Last 2 WDW trips = horrible case of hives!!

[rhiannonwales]

This used to happen to me when i lived in the FL. Keys for a short time (1.5 years) i really think it is some kind of exoctic pollen, as it only ever happened to me in spring and fall.It starts out looking like white small raised welts - it almost looks like drops of water... then as it gets worse , the welts start running together to make larger blotches. For me i noticed it would get worse when i was outside, and better when going indoors- esp. w/ airconditioning.

When i was a teen then my dad took me to the doc. who siad it was some kind of skin reaction to pollen.

Sherrie

 

[dynamodotcom]

Sounds like a severe case of Prickly Heat. I had that once when we visited in May, but the welts weren't big like you're describing...but they were sore and itchy as all get out, and I was very miserable. It went away after a while once I was inside in air conditioning. I was told at that time that a lot of people get horrible itchy rashes from the Florida sun, apparently its "closer to the ultra violet rays" in Florida. So maybe its something like that. As to the poster who mentioned her husband is allergic to cold...I know someone like that also. Its amazing what allergies people can have, so maybe you are just reacting to the strength of the sun!!! That sucks because there isn't much you can do about it except to perhaps plan to visit in cooler months.

 

[Caylin]

I feel everyone's pain! I recently dealt with hives and edema during the last semester of school. Mine was due to a previously undiagnosed food allergy and stress. Some detergents also make me itchy-scratchy. I'm glad to know about some of you getting hives from the street washing stuff. I'll be sure to take precautions! Also, one of my best friends gets hives from excessive heat (very common at WDW) and water (a rare allergy).
Things that work for me to combat hives: alavert tablets (the dissolve in your mouth kind), and flourasone cream (found at organic food markets like Wild Oats) I discovered that the flourasone worked better for me than hydracortisone. I also have a prescription for Allegra D.
I hope some of this info helps, and I certainly hope everyone who has experienced this never does again! If you all get this like I do, dinner plate size plaques and facial swelling, I sincerely wish the best and pray for a speedy recovery!

 

[Sarahsal]

My dd had a hive like rash on her first two trips to WDW and on our first trip on DCL. Since it was only where she touched the sheets (her legs, arms and cheeks) we decided it was perhaps the detergent? We have since gone on DCL once and WDW twice more-we take sheets and a pillow from home now- and she has not had the rash since.

 

[da-winnie-pooh]

Here's one I don't think anyone has mentioned - suntan oil? Or gel? When I have used something heavy, other than lotion, I have gotten a rash.

Also, ds started whining about itching last year at Typhoon Lagoon. It was right after we'd re-applied sunscreen. So, he and I went back to the hotel and hung out for awhile, while dh and dd spent more time at the waterpark. The next day, he used Clinique sunscreen, which is allergy tested and much more mild. He was fine!

Hope your next trip is better!

Anita

 

[NotUrsula]

The itchy-bump leg rash that is very painful is almost always something called PMLE (Polymorphic Light Eruption). It really isn't *caused* by reflective pavement, but that kind of pavement tends to make the reaction worse because it reflects UV radiation. PMLE is believed to be caused by an immune reaction to a compound in the skin which is altered by exposure to ultraviolet radiation. The more fair-skinned you are, the more likely it is to get you, and it is most often grown women who are affected. Here is a nice layman's explanation from the New Zealand Dermatological Society: http://dermnetnz.org/reactions/pmle.html I starting getting it about 10 years ago, but it doesn't happen to me anymore because I take steps to prevent it. I can tell you that prevention is *crucial*; once it erupts the only thing that will really get rid of it is time.

With PMLE, you need to spend time in the sun before your trip as much as possible; even sitting near a window wearing shorts will help, if it is cold outside. (Some people even use tanning booths to do this "hardening" process, but I think that cure may be worse than the disease.) Also, start a course of oral antihistamines several days before the trip, and keep taking them as long as you are touring (I use Claritin.) Be sure to also make generous use of a broad-spectrum sunblock whenever you are in the sun, and reapply about once an hour. (It doesn't have to be hot outside bring it on, PMLE can erupt if the sunlight is just "brighter" than what your skin is used to.) BTW, antibiotic cream and things like calamine make a PMLE eruption worse; don't try them. Stick to OTC hydrocortisone or PrameGel if you have to treat an eruption.

There is also another similar condition that a lot of people call the "sock-line" rash; that is a form of edema from being on your feet more than you are used to. This one usually is not really itchy or painful, just unsightly, without raised bumps, and you can recognize it by the clearly defined line where your socks stop. Soaking your feet in cool water and keeping them elevated as much as possible will help with that.

Last but certainly not least is prickly heat, which is not the same as the other two because you get it in areas where your skin is covered or folded, rather than exposed. The trick to preventing prickly heat is to keep your skin dry, so wear light-colored clothing that dries quickly and wicks moisture away from the skin, and also try to reduce or eliminate friction of clothing against the body, or skin against skin. BodyGlide is great for helping to prevent prickly heat.

 

[anabelle]

They do make UV protection clothing. They are usually very lightweight.

 

[chipmunkfan]

I had this happen to me too. My legs are covered with hives by the third day. After that they would be swollen and it was hard to walk. It was during the summer so I thought it was the chlorine or just sweating from the summer heat. I went this past December and had no problems at all. So, I have to narrow it down to the chlorine or the florida sun.

 

[safetymom]

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=832735
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=728705

I did a search for red rash and these are some of the results.

Here is another post that talks about it.

If you have lots of itchy or burning bumps on the lower leg, the odds are that it is Polymorphic Light Eruption (PMLE). PMLE is a type of allergic reaction to a sudden high dose of UV radiation, especially on the legs, which tend not to be sun-exposed as often as the arms and face.

Dermatologists like to say that there is a 4F factor for PMLE: persons most at risk for it are Female, 40, Fair, and Fat (not necessarily obese, just somewhat overweight.) The bad news is that once you get it, the chances of getting it again go WAY up.

The best way to deal with it is prevention. Most drs. recommend "hardening" the skin of the legs with gradual exposure to UV A *and* B for several weeks leading up to the anticipated high exposure. This can be done by sunbathing for short periods or using tanning beds, again, about 10 minutes at a time. If that isn't an option, slathering on a broad-spectrum sunscreen every hour and taking an antihistamine before going out in the sun usually help. I take Claritin, myself; I haven't had it happen again since I started taking it before and during vacations in very sunny places.

Once you get it, the best treatment is an antihistamine or steroid cream. It is NOT the same as the sort of heat rash one gets when skin folds chafe together; using things like talcum powder on it may actually make it worse.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Last edited by NotUrsula : 01-31-2005 at 09:32 AM.

 

[AMcaptured]

I used to get this 15 years ago when I was thin and in my twenty's. Now I have a few of those 4 F's and I don't get it any longer. A nurse in Epcot told me it was a form of "concrete dermatitis" which sounds similar to what others are describing.

We don't go to much during the sunlight hours in the summer because of a sensitivity I have due to medicine but it is a "real" annoyance and terribly itchy. I feel for anyone who has to suffer with it while vacationing.

 

[poohstx]

I have been getting my"disney rash" for several years now. It would happen at different parks and different times of the year. I thought it might be a plant I was allergic to. Finally I went to the health center at Magic Kingdom. They said.."we see this all the time. You have "cementitis". "It happens to people with poor circulation. The heat radiating from the cement heats up the blood."They recommended steroid cream,cooling legs off with ice bags and elevating my legs.
I went to the vascular Dr.with pictures in hand, of my legs all red and swollen. An ultrasound showed I had leaky valves in my legs. He was not overly concerned.He presribed Ted stckings(knee hi) for me.My husband made fun of me..real cute in my shorts and knee hi's!
The stockings help for the first day of walking, but each day gets worse.I even get red while wearing my jeans in the winter.
I have found the perfect job though for me at WDW...the disney guides that do the tours wear white knee hi's!!!

 

[Syrreal]

I'm one of those people that is allergic to everything! I get hives from changing temperatures too fast (ie a really cold day and my body changes temperature too fast from walking or going into a highly heated room), water (salt. fresh, chlorinates, too long a shower, bath, etc), and the tinyest bug bite leaves huge welts. I have REALLY sensitive skin and anything touching it pretty much gives me a rash.

I always carry benadryl. If I have to I will take the non-drowsy one but I don't think it works as well as the regular one.

One reason you may be getting hivey in FL is because the air is so much denser from the humidity, pollen and mold stay in it longer before settling, which means that they have more time to touch your body. I am really sensitive to both, maybe you are too.

 

[julia & nicks mom]

my sister has this problem when she goes on winter vacations and finally figured out she has Polymorphic light eruption - it is when she has not been exposed to the sun and then goes on vacation and suddenly has a ton of sunlight - she doesn't get it in the summer b/c she builds up to the amount of sun exposure during the spring - so it is the sudden exposure that causes it


http://www.dermnetnz.org/reactions/pmle.html

her doctor told her to go to a tanning bed before her vacations so that she can expose herself to sunlight prior to her vacation and not have a reaction on her trips

 

[tndisneyfan]

If you have lots of itchy or burning bumps on the lower leg, the odds are that it is Polymorphic Light Eruption (PMLE). PMLE is a type of allergic reaction to a sudden high dose of UV radiation, especially on the legs, which tend not to be sun-exposed as often as the arms and face. QUOTE]

PMLE is the first thing I thought of when I read the OP's symptoms. I was diagnosed with it last year, and just to be honest it stinks. I did not try to do the hardening but I used the certain kind of sunscreen that the dermatologist recommended (a broad spectrum sunscreen) and I still got it. I used the ointment the doctor gave me but it basically will not go away unless you stay out of the sun for a day or so.

Well enough about my PMLE sob story. I hope you don't have PMLE but if you do it could be a lot worse.

 

[poohstx]

I also get this redness and swelling even when I go to the park after dark..and wearing jeans.So I have trouble thinking this is due to the sun's UV rays. If it was due to the sun, wouldn't it effect all exposed parts of your body?

 

[NotUrsula]

I also get this redness and swelling even when I go to the park after dark..and wearing jeans.So I have trouble thinking this is due to the sun's UV rays. If it was due to the sun, wouldn't it effect all exposed parts of your body?

Unless what you are getting itches like crazy, it probably is the edema problem, not PMLE (PMLE is the one caused by sudden exposure to sunlight.)
BTW, "leaky valves" in the legs is another way of saying that the problem is edema. Small amounts of fluid (lymph or blood plasma) leak out of their vessels and into your tissues, then pool in your lower legs -- gotta love gravity.

FYI, for some people PMLE can sometimes take a day or two to erupt, so it *is* possible to have a sunny day followed by a rain day, then notice the PMLE on day 3. Unless you are a person who wears hats, scarves and long-sleeved turtlenecks at home all the time, PMLE doesn't normally affect *all* exposed skin, just the skin that you don't often expose, which is why people seldom get it on their arms or face, which usually get sunlight throughout more of the year. It hits most victims on the legs because our work clothes tend to cover our legs, even in summer, so when you suddenly wear shorts a few days in a row in a semi-tropical climate, you get a reaction.

 

[bexareaglecheryl]

Thanks so much for all the posts. When I posted I didn't think I'd get many replies.

From the wide variety of posts here I think I have been mistaken when I've always thought it was something coming from the outside affecting my legs (allergies/allergic reaction) or something I was maybe ingesting.

But all you wonderful folks who posted about the edema HIT THE NAIL ON THE HEAD! I have edema due to some medication I take. I also have varicose veins and I am about 40 lbs overweight. I take a prescription diuretic 2x a day due to the edema I get from the medication and that usually helps on a normal day. But when I am walking walking walking walking as I do on vacation it gets worse.

Here's why I think it's the edema:
1) I take prescription allergy meds + Benadryl+ benadryl cream to prevent and/or treat the 'hives' and nothing works.
2) When they occurred I was wearing ONLY pants and the weather was absolutely nice since it was Thanksgiving week. So, no heat and no sun hitting them. I didn't get in the pool or wear any suncreen.
3) I am from South Texas so I am used to a lot of sun and a lot of heat and I have never had this problem. And I have seen and had the 'no-see-um' bugs, (chiggers) and know that it's not them.
4) They are not itchy. But they do ache tremendously and are highly sensitive to touch, warm water, etc. They are only on my legs and stops at the socks. Plus, the legs are very firm and fluid filled but I thought it was a side effect not part of the cause.
5) On my previous 2 trips to WDW in Jan 2000 and Dec 2000 I did not have the problem. It only surfaced when I had to start on the Rx meds that caused the edema.
6) I use all my own home usuals - soap, lotion, shampoo, pillow and pillow case. And I never wear any clothes/socks that haven't been washed thoroughly several times and I have worn them before.
7) All the edema related answers fit me to a 'T'. Sniff, sniff: Yes, the 4F's!

WOW! I am thrilled to finally feel like I have an answer. I only wish one of the 2 dr's I've discussed this with could have come up with that answer. I will try the hose. We'll (hopefully) be taking that May trip so I don't know how I'll coordinate my fashions. haha! (I say hopefully b/c we just had major water damage upstairs due to a toilet overflow unnoticed and we've got ceiling/carpet/ tile torn up all over the house!)

A sincere and heartfelt thank you to everyone who responded. The DIS Dr's - you're wonderful.

Have a happy Valentine's Day next week. Cheryl

 

[beckmrk04]

I had no idea that there was any such thing as PMLE! It just clicked that that is what was wrong with my legs when I was tanning in the tanning salon before our wedding and honeymoon in Disney.... Normally I don't do much sun, but since I was going to be in a white dress and then expose myself to the FL sunshine, I thought I'd go ahead and tan. After about 3 times though my legs hurt and itched soooo bad it was driving me crazy!! What an "aha" moment! Thanks to all who have posted!