The land of no milk or honey :(

A quick and useful trip to the doctors this morning because the rash was no better,  in fact probably blotchier than ever around my neck and very tender feeling.  9.30 I arrived at the reception and asked to see a doctor.   The man - possibly a nurse or doctor from the urgencias - gave me an appointment for 1.15 this afternoon.   "Oh,  4 hours time"   thinking that's not too bad at least it's today and I've time to go home and do some stuff  before coming back.   "No,"   he said   "just go down to room 15 and he'll see you now."

Someone was in with the doctor,  another couple then went in,  and then another lady.  Thought to myself, this isn't quite 'he'll see you now' so when that lady came out up I jumped,  went into his office and said  "the man at reception said you'd see me straight away because of this......lifted my hair up away from my neck so he could see the full extent of the redness.

Out he went, sorry Paco, wait a few minutes more, I need to see to this lady.

So I got checked from head to toe,  he listened to my chest and back,  asked general health questions, including do I dye my hair :0  -  what?  no, never, it's naturally blonde -  he looked at the rash with a magnifying glass!  and said it's not a heat rash it's an allergy.

First - an injection to alleviate the discomfort,  more anti-histamines and  cortisone cream twice daily.

Second - diet.  For five days no milk, butter, cheese, yoghurt or cream.  No chocolate.  No fish or shellfish.  No tomatoes.  No honey.

Then I went back to reception for an appointment for the injection from the nurse.  Same as before, but a time of 12.15 but don't worry about that, just go down and she'll see you now.
Actually he came down with me and spoke to the nurse but even so 2 or 3 people went in before me.  And so like the first time, I jumped up a bit quicker that the next lady, said to the nurse that I needed an injection.....ah yes, come in.  Won't be a minute - to everyone still outside.

I was a bit longer than a minute, but that was because she looked at what I'd been prescribed and at my rash and chatted.  I didn't realise how much medical Spanish I knew!

Then down to the farmacia to collect the tablets and cream.  Back home at 11am.

So the next 5 days or so will be interesting.  If it is an allergy, why now after 55 years?  If everything clears up I'll have to start introducing things back into my diet slowly,  1 thing for a couple of days, then something else. Milk will be first, I do enjoy my large milky breakfast coffee.  Or maybe buy some soya milk, as that isn't dairy.  Chocolate I can live without, but the amount of tomatoes we get through in a week!  Pizza sauce, spaghetti bolognaise, chillis,  in sandwiches, on salads......Planning meals will be a bit more of a challenge.

 I've got my fingers crossed that this week will see some improvement.  Actually I'm hoping it will all clear up and leave me as I was.  And at least I can go back out in the sun as I've been avoiding it now for a couple of weeks.