Folliculitis

Folliculitis.

Never heard of it? Well, neither had I. Until Thursday.

Two weeks ago, when Brian and the kids were gone, I was out shopping. It was great to have some time to myself! While in a dressing room, I noticed that the back of my arms were bumpy. Like I'd just gotten the chills, but yet I hadn't. The bumps didn't hurt, so I just assumed that they were from dry skin. Colorado is so dry that if you don't coat your entire body with lotion, you end up with dry skin in the most bizarre of places. I get dry ankles and shoulders. Weird. Later on that day, I noticed that I had the same bumps - skin colored, but raised up - all over my lower legs. That was certainly odd. I mean, no one looks good under the florescent lighting of dressing rooms, but this was ridiculous!

A couple days later I started itching. A lot. It was the bumps, and they had started to spread from my calves to my thighs. I bought some anti-itch cream and Benedryl, and started to question everything in my house that I was using. All my lotions and detergents were tried and true. In fact, I hadn't used any new products in a while! I was at a loss. It got to the point that I wondered if my new sheets were to blame. I'd washed them before using them, but it was the only thing I could pinpoint that was new.

A couple days after that, the bumps were red, inflamed, and itched to the point of madness! I was on so much Benedryl that I wanted to nap all the time. On top of it all, I'd been sick for over a month (catching cold after cold after cold), and now had a sinus infection. So off to the doctor I went. Congestion, bumps and all. The diagnosis? Folliculitis.

Folliculitis is a bacterial infection of the hair follicles. It causes the follicles to swell up, turn red and itch, and sometimes blister and crust over. Lovely. It can start off with something as benign as shaving with a blunt razor, or being in a hot tub. Mine is what's called superficial follicultis, and was likely caused by being in a hot tub (which I was over the spring break), or from being sick and having extra amounts of staphylococcus bacteria on my skin. Not only does it itch, but heat makes it worse. Having a laptop on my lap is excruciating, and makes my skin crawl. Being out in the sunshine makes my skin crawl. It's starting to get warm here, and the intense sun isn't helping! I'm on a two-week course of antibiotics for the folliculitis, and for the sinus infection. It seems to be working. The rash is slowly getting less and less (and no longer spreading), and the sinus are acting more normal. I'm suppose to wear loose clothing for a week, and not shave. I'm in my sweats a lot lately, since it's still too cold to wear a skirt - even a long one that covers my unshaven legs.

I'm ready for this to end at any time. There are many things to be grateful for. This rash isn't on my face, like the last one. My antibiotic round is only two weeks this time, instead of six. I'm glad it's not yet summer. I can still wear long pants without overheating, but the urge to scratch is driving me crazy. Besides taking the antibiotic and some steroids, I'm on copious amounts of Benedryl at night, and am putting on anti-itch cream like lotion. I'm sleeping great, but feel hung-over in the morning. Two cups of coffee isn't making a dent in waking me up, and I don't do more than that. I am seeing relief, but I wish it would come faster. Every time I'm touched, hugged, take a shower, or the wind blows, my skin gets irritated. I'm waiting for the day to come when having my kids on my lap doesn't start a full-blown scratch-fest. It can't come soon enough!