So last week, my friend invited me to join them for a day out to Coney Island. Naturally with my lets-explore-everything-in-Sg spirit I said yes. Wee! First so-called island trip in Singapore. Without finding out more about the place, I went (totally regretting it now...)
The place was quite a nice place and together with the weather, everything seemed perfect. Here are some pictures from the trip.
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| Would like to try kayaking one day |
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| Cotton-candy clouds |
I'll be writing another post to talk about the scenery and stuff but this post is about
Why you should MAKE FULL PREPARATION before going to Coney Island.
So to be exact, I went there on 6th December around 10am-2pm. I gotta admit I didn't put on any insect repellent (now while I'm writing and still itching, how I wish I could have read more about the place and sprayed myself with full coverage of insect repellent)
4th day- 9 Dec
On 9th Dec, I started to realize that I have red dots/marks on my legs. I thought it was mosquitoes bites so I told myself I must rmb to put on mosquito repellent the next day before I sleep. Few days passed and the bites didn't seem to go away. So I thought:
'Walao, these mosquitoes ah, why sooo poisonous wan? So many days d still cannot subside'
Still not suspecting any other things except for mosquitoes bites.
8th day- 13 Dec
Exactly one week after the Coney Island trip, the marks have gotten bigger and redder.
9th day- 14 Dec
This was when all the alarms rang, it has gotten so itchy that I woke up in the middle of the night to apply Tiger balm to ease the itch (didn't really help tho =/)
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| Red bumps with 'liquid' in it |
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| All over both my legs |
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| I actually counted and discovered that I have 26 of them all together |
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| ewww, what is this.... |
I couldn't concentrate working while the bites itched like crazyyyy. Then I talked to my colleagues and showed them the marks. Different assumptions came up: Beg bugs, chicken pox, allergies... I didn't know what it was. So I went to see a doctor.
The moment he saw me he said 'sand flies' and asked if I've been to Coney Island lately. I was like:
'Wasei doctor! Why you so 'zhun' wan?'
Yeah so the culprit was the sand flies from Coney Island. Doc told me that recently he has gotten several similar cases, all suffering from the same thing after going to Coney Island. I was quite relieved that it wasn't beg bugs or chicken pox. He gave me a cream to apply and medicine for the itch.
Of course I asked how long does it take for it to recover, he assured me that few days later they'll be fine. But I didn't (forgotten to) ask him whether will there be any scars TT..... now everyday whenever I look at my legs, my face starts to frown.
'Please don't leave scars. Please don't leave scars.'
LOL I actually talked to my legs. So the moral of the story, don't underestimate the power of sand flies.
You don't really see them nor feel them, but they are out there.Ready to pounce on each and every prey/victim that they come across. This is how my legs look like now, sad....
Please take note of the seriousness of sand flies. Not only when you go to Coney Island, but to anywhere where there may be bushes, forest or beach area. The sand flies usually fly low so put more attention on your legs. Wear long pants and put on the insect repellent.
Then, you can fully enjoy your trip. Play hard and be safe!
-Mel-
