My eye was swollen shut. It was still early, but I couldn't sleep. I'd been tossing and turning for what felt like hours. I was lying on my left side when I became aware that my left eye was not listening to my brain telling it to open. With my right hand I reached across to rub my eye open, and at that moment I felt the problem: bumps.

A nasty rash had broken out right under my eye and into my left eye's tear duct. Not only that, the rash had also invaded my lower-lip/upper-chin area. My left knee. My right armpit. My right ankle. And even a small part of the large bald spot on my head.

Th...