A mysterious rash

I just got back from Walk in Care. I've never been allergic to anything..... until now and we have no idea what's causing it. I got a big ol' shot in the butt & a week supply of steroid pills. Every 5 or 6 hours for the last 24 hours I get it. Itchy as all get out and then it disappears, only to return someplace else 5 hours later. For the most part is symmetric.... left ribs, right ribs, left shoulder , right shoulder. Left waist, right waist. Crazy! The only change has been laundry soap. I ran out of Tide & there was some Delft so I used it. Right now I'm rewashing all the laundry......with a double rinse.

My wife wound up in the hospital a few years back, reason unknown. She called me from work saying she wasn’t feel well. She tutors homeless kids. She literally passed out while on the phone with me. One of the kids grabbed the phone from her and I told them to call 911 and get an ambulance there asap. Good kids, they may have saved her life! Numerous tests and no answer. She now carries an epi-pen. Our bodies change...you never know. Scary stuff!!!

Please Freddy, I am a sensitive lad. I haven't seen armpits like that since Planet of the Apes it's putting me off my mid afternoon blueberry muffin.

Does not look like contact dermatitis to me so why are they stuffing you with steroids. I understand the medics up there were mostly trained in the Pitcairn Islands. There is some plant life you are going near. You are right to go back to Tide. Wash everywhere thoroughly with Tecnu soap and change every item of clothing. Manuka honey (10+) from Trader Joe. Remember what I told you ... clean living Freddy. You go up into those camps in Maine, God knows what you bring back...ahahahhahahaha, I slay myself.

If you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all".

Damn, I blew it.

Hi Freddy,

I had something similar over the last eight months. Since late May it seems to have resolved. My Docs opinions ranged from Neuro Dermatitis to another name that eludes me right now. I was given triamcinolone acetonide ointment. Not sure how well that works but did stimulate my appetite. What worked best for me was Neutrogena Sensitive Skin Sunscreen 60+. Make sure it contains titanium dioxide 4.9% and Zinc Oxide 4.7%. It worked best to resolve itching for a few hours before needing to reapply.

For some reason those over 50+ can have reoccurance of a fungus similar to diaper rash. I blame my second dose of Shingrx as it started shortly thereafter. My rash occurred singlely (one small spot) and randomly but mostly on between the wrist and knuckles. Amazing how something so small causes other nerve cells to sound the itch alarm. Good luck and let me know if the above works.

I'm going to go see my regular Dr next week. I may end up with en epi-pen, but have to wait until July 1st. Oddly, I hit some sort of Medicaid loophole and for 2 1/2 weeks I pay cash price for prescriptions. I have an expired epi-pen that I carried with me last night and today. The Dr today said even though it's expired I should use it if need be. Every rpi-pen use should ( must) be followed by a trip to the ER. If you seriously need one, you might need two....and you should have professionals around for the second shot.

Sorry I miffed your Muffin, CoalNewb. Good fun! I did go to South camp for 5 minutes yesterday.... I didn't touch a thing!

Snuffy.....Topicort ( Desoximetasone) andtriamcinolone acetonide are quite similar, but triamcinolone acetonide you should only use for 2 weeks. I have been using Topicort for 4oish years, but sparingly. A 5g tube will last me over a year. But. Topicot yopu can not use in your mouth, or on skin that folds, while I think your stuff you can. The Topicort stops the itching right now.

Freddy,

Forgot one other suggestion it's called Iverest. It's for poison ivy itch control but I use it successfully to control the non ivy rash itch and it also works for hours (I also apply a small rectangular sheet of saran wrap over the area to keep Ivarest and the Neutrogena from rubbing off to quickly adding more hours to relief. BTW Iverest OTC is about $14.00 and the Neutrogena is about $9.00.

I started getting a winter rash about six years ago. By spring it would be pretty bad and then by the time I got in to see the dermatologist it would clear up. A couple years ago I looked in the mirror after bathing and could see my T shirt outline like a T shirt tan except it was the unaffected skin.

I am pretty sure whatever it is it’s from my work shirts. We have a uniform service at work. The last couple years I had only minor rash outbreaks and this year virtually none at all until I had a few worn out shirts replaced. I wore a couple new shirts for a few days and started to get rash on one arm. It looked worse than it felt. I called the dermatologist,( good luck getting an appointment there anytime soon.) The weather warmed up and I started wearing short sleeves and in two days the rash was gone. I guess what I am trying to say is “don’t rule out the laundry soap, you never know”

Attn. coalnewbie; Dermatology 101: if it’s wet dry it, if it’s dry wet it, if you’re not sure what it is use steroids.

House, TV doctor about 2005 ...

House: Ah, you need a dermatologist. If it’s dry, keep it wet, if it’s wet, keep it dry, if it’s not supposed to be there, cut it off. I never could master all of that.

Here is a useful tip GAW, stick to dog breeding. Let us concentrate on getting Freddy better.... and to think my wife tells me I need on work on my people skills.

That is a histamine/SRS reaction, run to CVS and buy Tecnu. As secondary sensitizing reactions can be much more severe Freddy, you need to find what you were exposed to.

I guess you and snuffy burn wood.... damn, blew it again.

I finished 5 loads of laundry, all with double rinses. Sheeesh! The weird thing is how every outbreak is gone in 4 or 5 hours.....like it was never there! I'm much better this morning. Only two tiny places. I'm really leaning towards that "Dreft" laundry soap. I thought it was odd how the rash was almost symmetrical left & right sides, but I now realize every place it was worst is the places that hit the bed sheets the hardest. When I roll over in the night, it hits those same places on the other side.

My Topicort steroid creme is VERY specific .... never cover it with saran wrap. I think that's also why you can't use it where skin folds.

OK..... Off to plant more potatoes.

Hopefully that was it, at least it is simple enough to fix. If it keeps showing up maybe a trip to an allergist would be a good idea.

Maybe it was Saturday morning coffee house that you're allergic to. coalnewbie has a bad habit of wondering in stinking of horse liniment. Could be an allergic reaction to that.

I hate to say it,but the Old Man developed an allergy to Tide Detergent later in Life! His boxer shorts tried to kill him a few times until he figured it out. I used to think Ma "Forgot" about his little problem and would "Accidentally" wash all his clothes in Tide when they were arguing!