Hi, Dr. I m 48 years old (just turned 48 in August of this year) and have been in very good health my whole life. Although I have NOT been to a doctor in years, something that s recently been going on within the last week or two has me concerned. Before I ask my question, I ll give you a brief rundown of me, my lifestyle, family history. Like I said, I m 48 years old, I consider myself to be in great health (I m a drummer and have been a drummer my whole life, and have always been active for the most part) except for a couple of things. I m a little overweight, but usually drop pounds pretty fast when I m constantly active drumming for a couple of weeks or more. Other than that, I HAVE picked up smoking cigarettes for almost a year now - and I only did so, as an if you can t beat em, join em attitude - I ve been trying to get my Parents to stop smoking for YEARS, and I thought that by bumming cigarettes off of both of them, that they d want to quit because of how expensive it is. Now, my Dad, just recently passed away in January of this year (2017) when he went to the hospital last, the dr. (...not his primary) said that he had O.C.P.D., and CHF - and at THAT point, my Dad said that he was DONE with smoking and that he didn t want to do it anymore. About 2 weeks later, he passed away. He had also been Diabetic for 30 or 40 years, which he had a very good handle on his whole life, up until the last year or so. (...I just wanted to explain that to you you so that you have some type of family health history ). Here s my question: Over the last month or a little over, I ve been working out in the front and backyard of our house, as it had gotten out of hand with weeds, and I wanted to re-rake the colored rocks (red) as it looked like it had been there for years and wanted to give it a fresh look and make it look nice for my Dad. Since I haven t been working, that s what I ve been spending my time doing, most of the time at night since it s been cooler, and alot of the time around this time, it s just about 5pm. We live here in North Las Vegas, and the reason I m including this, is because I THINK, that my question MIGHT have something to do with the dirt. My lower legs, from my knee, down to my ankle s (primarily my left leg) itches alot, and my feet have swelling to them, along with my ankles (...again, primarily my left bothers me more than my right). So, my question, is WHY or WHAT could be causing this? The only thing I can think of, could be the dirt, or something that s in the dirt or has been lying somewhere in the ground for awhile. I ve also heard that it could be a number of things. And honestly, I m quite frightened, at the thought that it could be something bad . I haven t been working, and I DON T have heath insurance. I will also tell you this, as I forgot to mention...I sit sometimes for hours in my room in a patio chair from outside, because that s all there is available, to look for work or apply for work online. I do love beer, but it s been quite awhile since I ve drank alcohol, maybe 3 or 4 in the past 6 or 8 months, even longer. BUT, the reason, I also think it may have something to do with the dirt, is because, the times I ve been doing yardwork, I ve worn flip-flops since it s been hot outside, and it wasn t really any heavy work, other than raking rocks - and I m going out there right now to finish up the project I started up a little over a month ago - so that s why I THINK, that the dirt may have something to do with it...AND because that s about the only length of time that my feet and ankles have been swelling/ and my legs have been itching like crazy. I m sorry this is so long. Thank you!