Rash more serious than I thought??

[orleans]

I developed a rash on Sat. One week after starting peg/riba. Not to bad, arms, hands, some on my chest and stomach. A little more pronounced at the injection site. It looks alot like poison ivy but not as itchy. Called my PA this morn, more as a precaution than anything. It's not that bad but I could see the potential of it becoming worse. She called me back and to my surprise insisted I come in in the morning. I tried to talk her out of it but she wasn't hearing it. NOW I'm concerned. It's not like my Dr has ever been that engaged. I've seen posts about the rash but never saw it as a real threat. Can it be gotten rid of or am I looking at a year of it? jerry

[Odin999]

Don't know so much about rash related sx - fortunately didn't have too much trouble with that myself. (Everything else instead).

Just wanted to say that I have heard from a number of people, including my specialist, that rashes can be serious. Some people need hospitalisation or to stop treatment. BUT catching it very quickly can possibly prevent things getting too bad. It is good that your doctor and PA are paying attention and taking action.

[can-do-man]

Myself i think its good that she insists on seeing you. It can be kept under control, but as far as being rid of it totally i'm not to sure of that. Wishing you the best.

cando

[jmjm530]

Sounds normal for treatment.

Looking at it in a positive light, it sounds good your medical team wants to check it out and perhaps give you something to help.

On the other hand, if your doc isn't a liver specialist (hepatologist) and doesn't have a large Hep C patient base, then they may overreact and suggest a reduction in medications. If this happens, try and see a hepatologist ASAP for a second opinion as you want to do everything possible to stay on full meds, esp so early in treatment.

[orleans]

He's a hepatologist. I was just surprised by the reaction. I mean when he wrote my scripts there was no instruction about the injections, no mention 'bout water intake, fat with riba, nothing. Of course I had seen him 3 times before, with long lists of questions and concerns. Maybe he jst assumed I was versed in the basics. By the way, why did you extend those few weeks? Was it to make up for the blood issues you had early on? thanks, jerry thanks cando

[Rockerforlife]

have you tried using coconut oil on the rash?

[orleans]

Have not but will

[Rockerforlife]

http://www.coconutresearchcenter.org/

Kills viruses that cause influenza, herpes, measles, hepatitis C, SARS, AIDS, and other illnesses.

[Rockerforlife]

http://www.coconut-connections.com/skin_care.htm

Coconut oil will absorb easily, keep the skin soft, and yet without feeling greasy.  It is not like other oils used to soften rough, dry skin.  It will help to reduce chronic skin inflammation within days and be soothing and healing to wounds, blood blisters, rashes, etc.  It is an excellent ingredient to use in healing salves and ointments.  People have used a coconut oil/crushed garlic mixture at night to eliminate plantar warts and athlete's foot with excellent results.

[Fl_Gator]

FYI....a few weeks ago I read  one of your posts about coconut oil and researched it a bit. I decided to try it out and rec'd an unexpected benefit....my Riba cough is gone. I have been on tx for 10 weeks and had a persistent aggravating cough and it went away after using the coconut oil for the last week....Tks

[Marcia2202]

I love coconut oil, too. I cook all my food with it. If you store it in a cool place it becomes hard, so it's also great on bread, instead of butter.

I swallow my riba with a tablespoon of coconut oil. It goes down so smoothly.

Thanks for the tip about the cough!!!

Marcia

[Rockerforlife]

FINALLY SOMEONE BELIEVES ME....now check out the stem enhance

[almanu]

hi im on week 3 of tx, just have a few pacthes around injection site and very very small pacthes on arms nothing to worry about just usen sudocream works fine, as regards to your doc asking you to come in i think its standard proceedure as i rang up saying i was a little short of breath on monday , no these are standard sx and i was hauled straight in put on a  ecg then got a chest xray , i was like for gods sake is all this nessesary ,they just said your flooding your body with a toxic substance were going to take every precaution with you no matter how trivial, kind of reasuring when you think about it, oh they also said id be sick of looking at them after tx, eh ive been coming here for 9 years i was sick of you 8 years ago i replied lol.

[dointime]

You better believe a rash can be serious.  Correct action is to get right on top of it ASAP as your doc is doing.

dointime

[orleans]

O.K. So Dr prescribed the steroid cream. Been lookin' around and it is recommended for use of no more than 2 weeks, and can cause all kinds of heartaches. I just started treatment (1 1/2 weeks into 48),  the rash is popping up all over including my ears and eye lids. What should my strategy be. I have picked up a couple of different lotions (and coconut oil!). Should I go ahead and use the steroids, beat back the rash then switch to the lotions to try to keep it at bay? Might the warnings be overstated, as they often are, and should I just keep with the steroid? Maybe I should make an appointment with a dermatologist. Any suggestions are welcome! jm

[alagirl]

yeah, i got a rash and some minor skin infections - not during treatment, after, and i got a tub of antibiotic cream from my doctor, also full of dire warnings, up to and including death.  I looked online and the warnings were even worse.  Naturally, I used it right away - worked great and i never had any problems with it.  I'd use the stuff your doc gave you and see if it works and then switch to the non-prescription stuff for maintenance.  I mean, your goal is to get rid of your problem, and this is what the person who is treating you prescribed.  He IS your doctor, and he IS hepatologist, and presumably you have some confidence in the guy or you wouldn't be seeing him.  So if it was me, I'd at least give what he prescribed for you a shot.  You can always stop applying it if it doesn't work or has unpleasant side effects, and hopefully it will get it under control much faster than two weeks and you won't have to use it very long.  And certainly at any point you can make an executive decision (since you're the executive) to quit using it and switch over to the cocunut oil, but maybe by then your rash will at least be at a tolerable level - I know a heavy rash like that can just make you crazy, so I feel for you.