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well, that's a thing
Sep. 1st, 2020 04:06 pmNot really the way to start one's day. Check email before 8am, see "new message from Michigan Medicine", open it "based on extent and location of swelling, I suggest you go to the ER." (sent last night after primary clinic and Urgent Care clinics were closed). So, off I went to the Urgent Care (not going to the ER unless I have to!). Very quick intake (still early), doc actually came in while the nurse was doing vitals. By the time she was done with vitals, we had a plan of care - steroid shot, because the swelling was on neck and chin, moving up side of face, followed by a prednisone taper over the next nine days.
Ji was out wandering in the field/yard and wandered through some poison ivy. He then deposited it on the blanket up by my pillow. Sunday night it was chilly, and I pulled the blanket up, so that the poison ivy was in contact with the underside of my chin. Voila! Contact dermatitis due to plant, even though i didn't come into contact with it. Started to itch/swell around noon, but I didn't really get concerned until after my doctor's office was closed for the day. Did an E-visit for rash/swelling, and two hours later, got the above response. Of course, by then I was done with email for the day, and didn't actually expect to hear from the consulting doc until 9 or 10am.
There were two failures there - usually, there's a towel or spare pillowcase covering that area of the bed, because we know that the critters like to sleep there and they often pick up oils that I'm allergic to, and it was not placed properly on Sunday morning; and I usually don't pull the top blanket up. I sleep under at least one fewer cover than J does, so I usually fold the top layer back and sleep under the sheet and underblanket (which has been protected from critter-born oils by the top blanket). But Sunday night was chilly, even with the window closed and the ceiling fan off.
Shot has already reduced the swelling quite a bit, but now the edges are all prickly and it's so tempting to scratch! (all these steroids will also reduce any remaining inflammation in my shoulder, so there's that.)
Ji was out wandering in the field/yard and wandered through some poison ivy. He then deposited it on the blanket up by my pillow. Sunday night it was chilly, and I pulled the blanket up, so that the poison ivy was in contact with the underside of my chin. Voila! Contact dermatitis due to plant, even though i didn't come into contact with it. Started to itch/swell around noon, but I didn't really get concerned until after my doctor's office was closed for the day. Did an E-visit for rash/swelling, and two hours later, got the above response. Of course, by then I was done with email for the day, and didn't actually expect to hear from the consulting doc until 9 or 10am.
There were two failures there - usually, there's a towel or spare pillowcase covering that area of the bed, because we know that the critters like to sleep there and they often pick up oils that I'm allergic to, and it was not placed properly on Sunday morning; and I usually don't pull the top blanket up. I sleep under at least one fewer cover than J does, so I usually fold the top layer back and sleep under the sheet and underblanket (which has been protected from critter-born oils by the top blanket). But Sunday night was chilly, even with the window closed and the ceiling fan off.
Shot has already reduced the swelling quite a bit, but now the edges are all prickly and it's so tempting to scratch! (all these steroids will also reduce any remaining inflammation in my shoulder, so there's that.)
