Rash all over body

[Ultima]

I made a thread a few days ago about a rash in my genital and inner thigh region that was very bad. For whatever reason it has started to subside. It can still be very painful and itchy, but I feel it getting better with time now and it's not getting any worse there.

But now some sort of rash has popped up all over my body. Because the forum only allows me to upload one picture, I have a few pictures uploaded to imageshack.

http://img96.imageshack.us/i/0505101913.jpg/
Here is a picture of the rash on my arm.

http://img188.imageshack.us/i/0505101914.jpg/
And here it is on my leg.

http://img10.imageshack.us/i/0505101915.jpg/
And this is what my foot looks like right now.

Please note that these pictures were taken with a phone camera with poor contrast. In reality the rash is much redder than shown. The spots feel a lot like mosquito bites, but redder and smaller. My cheeks even have the rash and are a bit swollen. The rash started appearing 2 days ago or so, and I originally thought it was the rash in my groin region getting worse and spreading, but the rash down there has started getting better. Yesterday other than the itchiness I felt fine. Today I woke up with a bit of a stuffy nose and a little soreness in my throat. My earlobes are also red and very swollen, and everywhere the rash is, it is very warm to the touch. This reminds me of chickenpox, but I've already had chickenpox. What could this possibly be? I feel like by tomorrow the soreness in my throat is going to be worse, and I have no idea what this is, but it just keeps getting worse and worse.

[Ultima]

I looked around on the internet, and it seems like this is a case of hives.

Is there anything I should do about it? The appearance on my face seems to be angioedema, which I heard can be pretty bad? My throat is a bit sore, and it's not getting any better. My lips are now swollen up from the rash, and on my arms and legs it just keeps spreading and getting worse. The symptoms seem to point to hives, so there's a really good chance that's what it is. Should I be worried about angioedema? What's the chance that this starts clearing up soon, or the chance it starts to get worse?

[Bhupinder Kaur, MD]

Hello,
It can be due to hives. The other possibility is some viral exanthematous rash. Hives have a tendency to change size rapidly and to move around, disappearing in one place and reappearing in other places, often in a matter of hours.

Many cases of hives are "idiopathic," meaning no cause is known. Others may be triggered by viral infections or medications. The treatment of hives consists of antihistaminics, calamine lotion and steroids. So please get the diagnosis confirmed from a dermatologist. Sometimes the treatment of hives may have to be taken for 6 weeks also.

It is very difficult to precisely confirm a diagnosis without examination and investigations and the answer is based on the medical information provided. For exact diagnosis, you are requested to consult your doctor. I sincerely hope that helps. Take care and please do keep me posted on how you are doing.