“Contact dermatitis” but I don’t think so? PLEASE help me.?
Posted by: Alan in Contact Dermatitis, tags: Contact, Dermatitis, Dont, Help, Please, Think
I went to the theme park Busch Gardens on Saturday with my school. We were coming back home after and the top of my hand was itchy. The next day, my other arm was itchy, and I slowly over the next few days developed seemingly random splotches of itchy weirdness.
I went to the doctor Tuesday. He looked at me for thirty seconds, saw that it was on my hand and my arm and I went to an amusement park, called it contact dermatitis and left.
I don’t think it’s contact dermatitis because it’s continued to spread and it’s in random splotches, not just where clothing touches (like if I was reacting to laundry detergent) etc.
I’ll describe it the best I can.
It’s on the top of my right hand in a somewhat distinct line, there’s a splotch or two on the top of my right arm, it’s ALL over the underside of my left arm in three or four main spots about the size of a quarter with more dot-like splotches by the elbow. Left inner thigh in a distinct line resembling the one on my hand a little. One small spot on my inner thigh (which was really itchy so I scratched it like crazy a second ago and now there’s a bunch of tiny red speckes around it). In a triangular shape on my breast, a little in the middle of my chest, in my belly button, and finally a little bit on my neck.
Not a speck on the back of me at all or my face or my legs (besides the thighs)
I live in South Florida and it has been raining lately. I have a dog.
I have perscription ointment for contact dermatitis, I’ve been taking short cool showers and rubbing oatmeal and baking soda on my “rash”.
What else can I do? Do you think it is contact dermatitis? What do you suggest it is if it isn’t on the back of me at all or my face? What has worked for you getting rid of rashes?
I’m 16, it’s hot out and I’m already sick of wearing pants and jackets to cover this up. Please help.
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April 2nd, 2010 at 6:47 am
You can take antihistamines to help reduce the itching. A nurse recommended I take Zyrtec because it is time release. It could make you sleepy. I like Diphenhydramine HCL because it is cheap. It can make you sleepy too.
It does sound like contact dermatitis. Sometimes doctors prescribe Decadron. I once had a reaction like that from some medicine I took.
April 2nd, 2010 at 7:44 am
It sounds a lot like poison ivy, which is a contact dermatitis. How badly does it itch? Unfortunately, if you didn’t clean off the oils that are secreted onto your skin, you have probably been spreading it around and allowing it to get into your pores. Do the areas of rashes correspond to areas you may have been scratching? At this point, it is a bit late, but you could still use alcohol or a commercial preparation to cleanse any of the oil that might remain.
I’ve had it so bad that my skin was blistered and oozing body fluids many years ago. Anything to soothe the itching will help now, but be sure that you have gotten rid of the toxic oil that causes the reaction.
Benadryl will also help with the itching sometimes. Google poison ivy and see what you think. My worst case left dark pigmented areas on my legs that looked like burn scars, but they did disappear over several months time. This was decades ago, so a dermatologist may have some help for that these days.
April 2nd, 2010 at 7:53 am
I’m not sure that this is contact dermatitis, and you obviously have the right to question that, especially if the doctor was so hasty in his assessment.
This sounds more like a typical rash, though I wouldn’t be able to diagnose it specifically even if I was present.
If I were you, since I don’t think anyone will be able to diagnose you on here any better than your doctor did, I would talk to your parents about returning to the physican or trying to get a second opinion. Stop by the hospital if you have to, don’t think that they only do emergencies there.
Nothing bad can come of trying to get a second opinion. When you do, try to remember when each rash in specific appeared, and if you had been scratching at or touching the spot.
April 2nd, 2010 at 7:56 am
could be scabies