Itch

My feet, bug bites strung like itchy red pearls across the arches, on the sole, and nestled into the spaces between my toes, throb with the inflammation that comes from being bitten.

Oral Benadryl, gel Benadryl, and a topical spray aren't enough to shut down the fiery burn that rises like steam from hot tea, hanging in a hazy cloud around the floor.

There are neither shoes nor sitting positions that make this any more bearable, even pricking each bite with a needle (all 37 of them) and then sealing them with ammonia did not work.

An oatmeal bath is the last resort as it will relieve the urge to claw and crack skin, to scratch until blood proves there is something inside me besides pain, but that is only a temporary fix.

The only thing to do in cases like this is to wait.  To go through the motions that promise relief and believe that relief will in fact come.