HIVES!

Yeah, sadly I don't mean that sort of hive. I have had hives nearly everyday for the last week. It took a while for me to figure out that no, the cats don't have fleas, I have not been bitten by 100 mosquitoes, and there are no spiders in my bed. It began slowly, but by Saturday morning I woke up covered head to toe with my skin itching so badly it hurt. I got to work early because I knew there was Benadryl there. I spent the day drugged out, there is a good reason you aren't supposed to take it during the day. I'm glad my shift was 12 hours long, because I wouldn't have been safe to drive! I found it really hard to follow a conversation, it seemed everyone was talking for entirely too long and it was tough to pretend that I was able to follow along.

Yesterday, the hives were gone. But when I was heading to bed, I realized that I was itching again. Sure enough, the hives were back. So off I went to the pharmacy. This is very frustrating, I have never had a reaction like this before. I have gone through all of the usual suspects- laundry soap, shampoo, conditioner. I have now narrowed it down to a body wash, coconut or blueberries. I have a sneaking suspicion that there is something on the blueberries. I've certainly eaten a lot of them when they are in season, but I don't think I've ever bought the imported ones. Maybe a pesticide??

UPDATE: oh crappity crap. Turns out blueberries are on the dirty dozen list. The list of the most highly contaminated foods list. They contain up to 52 chemicals on them and their skin is thin enough that the chemicals get into the fruit and can't be washed off. After reading that, the blueberries are going into the garbage. 52 chemicals? I probably just gave myself cancer.