Benadryl cream hasn't worked for me in the past, and I don't know if we have any oral Benadryl. I'm going to slather some Aquaphor on the affected areas, just to let them heal.

Hope that works, Sheryl. I think your odds are pretty good.

Sparky, glad everyone's okay.

Sarameg, oh ouch ouch I hope the surgeon finds you a fast time to fix this.

I can't sleep bc this new book (that I am not apparently working on at the moment) won't leave me alone and I am mad at the internet.

msbelle, I'm glad you got the paperstuffeurocracy sorted and hope you get everything back.

I find that itchiness decreases if I put a bandage over the itch to keep it from rubbing on everything.

If nothing stops the itch, I often find hitting it with a hairdryer set to the hottest setting or hot water will overwhelm the itch receptors and basically shut them up, at least for a little while. When I had hell's itch after my last sunburn, the only thing that would relieve it was a scalding hot shower.

hippo, mad at the internet because of the book, or are the two not related?

Wow! Sometimes authors will comment in their email when they return an article that they appreciate the editing and think I did a good job, which is nice (and it immediately gets labelled "Kudos" and saved). But the authors I worked with a couple of weeks ago (the ones who described themselves as "meticulous" and wanted to talk to me on the phone) sent an actual snail-mail letter to the managing editor praising the editing on their article, and called me out by name. The managing editor emailed it to all the senior management and me with the subject line "More proof of greatness!".

I may have cried a little bit. That totally made my day.

Wow Steph, that's pretty great.

Steph, that is super awesome!!!

That is simply a delight to read! Well done, Teppy!

Woo hoo, Steph!