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This story is an unexpected sequel a few days after my encounter with nettle. You may choose to read that first.
A few days after I started applying some crème to my arms and legs when I had a strong reaction to nettle, I decided to take a bike ride where I wouldn't be brushing against nettle. I did not know that I would be brushing against the nettle in another way. The date was likely June or July in 1971, which is long enough ago that I don't recall if I rode again with Rick or if it was someone else, but I do recall riding with a friend. I told me my mom that we were going to bike to Buffalo State Park. This Minnesota state park was about 20 miles east my Fargo home and it was an easy ride, mostly following U.S. 10 (which had a wide shoulder for us to bike). The whole trip was within the lake floor of the ancient Lake Agassiz, and so it was quite flat.
We knew it was going to be a warm and sunny day, so we left shortly after breakfast and biked east in the coolness of the morning. However, as we arrived about 2 hours later, it had already started getting warm. There was a place to swim (a man-made pond) at this state park created in 1937, as well as things to do along the Buffalo River. We played around for a while.
While there was a place to get a drink at the park, I don't recall us bringing a snack, but perhaps we did. I noticed that as were hanging out there and exploring, my arms had started tingling and my legs as well, but less so. The longer we were there, the tingles turned in pin pricks and became painful. I reluctantly described my pains to my friend, and he suggested that we should probably head out, which is what I was hoping for as well. As we biked home, it was likely about 11:00. We were not only dealing with becoming hungry, but also the sun was turning hot. We picked up our pace and we got back to Fargo in a reasonable amount of time. By this time, my arms really hurt and my legs less so; my arms had become somewhat swollen.
I rode my friend to his home, which was on the way to mine. My mom was home and when I explained to her what had happened, we went back to the Fargo Clinic where we had been a few days before. I was seen fairly quickly and when the doctor saw me and heard what had happened and knew that I had been applying a cream to deal with the nettle reaction, he told us what had happened. The cream, apparently, had a possible reaction to extended sun exposure. I don't recall know if this was in general or specific to me, but it was stated as an allergic reaction to a chemical in the crème when exposed to solar rays. This was about 55 years ago. During those years, when asked if I am allergic to anything, I used to try to describe this situation. However, without me knowing the chemical within the cream and oddity of the solar reaction while using it, it was usually ignored. Now, I just say no allergies.
Published 2026-06-10.
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