I was bit by a mosquito or mosquito-adjacent insect and within 2 hours I had a nickel-sized bump on my skin and my vein had pumped up halfway around my arm as a red line. They say if you get red lines from insect bites to get it checked out as it may be infected. I felt silly, but went anyway, and got there around 1pm.
It wasn't busy. There was a woman chain smoking and walking back and forth near the entrance. Inside was one man. I went to the window to register and see someone.
The medical assistant provided me with paperwork which I completed. It was my first time here so it took a few minutes to create a record of me, scan in my ID cards, etc. Apparently I came at a good time because she commented her computer system was timing out earlier and there were 5-6 people before noon which was busy for them. She was pleasant and professional.
I went into room 2 as instructed. It was very gray. I could see a shoe print on the wall. The example table was tilted up into a chair position. I sat in the regular chair because I would have ripped the exam table paper if I sat on it.
The gentleman who saw me was masked and gloved up. I don't recall him identifying himself as a physician, nurse practitioner, etc. He took a look at my arm and said I was having a slight allergic reaction to the bite and it was not an infection. If it was that size after a week with streaky red lines in my veins or I was having anaphylaxis I would need medical treatment with antibiotics or an epi pen.
So of course I felt even more ridiculous than I had when I decided to go in and get it looked at. read more