Anything and everything goes in here... within reason.
Topic locked

Rash- ugh it burns.

Wed Mar 01, 2006 6:47 am

Late last week I was itching on my right side above the hip area and then around Monday of this week, a bright red rash appeared and still does not show any signs of going away any time soon.

I've tried doing google searches, but usually they are sponsored by drug companies that want me to pay for their product.

I'm wondering if anyone has some good tips to alleviate a minor rash without having to dig in my pocket and pay for expensive meds?

As far as I know of it just sort of came out of the blue. I can't say I've touched poisen ivy or poisn oak, etc.

Best close-up I could do.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v73/B ... my-hip.jpg

Any tips are extremly welcome as this is itching and burning like heck, besides being downright distracting.

I am trying some ointment that my mom had for treating heat rash. So far the ointment has changed the rash from bright red to pink, but the pain is still the same, if not worse, and the tiny blisters are there if not growing. I'm not sure, but I think there are more bumps forming, indicating that the rash may be spreading. :x

Wed Mar 01, 2006 6:58 am

As one who has suffered many a rash, my best advise is don't scratch it. That is the cheapest way. Consulting my book of home remedies, it recommends relaxing and a cream of Vitamin C. A couple more recommondations from me are: used tea bags (they are used on dog rashes to great effect and I found they are quite effective on humans too :P ), ice and plenty of it, and limiting any contact with other parts of your body (most of mine are usually on the legs or arm where that is a worry).

Just relax, drink some tea, rub the tea bags all over you, and try your hardest not to itch (which is next to impossible).

Wed Mar 01, 2006 7:15 am

It looks like a plant based rash to me.

Wed Mar 01, 2006 11:51 am

Usually, rashes disappear within a day for me... :o

Those blisters look potentially nasty. The best advice for any skin problem is to avoid scratching/touching/stimulating it in any way. Try covering it somehow (with a cotton maybe?). If it does not fade away within a few more days, most likely it's more than a simple rash. Maybe it's caused by some poisonous/corossive objects or maybe some micro-organism is at work.

Wed Mar 01, 2006 3:23 pm

Try getting some aloe vera salve, maybe with novacaine. Calamine lotion and witch hazel are also your friend.

Wed Mar 01, 2006 5:42 pm

I hope to get some Calamine lotion. It really stinks because as well as the rash, I have a very sore throat and really don't feel well. Isn't it ironic I have to get sick at the oddest times?

It looks like a plant based rash to me.
I doubt that. No poisin ivy, oak, etc growing here right now with 20 degree weather. Or below 0 degrees for celcious people.

Thu Mar 02, 2006 3:39 am

It could be a plant you are specifically allergic too, it's just the whole red with orangy lumps thing gives the impression of some sort of allergent dust having settled or brushed there.

Thu Mar 02, 2006 5:05 am

Butterflyhornet wrote:I hope to get some Calamine lotion. It really stinks because as well as the rash, I have a very sore throat and really don't feel well. Isn't it ironic I have to get sick at the oddest times?


Get tested for strep throat. I know it sounds odd, but you might actually have scarlet fever. I'm not sure if the rash shows up in the same place, but scarlet fever is a strep throat infection accompanied by a bright red rash.
Last edited by theonlysaneone on Thu Mar 02, 2006 5:25 am, edited 1 time in total.

Thu Mar 02, 2006 5:18 am

Butterfly, get yourself to a doctor. That picture isn't what I was expecting. It looks nasty (not YOU nasty, but a what the heck could this be and don't let it spread nasty). And you said it looks like it might be spreading?

It could be an allergic reaction to just about anything, it could be stress, it could be a form of what causes fever blisters people get on their lips.

I can tell you after spending the day in ER this past Saturday with what I originally thought was just a stress itch/rash which progressively got worse over a few days to the point where I started having trouble breathing - and finding out that it was an allergy and I didn't have just a rash, I had hives all over me - I take this seriously. The doctor and nurses in the ER sure took it seriously when they looked at me.

Thu Mar 02, 2006 4:46 pm

I decided I will see a doctor, but this is going to be difficult without health insurance. I got a list of free clinics to go to and one of them is open today at 5:30 pm. I hope to leave at least an hour early before they open so I have a chance in case there is a line. The downside is it may be only for the working uninsured and I don't have a job. If not there may be another one open Monday or Wednessday of next week, but honestly I really don't want to wait through the weekend. The pain is terrible.

But people are right. The rash is nasty and is spreading, but seems to still be localized in a diagnal strip extending from my back to about the base of my right leg or belly button. It seems to be only on the right side of the torso that's getting the brunt of the pain and the rash.

I did some research, but the kind of rash I think it could be is not a type of rash I'd be expecting being only 22 years old.

an update pict of the rash as of yesterday night, not last night. The white stuff was from some cream I was trying to apply on it. Not for the faint of heart. :evil:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v73/B ... y-hip1.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v73/B ... my-hip.jpg
The rash has gotten crusty since then.
Last edited by Butterflyhornet on Thu Mar 02, 2006 7:58 pm, edited 3 times in total.

Thu Mar 02, 2006 4:51 pm

If it's spreading, you should definitely see a doctor.

Free clinics don't often turn you down if you don't have a job - that sort of defeats the purpose.

Thu Mar 02, 2006 9:09 pm

I think you have shingles. Make sure to get checked out by a doctor/clinic. My grandma had it and it lasted for many months. She got a cream to help with the pain.

Thu Mar 02, 2006 9:35 pm

Fire, and lots of it!

Thu Mar 02, 2006 10:19 pm

Butterflyhornet wrote:I hope to get some Calamine lotion. It really stinks because as well as the rash, I have a very sore throat and really don't feel well. Isn't it ironic I have to get sick at the oddest times?

It looks like a plant based rash to me.
I doubt that. No poisin ivy, oak, etc growing here right now with 20 degree weather. Or below 0 degrees for celcious people.


you can still get poison ivy even in the winter - I have had it

Fri Mar 03, 2006 12:59 am

I went to the clinic and the doctor looked at it twice and both times said it is shingles.

I now have an anti viral med I have to take for 3 times a day for about 7 days.

Kind of odd to be happening in a 22 year old, but he said it happens at any age. :o
Topic locked