Chiggers are no fun.

26 April 2012

So it turns out that while I was in Scotland, I was bitten by chiggers or something very similar. After I went up Carlton Hill, I took a nap in the grass while listening to the musical practices for Beltane. During, this time, some sort of bug similar to chiggers bit me. I noticed the itch an hour or two later while I was eating a scone in a café, but didn't think much of it.

At this point in the week, it has gotten to epic proportions. I have bites all over my arms, neck, and lower back. They are nearly unbearably itchy and incredibly large. I mean some of these bites have gotten so swollen they are bigger than quarters. I went to the pharmacy early this week, but whatever they gave me didn't do much.

Pharmacies are a little different here in Spain than they are in the United States. In fact, I think that the United States is maybe one of the few places in the world that is not set up like the pharmacies in Spain.

Here, when you go to the pharmacy, you typically talk to the pharmacist about your symptoms and you take what they give you. It's not like in the States where you just pick up whatever you need. This is both a good and bad thing. It's good because the pharmacists usually know a lot and can give you exactly what you need based on your symptoms. However, it's also a drag when you want to do something in the least embarrassing way possible.

For example, my picaduras (bites) were looking pretty terrible. All the kids at school were asking me what was wrong with me. They asked me:
Qué te ha pasado?
Some insects bit (bite gesture) me.
Te pican mucho?
Yes, they are super itchy (mime scratching)!

During my planning period, I sneaked out of school (because I was too embarrassed to have the other teachers see me) to go to the pharmacy. Once there, I asked for a cream with hydro-cortisone. The pharmacist asked me what I wanted it for--since I guess they don't sell hydro-cortisone creams here without some valid reason. As explanation, I showed her my arm and she gasped. She turned around, grabbed a cream, and assured me that the cream would start working right away.

I wasn't sure if I should be proud or scared that I surprised the pharmacist. I'm quite certain that they see just about everything there is to see. So I'm not sure it's good if it's something they've never seen...

Unfortunately (or fortunately), I didn't take a picture of the bites at this stage. I'm not sure that I want to remember quite how bad my arms, neck, and lower back ended up.

Lesson learned. Don't sleep in the grass.