Scratch that.

We may have an answer, a horrible, dirty answer that is ewwwwwww but ahhhhhh if it is true.
SCABIES. Ack. Incubation period of 4-6 weeks, which means that right when I was cleaning this house, the female mites began to burrow and lay their eggs under my skin, ready to hatch and eat me alive right now. Dear Lord.
When I was headed to the Dr this morning after a night ( apologies for mental pictures about to be conjured) of leaning against a table, wearing nothing but big old ladies knickers and some throbbing welts ( ha ha that should send some interesting googlers my way) and howling in pain and frustration, I prayed that somehow this lovely caring Doctor of mine would know what to do to help me.
We sat for the longest time and we went over and over the steroids, do and don'ts and shouldn'ts and pros. We worked out the maximum amount of piriton I can take ( an extra tablet in the middle of the night , whoohoo) and my heart was sinking, I sat with the miserable thought that she wasn't going to be able to help me. As I was leaving she looked up and said " I wonder if it could be an infestation of scabies?" and DING!! I knew it was.
I was SO excited because as awful as it is, I know that the treatment is so simple and it WORKS. The only 'if' we have is the fact that very rarely do the scabies affect the head or face and my head AND face have been affected, my poor face. If I wasn't so miserable about how I look usually I would have taken pictures of my swollen face this morning, itchy and swollen but not angry and red like the rest of my body.
I came home and had a bath, slathered the lotion on ( ahhhhh so cool and soothing) I stripped my bed ( again) right down to the mattress, feather pillow top taken with the duvet to be cleaned and mites killed ( £22) new pillows bought ( £11) sheets, pillow cases, covers, blankets all boiled and cleaned.
I had scabies once before and although it never got anywhere near this level, I remember the itching was the same, that awful boiling and needle like itch. Starting on hands and feet, working it's way to the trunk and always worse at night and when hot, bathing and sleeping are times when the itching is at it's most painful.
I have felt better all afternoon, the itching is coming on now ( 6.15pm) but I am told that the itching can continue for 2 weeks even though the mites are killed almost immediately.
I called the council, they called environmental health. Landlady is going to be in trouble and that scares me, although all this helps our case in getting rehoused. I just so hate trouble, I loathe confrontation. I have to come up with a plan that will legally cover us, she said stay here rent free, that could backfire. I need to come up with a way of having her say she has refunded us the rent to cover expenses met during the moves.
This has cost us so dearly, both financially and emotionally, don't even start on physically. I am done. I know that I cannot deal with one more issue to do with this moving situation. I need that holiday. It can't come quickly enough, if I could wake up tomorrow and be in the sunshine, in the clean hotel being waited on and enjoying recreation and FUN, I would go in a heartbeat.
I am fast developing a cleanliness obsession, always a bit freaky on the clean front I had managed to let go and see that there is more to life than a shiny skirting board. Now I find myself squirting and scrubbing and checking to see if everything is clean and not germ laden and filthy or stinky. I am so tired.
I hope that tonight is more comfortable, if I can manage to see even a tiny improvement I will be happy. I just can't stand the thought of no end in sight.
I think the end IS in sight, thank goodness.