Red pen mark spots, itchy but no bumps

[Chachkies]

Hello,
I recently went to the beach at night in long island. I woke up with red spots all over my legs as if it was part of my skin. It's itchy and I don't feel any unusual bumps. While I was at the beach, my legs started to get itchy. And I realized this morning that they spread to my arms.If you see my legs from afar it looks like a bad sun burn but if you see them closely it's red small spots grouped together. Should I be worried?

[Chachkies]

Hello,
Thank you for your response. I went to the doctor's and they told me that I may have been exposed to something in the sand and also there were a lot of factories near the beach so that could've been a factor. I put on a cream and in a few days, it started to disappear.

Thank you again.

[Bhupinder Kaur, MD]

Hello,
These spots can be due to contact dermatitis, heat rash or sweat dermatitis. You can apply some calamine lotion at the rash as it will help in soothing the skin. You can take some OTC oral antihistamine medications like Benadryl or Claritin and see if it helps.

For mild-moderate symptoms a weak steroid may be used, whilst more severe cases require a higher-potency steroid (e.g. clobetasol propionate, fluocinonide).But they are available under prescription and should be taken only after consulting a dermatologist.

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.