Scratch scratch

Suppressing an itch, in my opinion, is one of the most intolerable things in life. It's infinitely worse than suppressing a yawn, or a cough, or even a sneeze. Imagine starting to itch at various parts of your body. You gather your concentration and focus on the most mundane activity you happen to be on to, like twiddling your fingers or twirling your hair, all in the hope that your thoughts (and fingers) will, like a heartless lover, forget the offending itch. However, the itchy itch consumes you and before you know it, you start scratching at the affected area, slowly at first but picking up gusto as you savour the immense pleasure the scratches bring. To me, a scratch is worth every bit of broken skin in return!

Not surprisingly (I seem to be rather prone to insect bites and such), I came back from Yangon last week with what looked like rashes on the back of both my arms. They were helluva itchy, and spread rather quickly to my legs, feet, tummy and middle back. Over the past week, I saw my GP 3 times, some moron at Mount E (more on this later) and a skin specialist. I've been through anti-itch pills that progressed from "not drowsy" to "may cause drowsiness" to "helps sleep". I was administered the anti-lice treatment, which invariably made me feel like some skanky mongrel. I was given an anti-histamine jab, which took 2 days to take effect so over the weekend, I was actually under the fake illusion that the rashes were getting better! And last but not least, I have a handful of topical and oral steroids, which threaten to induce side effects like "rounding out of the face", "wounds that will not heal" and "your skin condition gets worse".

The back of my arms are officially raw and swollen from scratching. Some of the red blobs have turned the colour of pigeon's blood (pretty apt since pigeon's blood rubies originate from Burma). I have some new rash on the back of my thigh and neck. Behind my back, my manager has been asking around if my rashes are contagious. I dare not look strangers in the eye as I am ashamed (haha okay I made this up). I have efficiently purchased 6 identical brand new cotton long-sleeved tops in candy colours from Cotton On to tide me over for the next few weeks.

And I must say they were quite a steal.....Cotton On rocks!