Um. What is it?

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Ash

Ash

Trouble....
Joined
Jan 28, 2009
Messages
2,963
Location
Mount Carmel, PA
Ok. So... I have this rash and basically have NO clue what it is. I've already gone to the doctor's, and she's treating it like poison ivy, but I don't think that's what it is. For one thing, I've been nowhere near poison ivy. For two, I've walked, touched, inhaled, etc poison ivy and have never (knock on wood) gotten it. Third, I'm not aware of poison ivy causing muscle pain prior to appearing, and last, I've not heard of it taking almost a week to appear.

So... Tuesday or so, I started feeling pain on the back left of my neck. I thought maybe it was a pinched nerve or something... By Friday, I started feeling bumps and thought "Ok, maybe I've gotten bug bites" (we left Wednesday for the mountains of NC, so it was highly plausible). However, the area was very red. By Sunday, I had a spot on the FRONT of my chest, which lead me to believe it definitely wasn't a bug bite. I put some benadryl cream on it last night. It didn't help. Today, I got hydrocortisone cream and noticed another (small) spot on my chest. Well, the hydrocortisone cream burned, and I made the decision to go to the doctor.

I'm on a sliding scale of Prednisone 10 and oatmeal paste to the "rash" twice a day. Aside from itching like the dickens when the paste was on (it feels GREAT now btw), I'm playing the wait and see game to see if it will help. But here are some pictures of the redmarks to see if you guys have any ideas. Do you guys know of anything that would cause muscle pain as well?

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aside from it being a bite and a secondary allergy to something in the cortisone cream, it looks like shingles to me.
 
question, is on just one side of your body, left side or right side or is it all over?
 
~SG~ said:
question, is on just one side of your body, left side or right side or is it all over?
Click to expand...

By the angle of the pictures it looks like it is on the left side of the body.

And Ash.. you are young which is probably why the dr didnt mention shingles. And the fact that you were in the mountains is an excuse for you dr not to look more into it. If I were you I would get a second opinion.
 
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Melissa said:
By the angle of the pictures it looks like it is on the left side of the body.
Click to expand...
that's what I was thinking, definitely shingles if it is as it typically affects only one side of the body.

I think perhaps you need to see a different DR.
 
That's what I was thinking too Melissa. Shingles is predominately on one side of the body and the splotches look similar to pictures of shingles. Maybe try calling the doctor in the morning and asking his opinion on it being shingles? Sometimes doctors can misdiagnose with rashes, especially if they hadn't fully developed by the initial doctor visit.

If he shrugs you off or just for peace of mind a second opinion would be a good route to go as well.
 
That looks like my father's shingles infection, which started on his upper left chest/shoulder region too. The pain, then redness, then swelling holds with the pattern of shingles, as well as the cold symptoms appearing a couple days after the rash.

If it's not that, though, it's not poison ivy/oak/sumac. No blisters or seeping, which any of them would be doing after about 24-36 h. I'd definitely talk to somebody else about it.
 
Diito on the shingles bless your heart! That's what it looks and sound like.The shingles rash is actually sort of a reactivation of the chicken pox virus that has been dormant in your system.When it "wakes back up" it will generally have the rash that follows a nerve pathway.If the rash is "tracking" along and especially on just one side of the body ie from one side of your neck down that same side arm/middle of back around to front it probably is shingles.Hate to say it but go back to Dr and put emphasis on PAIN moreso than itching(even though it does itch like heck) and tell her you think you may have shingles.There are some creams and meds Zovirax is one that will help much better than the steroids. Unfortunately once you have shingles, you will be prone to have outbreaks again, esp during times of stress or illness.If the Dr won't listen,best advice I've got is see another Dr.Contrary to what Drs think, they aren't always right!LOL And you are definitely in my prayers
 
Awesome. Ugh. I really don't have the money to go back. I told the doctor that it started BEFORE going to the mountains, and told her it really doesn't itch, it moreso hurts. Anyone have any at-home time remedies to help? The oatmeal bath paste seems to be helping. My neck didn't hurt when I woke up this morning.
 
If you were in the mountains, and got bit by a tick, you could have something related to that. Especially since you were in the mountains and the threat of tick fever and Lyme Disease being there. But from what you have described, it sounds like shingles. I have had them twice and each time, had the same pain and rash you have. I would go back to the doctor and have some blood work done, if possible, just to rule either of them out of the equation.
 
Sorry gal, but nothing really over the counter will help.The oatmeal bath may soothe a little(don't spend $ on the bath kind,just take old fashion oat meal and grind up either in blender or coffee blender.It's the same thing and lots cheaper).If it is shingles,prescription cream and po meds both to treat the shingles and to control the pain are the only things to do. The prescription meds don't "cure" the shingles, but they can help to shorten the length of time you suffer with an outbreak.:cry3:
 
Ash, don't you work at a pharmacy? Why are you asking here? Ask the pharmacist for advice for OTC stuff and what they think it is. Also, most CVSs have a Minute Clinic, can you have an unofficial chat with them being an employee?
 
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The closest "minute clinic" is actually about 2 hours away. Only certain stores have minute clinics. I've talked to three different Rph's (one from another store, and 2 from mine) and none of them seem to think it's shingles, and I've even said that I've been told that's what it looks like. The one pharmacist said that shingles tends to follow a nerve specified path, which mine doesn't appear to be doing. The first pharmacist told me to try the cortisone cream, and when that started burning instead of helping, that's when I decided to go to the doctor's.

I don't know. It sucks, either way.


Mercy, I got a script for the oatmeal bath, so it only ended up costing me about a dollar for a big box. So far, 1 pack has last me 2 days and I've still got a good bit left since I only need to cover a small area.

The spots on the back of my neck doesn't seem as inflamed as it was yesterday, so I'm hoping that means maybe the steroids are actually working, even though I still seem to be having pain in the back of my neck. However, it seems to be from my lab coat rubbing against it, as when I woke up this morning, it didn't hurt at all.
 
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