you’ve been following this blog for a bit of time you know that I have been battling with a fierce and terribly severe itch!!! And it is not a virtual itch, but a cosmic itch of grand proportions. (I do tend to exaggerate!)
I’ve tried everything to quell the fire! Finally, I gave in and called the dermatologist to see if she could squeeze me in for an appointment. Luckily they had a cancellation. Now you must understand that my doctor is about sixty miles away… that means two hours of driving through heavy holiday weekend traffic…(I live on the Cape and it promised to be a fabu weekend for tourists, weatherwise)… I really didn’t want to go. I even took a picture of the scars and offered to email it to her, but no… she had to see it in person… so I made the appointment and Friday I headed north.
Well, the mystery is solved. It’s not brain cancer or skin cancer or sclerosis of the liver… though I suppose that’s always a possibility. What I’ve got is a good old case of poison ivy!!! And where did I get it? How did I pick it up? And more importantly how did it show up on my belly? I was NOT rolling around in the evil ivy in the buff — at least I can’t remember doing that… (this is where the sclerosis of the liver kicks in… one too many on a warm autumn night????)
Anyway… I think it had to be the golf ball in the bushes. I was playing a round of golf a couple weeks ago and rammed my tee shot into some deep brush. When I went into the undergrowth to find the ball, I must have touched some evil ivy. And my ball probably had the evil ivy oil on it as well. That nasty stuff never goes away and if you don’t wash it off right away, it spreads… which is why the itchy scars started on my hand, then appeared on my arm and finally on my belly. I must itch at night in my sleep!
It’s all still nasty. And I am using drugs and hydrocordisone to kill the itch. But more importantly I have to clean out my golf bag and toss all the balls and tees that were stored in the pocket that held the evil ivy oil covered ball…
It’s not too too bad… most of my golf balls were lost in the woods during my last round. (I’m playing rotten golf at the moment.) But this episode has taught me a lesson. No more found balls… if it’s in the woods, let it go. And don’t pick up any strays. Who knows where they have been!!!
Remember: Leaves of Three – Let them BE!
Glad the mystery is solved… was beginning to fear you were allergic to Mr. Dewars – HEAVEN FORBID!