At Last...

At last I'm able to report that the blisters on my hands have finally cleared up...after a month.

When I wrote about them I initially thought that they'd been caused by some sort of allergic reaction, to pine needles or sap, to bracken spores, or maybe they even ant bites,.

Well, after researching online, and as has been suggested by several people on various internet forums where I post, it seems that I most likely caught a virus in the Peak District, something called the Coxsackievirus, also known as 'hand, foot, and mouth disease.' I experienced all of the symptoms, starting with a fever, aching muscles, shivering, and a chest infection...progressing to blisters appearing on my hands, feet, and buttocks. Although I didn't have any blisters in my mouth or on my face, my oesophagitis acid reflux cough flared up and so I'm assuming I must have had blisters right at the back of my throat where I couldn't see them.

The virus is actually quite difficult to catch, especially as an adult - it's usually very young children who pick up the infection. Thinking back I'm convinced that I caught it when I nicked my left wrist on a gate latch and drew blood - someone who was infectious must have also cut themself  using this gate too, someone who is in regular contact with toddlers.

I'm feeling fine now, and have done so for the last three weeks; my hands and feet burned for the first couple of days...but that's all. The coughing was the worst symptom, lasting for about a week, but I managed to keep on going with my everyday life all throughout this period.