I still had a few iffy, self-gathered flower seeds from last year, and some maybe even before that. I collect them in a bag and, if I remember to, sow them in the ground, in locations I also tend to forget. Some years ago, I planted flowers in ascribed areas, and when they grew to a certain size, some varmint or other would eat them. I suspected woodchucks, but who knows.
This evening, seeing the plastic bag filled with random seeds, I decided to drop them in the ground, to see what happens, or not. No big deal. I scooped a little soil away by the side of the house and started to cover up the seeds I'd planted. Suddenly, and I mean suddenly, I felt a fiery itching along both my arms and my legs. I had seen no insects or felt no bite or sting. Enough of this.
Back in the house, I splashed cold water on my arms, and then my legs. I couldn't see any sign of bites or even redness. Just itching for no apparent reason. I remembered a cream prescribed by my dermatologist and slathered that on. The itching continued, unabated, still no indication of why. I took an icepack from the freezer and took turns applying it to arms and legs. To no avail. Finally, I found a package of Benadryl Allergy pills. They had expired a few years ago, but I didn't care. After about 30-40 minutes of torture, I could see welts emerge on my arms and the itching continued. I was somewhat relieved to see there was an apparent cause, that it wasn't some invasive systemic event. I tried to evaluate myself to determine if anaphylaxis could be an issue. But I seem to have mostly recovered. Maybe I'll ask my doctor if I should carry an epi-pen. As soon as my doctor is replaced, that is.
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