face/hands rach

[finity]

for ten days i've had a red, itchy, burning, painful rash on my hands and face ... esp. around my mouth and chin.  very dry ... red bumps or marks ... no fluid or anything inside ... not like pox ... like many many small bumps or marks.really itches and i won't go out cause of how it looks. it is on the top of my hands and left wrist.  so itchy.  it is not spreading at all ... just won't go away ... i know of no new products i've used.  i'm 57 yrs. old.





This discussion is related to Persistent Rash On Face (red, slight burning, peeling).

[Vanessa Lacuesta]

Hi

Chronic skin conditions associated with itchiness may suggest an eczematous disease condition. Differentials for this may be contact allergic dermatitis with accompanying perioral dermatitis. These skin conditions do persist and they may be recurrent given the right triggers like an irritant ( eg cream, lotions, food ) and stressful events ( injury, too much heat).

Have you tried applying a corticosteroid cream over the affected areas?

[finity]

very very nice of you to write ... it has been ten days and no changes in any products nor food ... i use no lotion nor soap on my face ... only warm water.  i am a very very white pale person ... so i am careful not to irritate ... i don't sit in the sun and i was not injured.

yes excessive heat last week ... excessive heat for me ... i am vulnerable to anything over 85 degrees ... it was over 90.  also june is very high stress for this and that reason.  not in my control ... people i love going thru changes.

i've used hydrocortisone cream ... calmine lotion ... and an asian product i've used for years ... contains menthol and eucalyptos  ... i have used these products many times ... no help at all this time.

i wrote this site ... cause by friday eve i got scared ... and knew no doctor until monday unless an emergency room ... i waited ten days hoping it would go away with over the counter ideas ... it is so bad i won't go out ... i would not want to sit next to me with my face and hands this way.

thanks for writing.  i don't know if i'm writing you ... vanessa ... or accidentally posting something ... i don't know how to do websites ... thanks so much for suggestions and thoughts ... finity lorrie ... sksk

[Vanessa Lacuesta]

Hi

Yes, I do understand how discomforting and strange this feels. Based on your post, it seems like you have been experiencing this for quite some time already. The heat appeared to have triggered the rash. Aside from dermatitis, a sweat rash may be a differential also. If the rash persists despite the medications, this may be due to the persistence of the trigger .Try to stay in a cool place. Change into clothes of cool and light materials like cotton. In the absence of fever, eye redness and flulike symptoms, I do not think this is something infectious. I know you are very concerned about this .Pursue your consult with your doctor so that this will be completely assessed.

Apply hydrocortisone cream thinly over the affected areas. Do not apply in areas with open wounds or breaks on the skin. For itchiness applying cold compress or calamine lotion may help alleviate the symptoms.

[finity]

you sure are nice ... and monday i'll try to get like a visiting nurse or someone or a ride to doctor's ... hard without driving and limited income.

it has been since 6/6 ... but i thought it was something i ate for days and days ... yes, very hot four days.   six days since wonderful with thunderstorms and breezes.  
i try not to scratch but do ... it has not spread on me ... one hand and arm ... the other hand ... and lower face ... same 3 places.  (top of hands ... not palms)

i'll heed you advice ... and will make it until an appointment ... and appreciate your contact and thoughts.  i think ... cause i did too much on internet friday evening ... and stared at all rashes and symptoms ... i have decided it is scabies.  or something called like pruritus ... i forget spelling.  the fact an insect may be in me has freaked me out all weekend and even now ... scabies has a very bad reputation from my youth ... i've always heard the word scabies unkindly spoken ... if i have mites in me ... it is twilight zone material and nightmares ... i think i do.  that is the cause of the anxiety.  i will take a good old skin disease ... not a bug inside and under my skin ... frightening.  therefore i can't sleep much with the thought of such a thing.

i hope i'm not posting this to anyone but you ... you are my only response ... monday is closer than it was ... i want someone to say:  "it is not scabies ... no mites and no bugs under your skin" .... but i think my self diagnosis could be correct and i'm ashamed to tell anyone, have anyone over, or go out in public ... so thanks for talking with me.     finity lorrie ... sksk

[Vanessa Lacuesta]

Hi

I know you are concerned of all these differentials. However, it is important to note that these are just differentials. With regards to scabies, your physician may probably run a test to rule that out also .It is important that all these differentials are to be considered as they shall be excluded in the process.

I do not think this is scabies. Although the distribution may suggest this condition as a differential as these usually affect the hands and the areas between the fingers. However, scabies are intensely itchy. The itchiness may begin to involve nearby normal skin.

A microscopic evaluation of the skin may be able to help determine if scabies causes the condition.

[finity]

thank you ... i got this just now ... i could not get to a doctor nor dermatologist ... would take two rides ... four two and fro ... could not pull it off financially.  nothing on my face now ... still top of both hands and left arm ... still using calmine lotion and some benedryl. and hydrogen peroxide on open holes from scratching and itching.

extremely itchy ... but only on hands ... top of hands ... not fingers ... doesn't spread.  i called today to get a visiting nurse ... i don't qualify though i'm on medicaid or medicare ... i forget which ... i think medicare ...  and soc. sec. disability  ... i just want someone to say it is not scabies and not mites ... thanks for saying you don't think so.  i don't know even who you are nor your qualifications ... but damn you do make me feel easier and calmer ... so whoever you are ... thank you ... really appreciated.  i'm gonna try again wednesday and thursday to find a ride to show someone my hands ... cause the emotional toll worse than the physical ...

my grandson is supposed to stay with me all weekend ... i fear him near me ... and don't know what to say ... i believe i'm not contagious ... it has not ever spread ... but he's a child ... i don't want to be wrong.

i'm just saying thanks ... though i know nothing about you ... helps me sleep somewhat and think it is not insects ... it was the heat 6/6 thru 6/9 ... it'll go away.  just helps with sleeping to believe you ... many of those tiny watery blisters are just holes now ... doesn't look good at all ... but holes or watery tiny bumps ... hands not to touch and hands not to hug ... hands not to be seen in public.

doctors said i could see them in july ... in july ... seems dermatologists are very busy people with no walk in hours ... no emergencies ... all said go to an ER ... i won't spend six hours in a hospital ... i won't go there.  

i'm updating you ... mostly i'm saying thanks ... i thought this would end monday when someone somewhere would look at me ... and give me something or other ... reassure me ... i could not pull it off ... i tried from 8am on ...

tough thing ... but fine ... not as bad in anyway as others have it ... i just have bad hands ... and fear of sleep ... and the cause ... that is nothing compared to the real world of hospitals and nursing homes ... so thanks for talking with me.  finity ... sksk