Itchycoo Park

One of the advantages of having a new comfy boot is that it makes my leg generally feel so much better. I even made it through the night, sleeping fairly comfortably. That’s a first for this recovery, and I’m counting it.

But one thing that’s grown into a real issue is the intense itching, both in and around the incisions and along the leg itself. I’ve been able to shove some semi-sharp things down into those ace bandages from time to time (don’t tell my surgeon), but I figured it was time to both pop a hydroxyzine and unwrap this thing and clean it up. I can’t touch the incisions yet, and obviously I haven’t been able to bathe it, but there was nothing but my own procrastination standing between me and unwrapping the top half and doing something about that ace bandage wrap.

And ohhhhh what a glorious feeling that is! Since the entire shin both hurts and itches, I didn’t want to scrub it down. Instead I found some aloe wipes I had bought for the dogs (don’t judge), wiped it down, and slathered it in this amazing heavy foot cream for old people called Flexitol Heel Balm, which I’ve been reading as “Hell Balm” all week, and honestly, that fits too. I’ve found in the past that summer sweating into ace bandages causes this issue, as does super dry winter air, so really, there’s no time of year where a wrapped appendage around a surgical site doesn’t get really angry.

And the histamines are kicking high right now, so if it’s possible to get a prescription for hydroxyzine, I’d recommend it. When paired with Oxy, it apparently “gives it a boost” (my doctor’s words), and when taken alone, it works like Benadryl. I’m just not in the mood to crutch upstairs and actually get the OTC meds when the prescribed one is sitting right next to me. #laziness

Just a few more days until the stitches come out and I can actually wash the whole thing. In the meantime, the “field bath” is doing the heavy lifting today. Dog wipes, old-people foot cream, and a pharmacy-grade antihistamine: recovery glamour at its absolute finest. But the itch is quiet, the shin is soothed, and the countdown to that first real shower is officially on. It might be the most anticipated bathing event of my adult life.