Question: Rash on legs....

[Aroura]

I have also heard that in the walkways there is a glass like substance that is reflecting the light, so you end up with a sunburn/sun poisoning on the lower leg. I got it for a few days when we went in 2004.

I am a bit on the fluffy side, and my best friend and I went to NYC in the end of May and I thought it would be a good idea to wear flats. I was in the big city, so I dressed pretty!! dumb, dumb-dumb dumb DUUUUMMMMBBBB.. lol.. I have never had my ankles swell ever, not even when I was pregnant. for a larger girl I have these tiny little tapered ankles.... oh.my.lord. When I got home that night my feet were swollen over the sides of my shoes. (more on the right than the left)... They were HUGE, and red, and swirled looking.. it was terrible. Lesson learned. So even though I was thinking about getting a comfy pair of sandles for Disney, I think I will stick to a nice supportive pair of sneakers.

 

[RoseNJ]

This question comes up every year and every year I usually post the same answer to this "mystery rash". It is commonly called golfer's rash. It is simply an irritation of the blood vessels following prolonged exercise in the heat, such as walking for extended periods or playing 18 holes of golf. Treatment? Elevate your legs as much as possible and use cold compresses when back in your hotel room. More common in people over 50. It should clear up on its own in a couple of days.

 

[sparklynails23]

I had some weird rash but thought it was from rubbing up against some shrubbery by the Swan, maybe poison ivy.

 

[ginadv]

Okay, so now we know how to get it...is there any way to prevent it?

An ounce of prevention, right?!

 

[GovieMom]

I finally got the dreaded rash on our May trip, after several trips to WDW in the past. Reason being I suppose, because it was hot this trip, and our other trips were off-season. It was AWFUL; and located at the bottoms of my legs, right at the top of my sock area. It itched incessantly, especially while showering at night. The Cortaid I brought didn't help much at all. I scratched my legs til they were raw. I also had quite a few insect bites which left red spots, but they didn't itch at all. Thank goodness, as that would have put me over the edge. Oh BTW, I acquired the rash after our Animal Kingdom day.

 

[snykymom]

I get it all the time at Disney, and some other places, too. For me, it's not even localized to my legs; I get it on my arms as well! I'm fair skinned. It doesn't look like petichiae - I get the big red welts. Very little itching, though, so it doesn't bother me too much - it's just UGLY!! So I've found very light-weight pants and very light-weight overshirts and just wear those now.

 

[SCRAPBOOKQUEEN]

Wow, I just got back last week and developed this rash the second day. Just on the bottom calf of legs. It wasn't too itchy, and seemed to calm down at night but flare up again the next day. It was pretty ugly looking though. I wondered what it was as I saw several people with the same thing. Now I know. Thanks for clearing this up. Had a great time and it really didn't bother me much.

Scrapbookqueen
Kellie

 

[Poohrulz]

We just got back from WDW and my sister in law had this by the end of the first day!

 

[LJD2143]

My husband had this last August. It's a combination of walking on the pavement too long and the heat. Essentially what happens, your capillaries swell and burst causing fluids to leak into the interstitial spaces...causing the skin to swell even more and look like a rash. Usually starts at the ankles because that's the first place you swell and then moves up on the leg.

We ended up in the urgent care down the street from WDW. They prescribed a some meds, including an antibiotic because it didnt' take long for the "rash" to look like cellulitis. It wasn't "itchy" because it wasn't a rash. The correct way to describe it is petechiae. Looks like a fine point rash under the skin that doesn't itch. It took about a week for the symptoms to completely disappear after elevating the feet and drinking lots of water (and of course taking the meds).

Hope that helps.

My DFIL had exactly this last September.

You could tell by looking at them that they weren't bites because the red dots (i.e. broken capillaries) and rash were all under the skin.

Disney First-Aid explained it exactly like you mention.

 

[gometros]

OMG I cant tell you how happy I am to read this...DH got this last Oct while at Epcot and we thought it was from salmon...he ate it in Canada...now to know its from the heat, we are THRILLED!!!

I second this. I would have never thought to ask the question. I get it every time we go to WDW and just assumed it was me. It doesn't bother me enough to get medical attention, although it itches something fierce. And I use sun block on the top of my feet and ankles.

Thank you so much for bringing this up and letting me know I'm not alone.

 

[chartle]

I second this. I would have never thought to ask the question. I get it every time we go to WDW and just assumed it was me. It doesn't bother me enough to get medical attention, although it itches something fierce. And I use sun block on the top of my feet and ankles.

Thank you so much for bringing this up and letting me know I'm not alone.

My wife first got it at Bush Gardens in VA last summer. Her Dr told her it was bug bites but no one else got it.

By the time she when to a Dermatologist, he said it was some sort of contact dermatitis.

Fast forward to this past May. Happened again and so she figured that first aid in Disney probably see it more than any Dr in Pittsburgh and they told her the same. They gave her some cream with Benadryl in it. We were staying off site and had a CVS across the street and we found some more.

But as other have posted, she had to keep her feet elevated and put cool towels on it.

 

[Lynne M]

Sounds like you're describing PMLE - polymorphous light eruption.

It's usually associated with the first exposures to stronger sunlight than you're used to - just the kind of thing that happens on a trip to FL. I had two episodes of it on two consecutive trips to WDW. So incredibly itchy it kept me from sleeping.

Once I started using sunscreen, I never had it again.

 

[DisneySarah80]

I've never had this happen... thank goodness! Does it have anything to do with your weight (like overweight people get it more than adverage weight people), or water retention?

 

[goofy4tink]

We seem to be talking about two different things here. Polymorphic light eruption is different then golfers vasculitis. Vasculitis seldom itches or causes any pain. It isn't raised. It is all under the skin and there is nothing that can be done for it. Elevation, cool compresses help, but in all reality, it takes being away from the addtl exercise and heat. And it appears on the legs, nowhere else. Well, unless you're walking around on your hands!!
It is more common for 'f'emales, over 'f'orty, 'f'luffy, and 'f'air skinned..note the 4 f's....to have this issue. But obviously, men get it too....golfers especially, hence the name.

Polymorphic light eruption is raised and itches like crazy...from what I understand anyway. I don't get that..I get the vasculitis. You can take meds for light eruption.


And then there are the other issues..biting flies, sensitivity to sunscreens, different detergent used on sheets.

 

[snykymom]

We seem to be talking about two different things here. Polymorphic light eruption is different then golfers vasculitis. Vasculitis seldom itches or causes any pain. It isn't raised. It is all under the skin and there is nothing that can be done for it. Elevation, cool compresses help, but in all reality, it takes being away from the addtl exercise and heat. And it appears on the legs, nowhere else. Well, unless you're walking around on your hands!!
It is more common for 'f'emales, over 'f'orty, 'f'luffy, and 'f'air skinned..note the 4 f's....to have this issue. But obviously, men get it too....golfers especially, hence the name.

Polymorphic light eruption is raised and itches like crazy...from what I understand anyway. I don't get that..I get the vasculitis. You can take meds for light eruption.


And then there are the other issues..biting flies, sensitivity to sunscreens, different detergent used on sheets.

I guess I have a combination of both - I'm 3 of the F's (not fluffy), but I get welts on my arms & legs at Disney. So it would sound like light eruption. But they don't itch. They're just ugly.

It's not sensitivity to sunscreen, because I just used the same sunscreen in Bermuda as I used at Disney and didn't get it. It shouldn't be the sheets, since I don't get it on places not exposed to the sun, but exposed to the sheets.

Oh, well - I may just be odd.