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Saturday, May 26, 2012

Let's diagnose the doctor!

I have a mysterious ailment that's driving me crazy. On Tuesday morning, I woke up with an itchy rash all over my arms. On Wednesday, it was itchier and starting to spread to my face. On Thursday, my ears were swollen and the rash was all over my face and neck. On Friday my face started to swell. It's even worse today, with the rash covering my arms, neck (front and back), and face.

By Thursday I was so miserable that I went to a pharmacy. In France, you can often get fairly strong drugs OTC, so a pharmacy is the first logical stop. The pharmacist took one look at me and sent me to the doctor down the street. She was kind enough to squeeze me in without an appointment--and for the standard fee of 23 Euros (French citizens get this fee reimbursed).

She said it definitely looks like an allergic reaction of some kind. But the cause had us scratching our heads--me literally! I have no known allergies at all. Some possibilities we discussed:

Sun allergy? Maybe, but the rash appeared after several days of rainy weather; we went swimming Saturday afternoon and then didn't see the sun again until late on Tuesday after my rash had already appeared.

Food allergy? I couldn't think of anything I ate that was unusual or new, and I've never been allergic to anything ever. Of course, food allergies can appear out of the blue.

Other chemical/agent? I did try one perfume on Monday afternoon on one of my hands, but the pattern of the rash doesn't point to perfume as a culprit. Basically my rash is everywhere the sun hits, if I were wearing pants and a short-sleeved shirt. I also wondered if I were reacting to something the sheets were washed in, since I put a new set of sheets on over the weekend. This might explain the rash's location, since I wear long pants and a short-sleeved shirt to bed.

The doctor prescribed an antihistamine (5 mg desloratadine daily for 2 weeks). So far my rash has continued to get worse even with the medication. I bought a hydrocortisol cream yesterday and have been applying it in the evenings. Not sure if it helps. 

This brings me back to the first hypothesis of a sun allergy, with the laundry detergent being a second runner-up. The pattern of the rash is strikingly correlated to where my shirtlines fall. But it would have to be a photoallergic eruption--a delayed reaction caused by a combination of a drug/medication and sun exposure--not a polymorphus light eruption because PMLEs occur almost instantly after sun exposure.

Remember, I hadn't seen the sun for about 2 1/2 days when my rash broke out. I wonder if it might be the sunscreen I used on Saturday afternoon. My sister brought a bottle to the beach, and I think I used hers instead of mine. I also have a small sample-sized bottle that I used at some point last week when I forgot my larger bottle. That would make sense why my rash is where it is, and why it didn't show up for a few days after the sun exposure.

I also changed the sheets on our bed and washed the new ones in different detergent--one I've been using on my own clothes that doesn't seem to bother me.

Tomorrow I am going to do an experiment to test my photoallergy hypothesis: draw 3 large circles on my lower legs and apply each of the 3 different kinds of sunscreen in our apartment, then sit in the sun for 15-20 minutes. If, in a day or two, I develop a rash, I'll have solved this mystery illness.

In the meantime I feel like a clown with my bright red face and swollen ears. An itchy, miserable clown.

So, what do you think? Any other unexplored possibilities? 
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23 comments:

  1. No ideas come to mind, but you sound miserable. Hope you're quickly on the mend!

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  2. Laundry detergent is my guess. I hope your rash subsides quickly.

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  3. Unless you were indoors all the time in the rain, it could still be sun, as light will pierce the clouds.

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  4. The only thing I could suggest is a different (prescription) antihistamine: there are several different active ingredients out there, and one may work while the others won't, usually quite quickly. For example, both Claritin and Zyrtec did *nothing* for the massively swollen hive-ridden arm I had a few years ago, but Phenergan worked wonders within 24 hours. Never found the allergen, but at that point I didn't care! I hope you start feeling better very soon.

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  5. I'd immediately start some Bendaryl(Diphenhydramine).

    The med they gave you (Clarinex) is a second generation antihistamine which may be too selective to deal with such an overwhelming histamine response. Benadryl is a first generation antihistamine- is is AWESOME for situations like this!!

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  6. Seek a naturopathic physician or someone skilled with herbal knowledge! Different wisdom and philosophies with these practitioners, and typically safer remedies.

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  7. Allergy to sunscreen?

    My allergy to Red 40 developed "out of the blue". I had never had a problem with it, and then one day when I was handling maraschino cherries (chock full of red dye), my nose started itching **terribly**.

    My older son also had that nose-itching if Red 40 got on his face, but it morphed into full-body itching if he ate it (and up to that point, we could both eat it with no problems -- we just couldn't get it on our faces). In his case, the switch happened right after we moved from MS to NM, which was **quite** a change in climate (much drier) and altitude (near sea level to 7,000 feet), with quite a different range of flora -- mostly cactus, bushes, and small evergreen trees, instead of mostly grass and big trees, both deciduous and evergreen.

    IOW, the allergy seemed to start, worsen, and/or dramatically change along with the change in environment, so I'd look even at things that have never bothered you before. It may not be those things, but it's not something just to overlook, just because it's never seemed to bother you up till now.

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    1. It doesn't seem to be a typical allergen, in that I have no itchy nose or eyes, and it hasn't appeared anywhere on my torso (where hives often first appear). It's so strongly linked to sun/skin exposure in my mind because the rash is so localized.

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  8. When I was growing up in Germany and had sun allergy, the pharmacist gave me those dissolvable calcium tablets that are popular in Europe. I honestly don't remember how effective they were, but it's pretty harmless and cheap to try.

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  9. I have a sun allergy, and it develops even in cloudy weather. Strangely, only when I'm in Germany? I get hives on my arms and neck. I had my legs out in the sun yesterday, and didn't develop any hives there, though. So your experiment may not work, as the only places on my body that seem to break out in hives are arms and neck. Maybe because they are exposed the most and more sensitive? I don't know, but it's sure annoying...

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  10. I just read of something similar on another blog, here http://lettenbergertwins.blogspot.com/2012/05/rashes-poos-and-promotions-oh-my.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+JaxonAndBradysJourney+%28Jaxon+and+Brady%27s+Journey%29&utm_content=Google+Reader
    Her twins started getting a rash similar to what you describe.

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  11. Let's try that link again,

    http://lettenbergertwins.blogspot.com/2012/05/rashes-poos-and-promotions-oh-my.html

    Sorry about that

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    1. Yes, that sounds exactly like the photoallergic eruption I had mentioned. More and more I'm thinking this is likely the culprit.

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  12. Do you take a multi vitamin or any kind of supplement? They can change the ingredients in those without any kind of notice so even if you have been taking if forever, there could be changes in the formula that cause an allergic reaction.

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    1. Mel, I haven't been taking any multivitamins or supplements.

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  13. Kawasaki disease? http://www.childrenshospital.org/az/Site503/mainpageS503P1.html

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    1. Nope, no fever and none of the other symptoms except the rash.

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  14. When I was in Japan I had a horrible allergic reaction that consisted of weeping blisters all over my face. The Japanese doctors wouldn't even approach me. I missed a week of work and finally got a steroid shot. We figured it must have been a plant allergy bec we'd been hiking. Years later I discovered I'm allergic to the oils in mango skin, which apparently is related to poison ivy. My point--if antihistamines aren't helping, you might need a steroid?

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    1. I think I'm going to ask for that--it's still getting worse, not better. I hope to see the doctor again today.

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  15. I don't know your history, but a photo-reaction sounds plausible. I hope you are getting some relief! A cousin of mine has a sun reaction, but only when it is mixed with certain other foods. She can be out in the sun and be fine, but if she were to drink,eat or touch lemons, limes, (basically any citris) or weird things like anise, parsnips or carrots; she will break out into a rash that sounds a lot like yours. Took them years to figure out what it was. I think it is called phytophotodermatitis?

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  16. OH my WORD! I have the EXACT SAME THING!! Everything you are describing is exactly what I'm experiencing. Even down to the day! If you figure out what is going on, please email me! sstrimble@bsu.edu I"m miserable! I even went in to the Dr. and he gave me a steroid shot and a separate round of steroid pills. I HATE needles and try to not take any pharmaceuticals, but this is driving me crazy. It has given me some relief.. but it just seems to continue to get worse and to spread. :(

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  17. When I was reading thismy forst guess was the sun screen even before you got to saying you had used your sisters! I hope it goes away fast!Ibuprophsn might help with the swelling.

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  18. generally hives have to run their course. My son, for instance, ha a similar reaction last week and it took a good 4 days before it calmed down. His eyelids and hands and feet even swelled. Benedryl gave him the most relief, as well as oatmeal baths. Oh and benedryl cream when it was super itchy.

    You could be having an allergic reaction to virus you came in contact with. Immune systems are funny. Any fever? (even slight)...

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