What on earth is wrong with my skin?

[Chicago526]

I need the Dis "doctors" opinion!

Last night while getting ready for bed, I notice red bumps/blotches on both my forearms, and a few on my belly and upper thighs. Woke up today and the bumps on my left arm seem a bit worse, and about the same everywhere else. the largest of the bumps seem to be the size of an eraser head, and they are only slightly raised.

They don't itch at all, and I don't have any allergies that I know of. Anyone have any idea what this is? I checked WebMD and that was useless, as usual. I took two Claritin, thinking it must be an allergic reaction to something, but that was about 45 minutes ago and so far no change for worse or better.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

Could be viral illness?

 

[cinmell]

Hives?

 

[Chicago526]

I feel fine otherwise, so I don't think it's viral (I'd had a fever, right?) and hives usually itch from my understanding, and they don't itch at all (thank god!).

I think the antihistamine is working, they aren't as red now. I guess it's just a weird recation to something I came in contact with.

 

[dawson5]

This sounds like something my youngest gets when he wears his underarmour shirts under his football equipment and sweats. He can wear his cold-gear underarmour but the the ones meant for the heat do this to him. I cover him in calamine, give him benadryl and it sticks around for about a week. It doesn't itch until about the 3rd day. For some reason the benadryl doesn't kick it. I can only think it is some kind of allergic reaction tied to the underarmour and sweat.

 

[sneadae]

This sounds exactly like what I had a couple of years ago. It started around my neck and shoulders, then spread all over my torso and a few on my upper legs. I went to two doctors. The first diagnosed it with ringworm (Urgent Care) and sent me off to use some antibiotic ointment stuff. After several weeks, it wasn't going away and the symptoms didn't match ringworm, so I went to my family doctor. My family doctor pulled out this old dusty medical book and showed me pictures of exactly what it was: it looked just like my red bumps on my skin. I for the life of me cannot remember the medical term for it. He said it was a very rare condition. It went away on it's own after several months. No ointments or cream were given to treat it - it just had to run it's course. It was ugly to look at, but no itching or pain of any kind.

I will post if I remember the name of it. Hope this helps!

EDITED: I found it! It is called Pityriasis. Google it and you can see what it looks like.

 

[Chicago526]

This sounds exactly like what I had a couple of years ago. It started around my neck and shoulders, then spread all over my torso and a few on my upper legs. I went to two doctors. The first diagnosed it with ringworm (Urgent Care) and sent me off to use some antibiotic ointment stuff. After several weeks, it wasn't going away and the symptoms didn't match ringworm, so I went to my family doctor. My family doctor pulled out this old dusty medical book and showed me pictures of exactly what it was: it looked just like my red bumps on my skin. I for the life of me cannot remember the medical term for it. He said it was a very rare condition. It went away on it's own after several months. No ointments or cream were given to treat it - it just had to run it's course. It was ugly to look at, but no itching or pain of any kind.

I will post if I remember the name of it. Hope this helps!

Sounds aweful! At least it went away. I hope that's not what I have, I don't want this for months on end! But yes, if you remember the name, post or PM me, thanks! ETA: Just say your edit, I'll google it. THANKS!

I think the Claritin is helping, I'll take some benadryl after work (can't do it now, it will make me sleepy and I have a job to do!) and hopefully it will continue to improve. My sheets are clean but I'm going to wash them (and my towels) again, maybe they didn't rinse well and the soap is irritating me. I haven't had that happen before but I hear allergies can develop over time.

 

[sneadae]

I just posted it. It's called Pityriasis. You can see pictures if you Google it. My case wasn't quite as bad as some of the pictures, but it sure did look ugly (and it was bathing suit season, yikes!

Here's a link:

http://www.aocd.org/skin/dermatologic_diseases/pityriasis_rosea.html

 

[LuvOrlando]

Sneadae made me think back to a weird rash I have had 2 times.

Does it look like this?
http://www.aad.org/public/publications/pamphlets/common_pityriasis.html

The first time I panicked and thought I had caught Measles from someone on the NYC Subway so I went to the head of Infectious Disease at Columbia Presbyterian and was told it's no biggie. The second time had it I barely raised an eyebrow. Both times it was gone in about 2 weeks and left no marks. There were no other sign of illness with the exception that both times about 3 days before the breakout I had a quarter sized rash pop up on my arm out of the blue, and a wicked case of stomach trouble that lasted 1 day.

What makes this rash distinctive, according the that Dr., is that it sits on the torso only but not the extremities. In my case I could see it fade the further away from my belly button I looked. Very strange. If it creeps up to your face, lower arms or below your knee get checked.

 

[Chicago526]

I don't think it's Pityriasis, since they aren't scaley at all. And the Claritin seems to be helping, all that stuff says that drugs don't help at all. But, it's a place to start at least, so I appreciate the suggestion!

 

[tiggger1]

Do you drink a lot of stuff with aspartame? I had a rash like that and it was not itchy for the first couple of days but by the third I was miserable. It turned out to be an allergic reaction to the aspartame in the crystal light I was drinking (I was drinking a ton because of the heat!)

 

[Chicago526]

Do you drink a lot of stuff with aspartame? I had a rash like that and it was not itchy for the first couple of days but by the third I was miserable. It turned out to be an allergic reaction to the aspartame in the crystal light I was drinking (I was drinking a ton because of the heat!)

I drink Pepsi One, which uses splenda. Plus I don't drink a ton of it (equivilent of 1 1/2 cans a day on average). I don't drink (or eat) anything else that's diet.

But thanks for the thought. I bit the bullett and poped a benadryl at lunch and another about 1 hour ago, and it seems even better. So it's definatly an allergy of some kind, I just don't know to what!

 

[dicar123]

Bed bugs? It was the rash on our son looking worse after he woke up that sent us searching the bed.