Itchy scratchy

Early last week, emerging from the shower, doing my usual thing of drying off, I came across three interesting, elevated, raised red bumps on my forearm. And these were no mosquito bites. Rather, it looked like an irritation from poison ivy. Being very attuned to the physical state of my body at all times, I immediately began a mental inquiry of places I'd been over the last 3 days. What I came up with was I'd been to school, home, back to school, the library, school again, the liquor store, my job at Oakland, school, and Safeway. These are not likely places one picks up a plant rash so I considered it a freak occurence and went about my day.

Three days later the bumps were still there, in the same condition, and beginning to be a little scratchy.

Friday evening, my roommate Jonathan comes home with a sulking appearance of being in great physical distress. He rolled up his shirt sleeves and immediately my eyes honed in on his wrists and forearms: he was infected too, and by the look of it, in a much worse state than I was in. My instinct for self-preservation immediately kicked in, and I looked at my forearms (still the same) and then started probing Jonathan if he'd been using my hand towel in the bathroom at all. He claimed he didn't.

The next day, Jonathan reports that the poison ivy affliction has spread up his arms and in another more "sensitive" area (zowie) and that he is in immense discomfort. Apparently, his construction job, which is a very sweat-inducing occupation, is the reason why the rash is spreading so profusely. Sweating opens up the pores, the irritation seeps into uninfected skin areas, etc, leading to more hot spots.

While I feel bad for Jonathan, and would like to offer some comfort, I am afraid to get near him. Plus, now I don't want to use any towels in the bathroom until he's better.