On a recent trip to Florida, I had a great visit with my sisters and extended family. There were a couple mornings I had time to myself and did some exploring. The highlights were visiting a cool cemetery (of course), NASA, and the beach. But my fifteen minute walk along the beach turned into a disaster…one I didn’t know about until later that day.
The dunes of Florida are nesting grounds for no see ums scientifically known as biting midges. As the name suggests, these little blood suckers are so tiny, you don’t feel or see them biting you. When you do feel the intense itchiness and look down at the angry red bites all over your legs–you can’t believe it. I stopped counting at thirty on each leg. (Plus a few on my arms and face).
Luckily, one of my nieces had Benadryl insect bite cooling spray for me to use during the day, and I had Benadryl tablets to get me through the night.
It’s a week later and the bright red has faded to pink. I probably have another week to go before they are completely gone. Hopefully the next time I’m tempted to run through the dunes to get to the beautiful beaches of Florida, I will remember what I can’t see can hurt me.
