An Itch to Scratch

I woke up this morning with a that faint tickle in the back of my throat that usually signals the approach of a cold. Sometimes it goes away after my morning shower, but this time it didn't. Nor did a hot cup of Green Tea help at all (yesterday was Day 60, so I'm allowed the caffeine, just not the coffee... yet). It looks like I'm probably coming down with something.

Then, as I was putting on my jacket to leave for work, I noticed that my neck felt a little itchy. Of course, I have next to no wiggle room in my morning routine, so I chalked it up to an irritating shirt collar and promptly forgot about it... until I was on the bus, that is.

I checked to make sure the tag on my shirt wasn't rubbing my neck, causing the irritation. It wasn't. I checked to make sure it wasn't one of my uncomfortable scratchy shirts. It wasn't. So then I felt the back of my neck... I thought I might be just a wee bit paranoid, because I was pretty sure I could feel tiny bumps back there.

It wasn't until I finally got to work that I could check myself in a mirror. Sure enough, the back and sides of my neck are bright red and covered in little bumps. Where the heck did I get this rash from? In all my 35 years on this planet, I have yet to come across something I'm allergic too, so that's out of the question. And yesterday was just a relaxing Sunday at home, so I didn't come into contact with anything out of the ordinary. I even ate the same kinds of foods that I always eat, ruling out some sort of bizarre reaction.

So, what gives?