Slip Me Some Skin

A few days after arriving in Portugal, I noticed that I had developed a rash on the underside of my right forearm. There were numerous tiny, bright red bumps that didn´t itch. I shrugged and didn´t really give it much thought. Then, a few days later as I was washing my face, I noticed that it felt rough. I rubbed a bit more and the full horror hit me - my face was covered in a very fine rash. Now, I can live with a rash on the underside of one arm but when something hits my face, I freak. I could think of nothing other than possible causes for the rash and possible cures for the rash. The children popped into the bathroom asking for breakfast and I thought, "Breakfast? Breakfast!? Mama needs a dermatologist stat!" Having sensitive skin and having passed the gene for this onto our children, I always travel with my assortment of topicals - lotions, anti-fungal cream, hydrocortisone cream, antibiotic ointment, zit cream. I bring them all. I just couldn´t figure out which of these would be most appropriate for my entire face, neck and ears. Yeah, you read that right. Ears. I opted for nothing at first, thinking that I must first determine the cause of the rash before treating it. Then, when it worsened, I decided that it was simply extreme dryness and tried Eucerin. It did not improve. Then, I decided it was dryness brought on by the sun and the salt. My mother-in-law gave me some type of special sensitive skin lotion that smells like lemons and she is now my new best friend. As horrifying as my face rash has been to me, I am perfectly willing to admit that it is not noticeable to anyone else. Still, I know it is there and it is a rash.

I think one face rash is sufficient for a family of four while on vacation. The Gods of Skin must think otherwise because both children have now developed bumps on their faces. What could be better than 3 out of 4 family members having rashes on the most prominent parts of their bodies, you might ask? Well, let me tell you - each person having unique bumps. None of us are similarly rashy. Miguel has a couple of big pink bumps on his face. Zeca has several small red bumps on hers. We have already covered mine in depth. Luisa insists that Miguel has mosquito bites and Zeca has melga bites. Yeah right. Like I am going to believe there are two different biting bugs and each type has selected only one of our children as prey. And melgas? Never heard of them. I think she knows something. I think she knows the real cause of all of this and is keeping me in the dark because she doesn´t think that I can handle the truth. It´s leprosy, isn´t it?