Allergies and Camp Adventures

I know I’ve been absent the past few weeks, but believe me, it has been a very hell-ish month. To begin, we moved out of The Palace. The move was okay- although I am sure Jack thought it was never-ending as I moved carload after carload to his basement. The last few weeks in the Palace were unpleasant to say the least, but I truly hope we are all happier at our new homes. My best friends and I (plus our two cats) moved in on June 1 to a gorgeous, family-oriented neighborhood. We really love it. The house is adorable, with pink accents and an open concept. Our yard is quite large, with a fire pit in the backyard and enough space for a garden- which will be planted in the next week I hope. And we have trail access to Chester Park, complete with a river and lots of wonderful hikes. I truly love it.

However, on the day of move-in, I found myself speckled with hives. A very odd experience for me since I have no allergies and have never reacted to anything, even poison ivy, on my skin. Alas, I went to urgent care. And had an absolutely HORRIBLE experience. I met with a man over Zoom, and he did not look at my skin once or listen to anything I said. My concerns were waived, and he prescribed a topical cream that would definitely not last me 2 days, less I bathe in it. I was so frustrated by this experience that I left the room crying.. To which the sweetest nurse let me see an in-person doctor. This one was a bit better, wanting to get to the root of the problem, but eventually, she sent me home with Prednisone and a sympathetic look. The next morning went okay- still some hives but not enough to keep me home. I went to work as normal and came home late, took a shower, and cried some more because I still had hives all over my body.

Around 1:30 am that night, I couldn’t sleep; my face felt tight and warm. As I looked in the mirror, I was upset to find that my entire face and neck were “hived out.” My roommate drove me to the ER and after hours we were finally seen. This doctor was the most detective-like of them all. He deduced it to be my body wash- which made the most sense since I was most irritated in spots I really scrubbed (underarms, back of the knee, neck…). I have used this body wash before, but it was a medicated one and I’m sure it expired, so the frequency of use was too much. I went home on Benadryl and called into work the next day. A couple of days later, I was still covered in hives. Nothing was helping- not even Benadryl.

I went in to see a new doctor- the one who is now my primary care provider up in Duluth. She put me on a variety of meds, including steroids, H2 blockers, and antihistamines. These helped dramatically over the next couple of days, and I had a follow-up appointment with her right before coming to camp- where I am for the rest of the week. Except, yesterday I awoke to more hives. All over my legs. I went home and showered, washed all my clothing and bedding, and slept soundly. This morning, my hands and feet were swollen and covered with red-welt-looking hives. I put on compression socks and iced them before heading up to camp again. I made it to flags and about halfway through our flag ceremony, I felt like I was going to faint. Suddenly the trees were spinning, my face went white, and I felt like I wanted to throw up. Two of the other staffers walked me inside and I laid down with a wet cloth on my forehead and drank my electrolytes while eating craisins. I feel a little better now, but my body does not feel like my own. I don’t know why it’s so upset with me, but I do hope we can figure it out. Soon!

So, if you’ve read this far and can relate or have advice, I’m all ears. I want this phase to be over..

xx

-Beka