Bitten Again!

Friday, 14 January 2005

This morning, I woke up at 2:30 am because I felt a bite on my finger. It was so itchy it started to hurt and swell. I checked out the mirror, and sure enough, I had also been bitten four times on the face, around my eyes and nose, and a couple times on the neck. Had a hard time going back to sleep because I was so itchy, and I was trying to listen closely for a mosquito buzz to catch the darn thing. But I managed to fall asleep, and woke up at 5:30 am to find that my entire face, neck, and bitten finger were swollen so huge, I am convinced I was not bitten by a mosquito. I got ready for work and showed my friend Aw and some other teachers my swollen head. They all suggested I go to the hospital, and since this was the second time this week this has happened, I decided I might as well. Aw walked me to the hospital, which is right next door to our school. I was the only patient around at 7 am, and the doctor told me it wasn't serious and that I should just put calamine lotion on it and take some allergy medication he prescribed. I already had both, but paid for the medication anyway. For 200 baht ($5), I got a doctor's visit and about 20 tablets of medication. Plus, the school will reimburse me anyway, as they cover basic medical and dental services. The swelling has gone down a bit, as I sweated a lot of it out today, but I still am really itchy from the bites. The workers said they would clean my room, but I am not sure they did. They did wash my sheets though. I hope my not-so-friendly biter stays away tonight, as we have a long day tomorrow meeting new prospective parents, families, and children at our Open House tomorrow.