At first I thought that they were insect bites since it was damp and the bugs seemed to be out during my walk. Even though they seemed to be increasing I still didn’t connect the dots (excuse the pun, but I couldn’t resist – laughing is far better than crying). Last night however when I looked at my arm, there seemed to be a cluster of them on my one forearm and that’s when it occurred to me. They are not bites, they are hives.

What has caused them? I have no idea. The best we can come up with is the lovely Michigan water. It has an abundance of nickel in it, to which I am allergic. I am sure that there must be chromium in it as well, (to  which I am even more allergic)  although that wasn’t in the lab report I found. At home, we have softened water. The installation of the water softener seemed to coincide with the abatement of the rash and itchiness I had been experiencing. In Michigan, needless to say the water wasn’t softened. For almost a week, we showered in it, brushed our teeth with it (although we started using bottled water) and most likely drank it in various forms such as coffee and lemonade. Could it be a buildup in my system that sparked the hives? It certainly could be. Whatever it is, I wish it would go away.