Dust Mites, Cats, and Mold, Oh My!

It might be hard to see and I should have taken the picture right when I got home, but this is six hours later and my arm is still swollen! I had allergy testing done for the second time in my life and it seems I am still allergic to cats, dust mites, cedar, and mold (and maybe dogs too, but please don't tell my boys).

When I went into the doctor's office, the nurse asked how the test went last time. I was in high school and had plans to head to Galveston that afternoon. When I went in, I put on a gown and laid on a table, face down. They took these plates, covered with small needles filled with serum, and pricked my entire back. The nurse then marked each prick with a purple sharpie. I then waited. And waited, and waited. When the nurse came back into the room, she took note of my allergies, and cleaned my back. When I went to the beach that afternoon, I sported my purple marks like a badge of honor!

Today was different. The nurse said, "oh you had them in your back last time? We aren't going to do that today." She then proceeded to prick each of my arms with six plates, eight needles on each plate. She set a timer, wheeled the TV in from the lounge so that I could watch the inauguration, and left. Within a minute I knew why people usually get them on their backs. They FREAKING itch. If it's in the middle of your back, you can't scratch it. On your forearms that are required to face up for twenty agonizing minutes, you are aware of every passing second while you imagine little bits of the things you are allergic to passing through your veins. Did you know that they test for a reaction for cockroaches? Gross.

After the nurse determined my allergies, she cleaned my arms with cold, delightful alcohol and rubbed some nasty antihistamine all over them. Then the doctor came in, looked at the huge swells on my left arm, and popped me a Claritin redi-tab, which I am extremely thankful for.


Back to adding Zyrtec to my diet, while evaluating if my insurance favors allergy shots. "New Me" update coming this evening.