Torture
For the triathlon that I participated in, you have to have your race number written on your body down both arms and across your thighs, and then have your age written on the back of your calf. So about 6:45 AM on the morning of the tri, I knelt down on one knee in the transition area to do body marking for my friend. I did not look where I was kneeling and evidently put my knee in the path of some very angry fire ants. When I stood up, my knee was covered in brown, squirming, stinging creatures. I shook them off and tried not to swear. Unfortunately, I inherited my mom's sensitivity to fire ants and I swell up something fierce from just a bite or two. As we walked out of the transition area over a dozen welts were already forming. I stopped at a water cooler and doused my leg with ice water and then went in search of the first aid tent. The paramedics were nice enough to give me some oral Benedryl and some liquid squirts of medicine on the bites themselves. The Benedryl kicked in quickly so I was pretty woozy for the actual tri, but I was able to make it through. I've continued taking Benedryl about every six hours since, which has made a significant difference in how my body reacts. Ordinarily, I wouldn't be able to bend my knee at this point (there are over 15 puss-filled bites right now), but with the meds the swelling is minimal. Of course on the bad side, I'm so sleepy. George was nice enough to take a long nap today so I could crash as well.
Here's a picture, for Mom, since she asked. It's surprisingly difficult to take a picture of your own knee.
Comments
Oh no!
That's terrible! I was once in a minor bike wreck out in the middle of nowhere. When I landed in the ditch, I landed on a tree stump that knocked the wind out of me, so I also didn't notice the swarming brown ants as I gasped for breath. Thank god for the padding in bike shorts -- the ants were unable to bite through it, but I did wind up with over 50 bites on the backs of my legs/butt. I too am uber sensitive to insect bites and being that my group was about an hour away from our cars when the crash occurred, I had to RIDE back without the benefit of any meds (thank goodness my bike was ok). My red welts swelled up so much that they actually ran together and I was one big red splotchy mess. I wore nothing but skirts to work for about 2 weeks and doused myself with rubbing alcohol (to dry up the bites) and anti-itch cream on regular intervals, even at the office! Needless to say, I feel your pain ... and itch ;) Hang in there!