Oops, I did it again

Sorry to borrow that overused phrase from Britney Spears, but there's no other way to put it. I have done something, twice now in the last month, that I haven't done since high school. It is a stupid, preventable thing. And it has unwanted effects on my body.

What is it? I've slept on a muslin pillow case. Why so detrimental? I am allergic to muslin. Not musliMs. MusliN. Translation: cheap, coarse cotton fabric. I discovered this when I was young by noticing that I developed a rash all over my face after contact. Just my face though. How weird of an allergy is this? When I used to frequent random dorm rooms and camps for retreats and camps as a kid, I always brought an extra pillow case with me. Since I've moved on to better thread counts, I've lost the habit.

My first recent bout with this was in Thailand. I suspected that the pillow cases in our budget hotel were not the highest quality, but I have been training myself lately (thanks to encouragement from my chiropractor friend) to sleep on my back instead of my stomach, my preferred position. No problem then, but the last day I decided to indulge in a 10 minute stomach nap. I had the rash for a week.

This morning, I woke up on my stomach again. Quite unusual actually. I also found that the extra throw pillow I'd been using as a body pillow since my son has claimed mine as his own was under my head. And guess what? Cheap cotton fabric on it.

I can already feel the rash. I'm not looking forward to the next few days, when it will spread, itch and make me feel leprous. That's what I get for buying cheap pillow cases for my throw pillows just because I'm in love with the color.

So now you know one of those useless party facts about me - I'm allergic to muslin on my face. At least someone wins in this situation.