Bulb Irritation

I went bulb shopping last night and the experience reduced me to a raving lunatic. No, there was no bulb shortage. I didn’t have to fight with other shoppers. I wasn’t even shocked at the price (I had mentally steeled myself). I was brought down by bulb dust, probably from the hyacinths.

I’ve read that hyacinth bulbs can irritate the skin of some people, but I’ve never had a problem handling them before. As I dug through the bins and sorted through the misplaced bags of bulbs, I stirred up a mighty dust cloud. My neck and the underside of my jaw were evidently coated in bulb dust, irritating the tender skin.

The itch quietly began as I finished my selection. Absentmindedly, I rubbed at the sensation, rather than scratching, and compounded the problem as I smeared myself with the irritant. By the time I reached the register, I was going mad with the need to scratch myself raw. I tapped my nails impatiently as the clerk prolonged the transaction ahead of me to chat with a child. I surreptitiously abraded my neck as she scanned my merchandise and filled my bags. I didn’t want to look as if I had some communicable disease. As I walked through the parking lot, my full hands prevented me from finding relief. Once in the car, though, I tossed the bags aside and scratched my neck and jaw with abandon, reveling in the sensation. The itch was so strong that I even checked myself for hives. All I had to show for the experience was a series of angry red stripes from my nails.

By the time I reached home, the itchiness had, thankfully, subsided. I placed my shopping bags on the floor and the cats, as usual, checked out my purchases. Perversely, they seemed intensely interested in the hyacinths and began to rub themselves on the bulbs. I can only imagine how horrible it would be for them to track hyacinth dust onto the couch and into my bed. I immediately moved the bulbs to the refrigerator. When I plant them, I will definitely be wearing gloves. Ten minutes of intense itching was all the warning I needed.