Rash....What is happening to me??

[melissasue017]

Last night, I noticed that my arms were rather itchy. As I was itching them, tiny bumps formed. I didn't think much of it, but when I was getting dressed to go to bed later on in the night, I noticed my back, face, and arms had slightly elevated bumps/patches of red.

I took 2 tablets of Benadryl, went to sleep, and in the morning, I noticed they were still there and my back even had more rashes and it spread to my shoulders and arms. I took 2 more tablets of Benadryl, took a shower, and then went back to sleep. When I woke up, I was amazed that my rashes were predominately gone.

However, a couple of hours later, they came back! In the same exact spots. I have one patch on each knee, patches on my shoulders, back, arms, neck, chest, breast, face, buttocks, ankles. By 2pm, I took some more Benadryl. A couple of hours later, they went away for about an hour or so, and now they're back again. I don't understand. They don't necessarily itch, but I feel that they are there.

I don't have a fever, or anything. I really do feel normal, but it is annoying to see them disappear and then come back. Does anyone have any suggestions? I don't think I did anything different yesterday--I was cold last night (at the time the itching started), so I covered with a blanket that had been in the closet for a while. That's the only thing I can think of.

I don't know if this matters, but my stool is very liquid like and watery. Also, now.. my chest is really red, no bumps.. no itchy.. just red. same with my face. I am not itchy, I am worried though..

My chest and face look like I have a sunburn, while my neck, stomach, back, and knees have slightly elevated red patches. I am a 19 yr old female. Within 40 minutes, I had 2 very loose/watery bowel movements.. is this related to my rahes?/ Do I need to go to the emergency room? I feel fine, but stomach/back/face/chest are full of rashes!!

[Bhupinder Kaur, MD]

Hello,
From the symptoms and picture it looks like hives. 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.

[melissasue017]

please help