what is this stuff?

I am a 57 yr. old man.  I just recently started getting a rash which began at my ankels and has spread to most of my body.    These are small red blotches, not raised very high.  Most are inner-connected but many are not.  On my fingers they appear as small blisters with a purple center.  The ones around my ankels itch a little, but over-all, they  do not itch.  

While the rash itself doesn't bother me too much, the little thing (I'm sorry I don't know what it's called) that hangs down at the beginning of your throat, is also infected with this rash and is quite swellen making it hard to swallow.  Any ideas?

don kopp

[Alan Rockoff, MD]

Don:

Please do yourself a favor and get to a doctor at once.  In truth, I don't know what you have, though I copuld make a guess at a condition called erythema multiforme, which produces round, "bull's -eye" spots and oral ulcers as well.  (The "hanging thing" is called a uvula.  This condition is not necessarily serious, but it may be due to a drug you're taking, and in any case, total-body rashes with swallowing difficulty are nothing to fool around with.

If you're smart, you'll go see a doctor now.  Start with a walk-in clinic, if you haven't got a doctor of your own.

Good luck.

Dr. R