Contagious Intese Itchy Rash

[Cheeks520]

Ive had a rash all over my body mostly inner thighs, legs, back, buttocks and arms for 5 months.  Ive been to doctors they tell me its folliculitious????   Im not so sure my friend who Im not sexullay active with has it now, but my children havent had any signs of it.  Its driving me crazy!!!! It starts by maybe me scratching my thigh just because, then it quickly turns into my having to scratch it because it itches soooo bad, then small hive like bumps show after Ive been scratching for five minutes.   The itching is soooo bad Ive cried at night because I cant sleep.  Ive dug my skin until there's blood, its worse on my inner thighs and backs of my legs.. Someone PLEASE help me!!!!

[Bhupinder Kaur, MD]

Hello,
From the intensity of itching that you are having and since your child is also showing the bumps, I would like to rule out scabies. It is an infestation of the skin with the Sarcoptes scabiei mite. It is characterized by intense itching, usually at night and by small insect-type bites lesions on the skin. Diagnosis of scabies is made by scraping the skin and viewing the material under a microscope to see the characteristic mite or eggs.
Diagnosis can be confirmed only after clinical examination. I feel that a dermatologist would be the best person to evaluate that. Hope it helps. Take care and please do keep me posted on how you are doing or if you have any additional queries. Kind regards.

[Cheeks520]

Thanks for your comment, but....

Would  hives be contagious?  My 2 yr old daughter has now a few bumps on her back.  And the bumps only really show up when I scratch... which is really hard not to  do since the areas itch really bad.. its reached my back and breast and no one seems to  know what it is.

[Bhupinder Kaur, MD]

Hello,
The symptoms are suggestive of urticaria or hives. Hives are red, itchy, raised areas of skin that appear in varying shapes and sizes. Many cases of hives are "idiopathic," meaning no cause is known. Others may be triggered by viral infections or medications. Take some antihistaminic like Benadryl or Claritin and apply some calamine lotion on the rashes. If the symptoms persist then topical or oral steroids may be needed. Please consult a dermatologist in that case.

I hope it helps. Take care and please do keep me posted in case you have any additional doubts. Kind regards.