Day 133 (6/28): Chiggars

I know some people that have never heard of chiggars. They think they are mythical creatures in the grass. I remember when my stepbrother and girlfriend came down from Minnesota and they thought we were crazy when we talked about getting chiggars. They learned what they were real quick how itchy they can be and that they are indeed real! I think anyone that has grown up in or around Kansas knows how real they are and how you feel like you want to itch your skin off with the bites.

Colton told me right before church on Sunday that there was something wrong with his "privates"  (as he called them).  Can you see where this post is going?  Not a good thing!  I checked out his junk and there was a red irritated area at the base of his "privates". I told him to not think about it and we went on with our day.  About 4pm that day he wanted something done because they didn't feel any better. I told him to try an ice pack. I wasn't really sure what was going on at that point in time. About an hour later he was almost in tears and I checked out his family jewels. They had almost tripled in size from that mornings glance and looked extremely bad. I don't have those parts but it made me hurt.  So off to the ER we went.

He did not want to have the nurses check out anything down there. I reassured them that they had seen plenty of them in their jobs and no need to worry.  Well the nurses thought it was an allergic reaction to bug bites and sent us home with antibiotics and benadryl. He even fell asleep on the way home from all the drugs.

We went and saw his pediatrician the next day and he said it was one of the worse case of chiggars in that area that he had ever seen. He thinks that Colton is allergic to them and especially when they bite in that area! So we are stocking up on bug spray and staying out of overgrown grassy areas in order to protect our future namesake - literally!

Our days have been filled with pills and liquid meds to get Colton better. He's smiling in this picture but he usually isn't smiling when he's gagging down the pills with Gatorade. It has not been a good week!  My advice to all parents is to spray your kids down. The dr. suggested spraying around the waistband and then create a barrier by spraying around each leg where your shorts end.  Good night and don't let the chiggars bite!