The red bumps on my arm first appeared when I got down from attending a fiesta in Bukidnon. They itched a little and gradually spread from my left arm, on my chest and belly to my right arm during the five-day training period and two days in Incubation.
By early Monday morning, I dragged, Wowie, to a nearby community hospital. "Ah! What's this?" exclaimed the doctor as she examined my arms and chest."This is contagious" she informed me."Good thing it hasn't reached your face and eyelids." Wowie, giggled and carefully handed me my phone and wallet, taking care not to make direct contact with my hand.
Based on the doctor's findings, I decided to resign since my skin condition would take a long time to treat and I had to meticulously disinfect my clothes, my bed and everything I touched. Plus, it would be embarassing to ride a jeepney and go to work with weird-looking bumps on my skin.And I might infect someone else. I asked the doctor to make me a medical certificate and write it in medical jargon to conceal the true nature of my skin disease. She wrote:" Scabicidal tissue on the upper anterior thorax and extremities."
The HR manager exclaimed "So sayang! So sayang!(What a waste! What a waste!)" after receiving my medical certificate. I also sent SMS's to my friends all over the Philippines informing them that I had resigned from my job because microscopic insects had invaded my skin. They sent me SMS's in return expressing sympathy, empathy and encouragement.
Kates, the hypochondriac, sent a very enthusiastic response "Scabies?Really?Gross!:-). I read in a medical book somewhere that a mite,like, mother thingy burrows under the skin and lays eggs there causing pus-filled bumps. I thought it's fascinating though. It's so Aliens. You're Sigourney Weaver! Scabies ranks as my favorite skin disease next to psoriasis."
There were two theories on how I got scabies. One, was that I must had gotten it from my seatmate, who was wearing a jacket in the midday heat, on the non-aircon bus going to Bukidnon. Another, was by a decomposing mouse under my bed and the mites abandoned their dead host and migrated on me. One fact was clear, scabies can be acquired anywhere.
The doctor prescribed permethrin lotion, a synthetic derivative of the naturally occuring insecticide pyrethrin, for my scabies and antihistamine tablets to prevent allergic reactions like hay fever and rashes. I confined myself to the couch and warned my relatives not to lie on it. An aunt of mine gave me a bottle of Lysol disinfectant spray so that I could disinfect the bed and the couch. The doctor also advised me to iron all my clothes and to sun my bed everyday.
Having a skin disease was the worst kind. The physical discomfort was only secondary to the social discomfort. My cousins gave me a wide berth and Don Joe(see my list of Friends) kept on asking me in what ways he could be infected with it. It also didn't help that,Janice, started calling me, Kori(short for korekong or scabies). But, I was spared from depression since the side effects of antihistamines were drowsiness, dizziness, blurred vision, tremors, digestive upsets and lack of muscular coordination. So, I spent half of my days passed out on the couch, a male version of Marilyn Monroe as Ana(see my list of Friends) put it.
In Naruto, there's a character called Shino. He had tiny insects, which he used as weapons, living inside his body. Obviously, the inspiration for the creation of the character was scabies.
My mom, concerned about her adorable son, arrived from Ozamiz just in time for my follow-up check-up, which was a week from my first check-up. There were also doubts shared by my mom, aunts and uncle if I really had scabies. They insisted that the red bumps on my skin looked different from the usual appearance of scabies.
During the check-up, the doctor said that my scabies got complications. My bumps now had fungi growing on them, particularly on my belly. I was aghast because I had taken two baths per day and applied generous amounts of permethrin lotion on my skin ever since I was diagnosed. She prescribed an anti-fungal cream.
When we got out of the hospital, my mom said suspiciously "I don't think she knows what she's doing." She has been a nurse in Saudi Arabia for eighteen years so there was a valid basis for her doubts.
"Who's the best skin doctor here?" she asked my relatives when we got home. This was great. I was going to see a top-notch dermatologist. I hastened to dial the number of one of the three clinics owned by the dermatologist and asked for an appointment.
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