I lied, unintentionally -- I'm using L'Oreal Intense for Dark Hair. Yeah, so my natural color is brownish, but I figure if it gives a good bright red to Latina or African-American hair, it might deliver the intense color I want. And the box said it could be used on relaxed hair, and relaxed hair can be awfully fragile, so it shouldn't wreck mine.

And damn, y'all -- it was the REDDEST dye I have ever seen! Nosebleed looking. My super duper kitchen cleaning gloves are stained (couldn't find the friggin' PACK of thin latex gloves I bought 2 months ago for painting and dyeing.

20 minutes and I'll know. I bet the bathtub is gonna look totally Dexterfied!

smonster, the Benadryl cream helps a lot more than the pills for fire ants stings, I've found.

Also soaking your feet in cool water with baking soda in it helps.

Don't have cream but I have some gel. Baking soda not helping, vinegar not helping, tried Nature's Miracle on the premise that it would break down proteins, maybe helped a little? Next up - using a hair dryer to heat up my skin. I'm think I might be getting itchy in other places, but I can't tell if that's just psychosomatic or if I'm starting to have a full-body reaction.

This is what I found, smonster:

First aid for the stings includes:

The natural course is for the site to burn for several hours, then over 24 hours a pustule develops with itching, and over several days if not scratched the lesion will slowly disappear. Scratching can introduce infection and should be cleaned with alcohol. Rarely (0.5%) of patients will have an allergic response immediately or over the first few hours. The symptoms of this are difficulty breathing, light headedness and weakness. If allergic reaction occurs immediate medical attention by calling 911 is indicated.

Thanks, Erin. I found similar info. I don't have bleach or meat tenderizer. The venom is apparently a mix of an alkaloid and a protein, which is why I tried the vingar and Nature's Miracle. I used the hair dryer b/c there are claims that the venom is thermolabile... I think it helped, actually! We'll see what happens. I've also got my feet elevated above my heart.

20 minutes and I'll know. I bet the bathtub is gonna look totally Dexterfied!

My old theory was that if it didn't look like you slaughtered Barney, not enough.

smonster, at the worst of bites I'd do really hot water, alcohol swipe and ice. In addition to topical stuff and Benedryl and ... I am a very allergic person. The hot as easily standable, alcohol swipe and ice did help overwhelm the nerves so they'd reset.

What a mess, smonster! It really is too bad you don't have any Adolph's in the house. When I was stung by a stingray, that was what saved me. Good for bee stings too.

I got your email earlier, but was focused on week-to-come prep. Let's try tomorrow. I'll be in meetings until late afternoon.

I went to the ER at 3am once because of red ant bites. I just couldn't take it any more.

I'm reminded of the Dirty Jobs with Mike Rowe in the Louisiana swamp gathering gator eggs. He gets bit by fire ants and pretty much drops trou on camera, answering the question about what kind of underwear Mike Rowe wears. And then he's hiding behind a truck door applying anti-itch stuff to very delicate areas.

I may have an unhealthy regard for the man in that I truly appreciate the actions of he and his production staff for letting us see that.