Mean Bacteria

After a short period of being down, the Lunar Baby is back online.
Unfortunately, the first 8 months of blogging has been lost and can't be accessed, but I printed it all out for K. while I pondered our re-design.
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It's been a crazy month of health issues surrounding Skin Rashes, namely All Sorts.
What started as a simple case of impetigo in A. has blown into a Major Issue in our household.
A nurse who was treating me recently called it, "The Comedy of Errors."
It is amazing how one Error can lead onward in a trail that when followed can be No Fun for Anyone.
The Error in question is my own doubting of my allergic reaction to Penicillin, which I had back in June while on vacation. But the pharmacist tried to talk me out of my reaction because I wasn't presenting with "Classic Symptoms." Had I changed antibiotics back then, the whole incident would be behind me. But no...I had to listen to a supposed expert telling me that my Experience was Not Possible.
Thus...Seven days later, I entered the Scary World of Anaphylaxis. Apparently, my drug reaction doesn't present until late, termed a "Late Drug Reaction," the allergist said.
So...when the rash gained momentum again...
And feeling rather desperate to be cured, wanting to protect K. and take care of myself, I researched and found that garlic will kill staph and strep: not somewhat but completely. Garlic, when crushed, will kill Most Things. I learned this when I used it against Group B strep in pregnancy (in oil form). I learned this when I didn't even so much as tear in delivery. Garlic oil was a Good Thing. But I didn't want a Good Thing. I wanted a nuclear bacteria bomb.
I decided to Get Serious. If garlic killed strep and staph then surely it would be logical to smear crushed raw garlic all over my infection and then some. I would just crush it up, bandage the particles and juices around my foot and leave it on. This seemed to be Good Practice, according to folks online.
So I did...
What I learned: Garlic is Extremely Powerful and Must Be Used with Caution and Careful Timing. Leaving six cloves of garlic mashed up on a small skin area can and does result in second and third degree burns.
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Other Things I learned:

Garlic burns look kind of EWE-Y. They blister into strong balloons, creating a swishing mass where normal skin once lay. They don't hurt so much as feel weird.
They slosh around if left uncovered.
They are unique. The dermatologist was sort of amazed and took pictures to show his medical students.
It is better to just be open about one's errors and not to judge oneself too harshly.
It is good to share one's experiences with others--even if the experience seems weird or could have you labeled as an idiot.
Accidents like this one can be learning experiences.
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In the end, I STILL have a skin rash that is not gone though it has improved. I should probably go back to the dermatologist, but I am rather exhausted of the long line of doctors and the second antibiotic, which I also apparently was allergic to. The last time I saw the doctor (almost a week ago), he said I was clear of infection and to just Wait and See. I stopped the antibiotic and am waiting and seeing. Unfortunately, new areas have cropped up in a couple spots. I am using--yes garlic but for tiny intervals of time--and a whole host of other things.
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Other Things that I have learned from being sick for 6 weeks:

1) Be flexible. Always be prepared to cancel your plans.
2) Life can still happen when you are sick. You can even go boating and steer sailboats under a starry, clear July canopy of sky.
3) You can actually make yourself worse without intending to.
4) Garlic is a GOD of the plantworld and should be worshipped in churches. It is fearsome, powerful, and effective.
5) Garlic can also, under the right conditions, produce second and third degree burns. Truly! Google this and spread the word! Thus, number #4.
6) Kids are simply the way We All Are Supposed to all be: Free, Dynamic, Engaged in the Moment, truly our Zen teachers.
7) Not being able to snuggle with the people you love is an emotional disability.
8) Sharing towels and soaps is never a good idea.
9) Bleach solves All Things--or at least many--and while I hate the idea of bleach, I am beginning to gain respect for it.
10) K. is an Angel Boy.
11) So is his brother.
12) Above all, one must maintain a good sense of humor.
13) Manuka honey from the Manuka bush of Australia truly does heal wounds and kill bacteria.
14) It can be a good thing to have a cornucopia of herbal remedies. I could open a shop with all the herbal products I have tried for this rash: antibacterial wound cream, homemade comfrey ointment, garlic supplements, super power echinacea, atomic echinacea, olive leaf, vitamin C.
15) Vitamin C is a gift from God and Goddess, and we all should know more about the powers it has. Vitamin C has cured and removed my pregnancy varicose veins, and it definitely helps to ward off Evil Bacteria.
16) Acidopholous does seem to help.
17) A mixture of raw honey, tea tree ointment, and echinacea capsules, broken and put on to the skin, are very helpful against mean bacteria when antibiotics can't be used.
18) Antibiotics truly are a miracle drug, and we all take them for granted. I have been transported back to pre-war times this past month and a half, and it has been Eye Opening.
19) Silver and sulfur combined make a nice cream for burns.
And 20) Don't always believe your doctors. Sometimes, they have no clue, but they don't want to ADMIT that this is so.
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All right, that is my wisdom gained, my perspective shifted. I am definitely not taking as many things for granted because of my rash. It seems a small thing--just a skin rash--but it is a large thing. If K. got it, for example, it would be extra stressful since penicillin allergy runs in the family.
But as a gift resulting from grace, luck, and hypervigilant parenting, K. has not gotten it. I trust that he is not going to. If he didn't get it when I was sneezing and spewing bacteria from my nose (impetigo in my nose) then I think he's safe. The rash even went to my breast, but large investments in gauze, tape, and many many herbal things seem to have kept him safe. Luckily--not to be technical--but my nipple is unaffected, so I just cover up on that side and tend to favor the other one.
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Emerging from this ordeal--and note my word choice here--I have the following to say: I am thankful for my usual good health, more than I can express, and for my precious loved beings with whom I share my particular journey: These boys, hubby included, are good to the core. And that is more than a person can hope for.