Instant Karma's Gonna Get you!

John Lennon was noted for his thought provoking and moralistic lyrics..."Imagine there's no heaven...", "All you need is love....", "I am a walrus goo goo g'choo" (well most of the time!)  But I rarely saw him as a Prophet of Truth until I was struck down myself with Instant Karma last week.

There I was happily blogging away making witty remarks about needing a flu jab after being crawled, puked and sneezed over by the babies I teach on Monday when God/Buddha (delete as personally appropriate) decided I was getting too big for my size 4's and to smite me with a lightning bolt of karma.  For I awoke on Tuesday with an evil looking rash on my left elbow.

As a veteran eczema victim I sighed "poor me" at my seemingly latest physical reaction to stress and slathered on my steroid cream before heading off to work.  By lunch time I was boiling and bubbling - I wish I could say I was making something delicious over a hot stove but instead it was elbow growing another head.  Never one to trust my own judgement, I asked two pharmacists their opinion and they confirmed it was eczema.  Hmmmmmm...

But when 12 angry yellow blisters had taken residence on my elbow by Thursday I realised it was more serious.  Surprise, surprise my doctor's surgery had no available appointments (take note David Cameron) and so the elephant woman dragged her mouldy arm to my local walk-in centre.  A 2 hour wait with various broken arms and funny tummies saw me leaving with a presciption for antibiotics and a diagnosis of Impetigo.  Urrrgh Impetigo!  I had caught it once from a camel years ago (that's another tale) but it is mainly prevalent and highly contagious among the under 5's - so those little tykes literally did infect me!

The antibiotics made me sick and I felt like a leper.  A second opinion from my own doctor said it was actually cold sores.  Cold sores???? Hardly a nicer diagnosis, herpes on my arm!  No one had been snogging my elbow and I don't think either my radius or ulna bones were feeling run down so I was at a loss as to where I had contracted this from! 

So as I rub Zovirax into my elbow I mull over this lesson.  I have been smiling at grannys and not spitting out any chewing gum in case it should ruin somebody's carpet or designer pump but will this induce good karma if I am doing this with the intent of protecting myself?  But I am afraid I cannot promise to be gracious about the little angels I teach though - one of them did fill a nappy today as I sang about a badger - so bring it on God! I have still got those antibiotics......!