The Town of Odyssey

Ok... So, it's not quite a plague.

But last Saturday afternoon, itchy red bumps appeared on the inside of my right forarm.
On Monday, I noticed that it was more up my arm, near the inside of my elbow.

Wednessday, I woke up and saw that it's now on my left leg and ankle.

Today, I woke up, and it is very close to a rather sensitive area... (We'll just leave it at that...)

Anyway, it all really itches, and when I itch it, it burns and itches even more.

Anyway, just pray that we'll be able to figure out what it is, why it's happenening, and that it will go away peacfully (without spreading too much more).

Also, if you have any thoughts or suggestions, I'd be happy to hear them.

Yikes! Get well soon.

Might be a really good idea to visit the Dr. too.

I just got over a horrible rash that made my arm swell to twice its size. It is now scattered over most of my upper body, but I really don't care, just so long as I can function normally.

If you suspect it could be from a poisonous plant, use a drying agent like Calamine. You'll have to apply it several times daily. Try to put it on before bed. Be sure to keep it clean.

Soaking the affected areas in warm water and soap, and then dring it with a blow dryer was what saved me.

Mine was oozing and weeping constantly, and it was on the fifth day that I finally got it to from a scab. I couldn't bend my arm upwards until a week after getting the rash. After that it made progress quickly. The blow dryer helped the most.

If it is not weeping like mine was, then Calamine should work wonderfully. If possible, swimming in a pool (with Chlorine) helps. Fresh air and sun also help tremendously. If you get any on your feet, go barefoot when you can.

It shouldn't be spreading if it is poison ivy or a related cousin, so I doubt that it's one of those. I could be wrong. I'm still not sure what I have, but it must be some poisonous plant I got into that has oils other than urushiol.

It seems to heal the fasted on thin skin, such as facial areas. On thicker skin like the back or arms you may have to work harder to dry it out.

Our local weather in the past year has been perfect for poisonous plants, so we have an epidemic of Poison Ivy. I've had it five or six times this year, and it usually takes between 2-4 weeks to get rid of it completely.

If it isn't form a plant, then a blow dryer should still help, along with most of the other recommended steps. Raises can be caused by about a million different things, literally, so it could be hard to tell exactly what you have. I would suggest to do all you can to keep it dry and clean.

I feel silly asking this, but could it be chickenpox?

It could be, but he'd probably have other recognizable symptoms that would indicate that. His description made me think that a poisonous plant was the cause, but I'm not at all sure of that. There are hundreds of possibilities, so it's probably best to assume its a common affliction.

American Eagle wrote:I feel silly asking this, but could it be chickenpox?

I had chickenpox when I was 3, so I doubt that...

That thought had crossed my mind though...

Also, I don't think it's a poisonous plant.
That was my first thought, but I've had Poison Sumac and Poison Oak before, and this is nothing like those, and I'm fairly certain I don't react to Poison Ivy.

And, when it first broke out, (I'm ashamed to say...) I hadn't been outside (except to just walk to and from the car) for about 3 days or so...

Then, when it suddenly jumped to my leg (and oher places...), I was even more confused.
I'm thinking that it might be either, some sort of virus (maybe something similer to chickenpox or something), or a bacterial infection in an internal organ (which has been known to cause some weird affects), or even an alergic reaction to some food I ate on Saturday (though, I can't think of anything out-of-the-ordinary that I ate on Saturday...)

However, I am not ruling any of these out completely, simply because all of this is just speculation.

If you have any more suggestions, please, feel free to share them with me.

My biggest suggestion is to go see a doctor as soon as possible.

Hmm. Okay. That rules out a poisonous plant. For the record, Poison Ivy, Poison Oak, and Poison Sumac all have roughly the same symptoms, because they all have the same irritant, urushiol. What I have now is worse than Poison Ivy and more aggressive, so it couldn't be one of those. I know whatever I have is from a plant, but I've researched all the poisonous plants in our area and I haven't seen anything that sticks out. Keep in mind that it would be possible to come in contact with a plant irritants indirectly.

So, beyond poisonous plants, I'm not sure what it could be, sorry. There are a lot of possibilities.

You keep naming all of things that make me go 'That's exactly what is happening to me!'

Are they little red raised bumps?

On my leg, they're more concentrated and clumped. On my arm, it's more like little strings of bumps.

Have you felt ill lately? My friend has something similar right now. She had an allergic reaction to a virus and went to the hospital yesterday and was really itchy today at tech. My suggestion is to go to the doctor.

Have you been bitten by any ticks recently? My brother broke out similar to what you have, when we took him to the doctor they said it was from a tick bite. And then it happened again a few years later. We took him to the doctor and he said the same thing, it was from a tick bite, and it's called Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever. You can have a fever and a rash, in all the spots you mentioned (where it's warmest), Also, it makes it worse if you are in the sun and have spotted fever. So, I would definitely go see a doctor about it.

Oh, and I'm not sure if this is true but, you can get the spotted fever even after two years after you've been bitten...you'll have to check to see if that is really true.

Well, on my legs, no. It is more splotchy than bumpy. During the first stages (in the first week), I had small concentrated red bumps covering much of my inside elbow.In the center of the spot, the bumps basically covered the whole surface, and didn't look like bumps, as they appeared to be a complete raised surface.

On the thinner tissues they appear to have a small fluid sac inside.

I'm not sure what you mean by strings of bumps.

Edit: I just looked more closely, and whatever oil is on my legs is not concentrated enough to raise actual blisters or bumps, just cause a general itch. Whatever I had took two days to come I to effect, and with the execution of high or low concentrations of the irritant, had small red bumps closely concentrated as you described. My little brother also had it across his entire lower face, which happens to be the exact same height off the ground as my arm. As it was on thin skin, it appeared more blotchy and widespread.

That's basically the same as mine, I'm just not as good at articulating my thoughts into words.

Okay. Mine itches, but probably not as bad as yours does right now. The worst stage was when it was burning and weeping constantly, and I couldn't bend my arm. After getting over that, the worst of it was gone. However, the actual itch is still there on other places. It's fading, but it is putting up more of a fight than anything else I've had.

I'll be praying that you get some relief!

Have you had any swelling in the worse places?

Ugh, hives and the like are awful. I hope you (both of you!) figure out what it is soon. I'd definitely suggest a doctor soon. Calamine or something like a cortizone cream might help as long as they're not open wounds. Epsom salt or oatmeal baths also help calm skin. You can also take an antihistamine like Benadryl to help calm the itch. But you definitely want to find out what it is and not just cover up the symptoms.

When I started randomly getting hives and swelling, it turned out to be a major food allergy. Praying this is NOT the case for anyone else and that you both get some relief soon!