What Would You Think?

The other day, I took the girls to the lake to play in the sand.  Keara asked me to check what it was she was feeling under her hair, so I took a look.  What I found was a clump of dried blood.  Strange.  I looked at Avery and she had one too, in about the same spot.  Double strange.  Then I looked at Taryn and she had one too, but on her temple, under her hair.  Triple strange.

I didn't think too much of it until the next morning, when my sister in law came to pick up the girls for a play date and I noticed Avery was dripping blood all along her hairline on her neck, around her ears, and near her side burns.  What the heck!?

 It was SO bizarre.  I had no idea what could be suddenly causing all these sores, but I did know that 30 minutes before this, when she got out of the shower and I did her hair, none of these sores were there.  So what was happening?  What would you think?

I called the pediatrician later in the day because I thought maybe there was some sort of bug infestation going around that many parents were calling about.  Sure enough, there was.  GNATS.  Nasty gnats.  I never knew those little suckers (literally) could work this kind of damage this quickly.  But apparently, they bite and the bleeding starts immediately.  Once it bleeds out a little bit, it stops, clots, and dries.  End of story.  As long as the bites don't get infected, its no big deal.  None of the girls have complained about them itching or hurting and usually, they don't even realize they're there.  It just looks a lot worse than it really is.

I realized that the girls had been playing outside in the yard during those 30 minutes before my SIL picked them up, which would explain the sudden attacks.  I checked the other two girls and sure enough, they had dried blood all thru their hair too.  Avery's show the worst because of her blonde and short hair.  I've counted at least 25 bites.

This afternoon, as we sat down for lunch after the girls helped bring in the groceries, I noticed a gnat in Avery's hair.  I flicked it then squished it.  Blood spurted everywhere so I immediately checked her head.  Sure enough, a little bubble of blood started to appear right where the little bugger had been.

It's been 36 hours since they played in the yard and now Avery's sores look like tons of moles.  Just blood spots all over her head.  At least they aren't scabbing or raised or pussing.  And at least the gnats life cycle is SHORT!  We really want to get outside and play again.