Note, that I’m not looking for medical advice, just for the physical process that occurred. And I won’t post a picture. That horror show is between me and my mirror (and my girlfriend).
So I wrestled with the dogs earlier, and one got me on the side with a stray claw. While checking it out, I was shocked to find a mottled rash–nice and dark, almost purple–on my lower back. It starts just below my shoulder blade and it stops exactly at my waistline. I’ve been using a heating pad on my back lately, and I’m pretty certain that’s what caused it.
I showed it to my girlfriend, expecting her to be horrified. Your heating pad she said, totally deadpan and unconcerned. Evidently, she gets them on her arms when she uses her hot rice-bags.
It’s smooth–not prickled like a heat rash–and like I said, it’s mottled. You can use your finger to draw on it, and the parts you touch will stay white for a short while. It’s kinda neat, now that I’m convinced it’s not blood poisoning.
My pad goes up to 160 F, and that’s pretty much where I keep it. My girlfriend’s explanation is that I’m cooking myself slowly, and that sounds like a reasonable explanation. So is that what’s happening? I’m baking the blood vessels? Killing the blood cells?
