Small red bumps on wrist

[NocNoc2112]

I developed small red bumps on the inside of my wrist/forearm last night. They were not itchy - in fact, the only way I discovered them was when I ran my fingers over my arm and felt the bumps. They were a little bit itchy this morning, but I ran some hot water over them and the itching stopped. So far, they have not itched at all tonight.

My main concern is that I found out today a woman who has been sitting at my desk at work also has a rash in the same area. Hers has larger spots and she said hers was very itchy. Now I am terrified that I may have contracted scabies from her.

Again, the bumps themselves don't itch, and I haven't seen the bumps elsewhere. The only other thing I can imagine is that I wore some braclet of my husband's for a few hours on Monday (the rash formed sometime on Wednesday), I'm not sure what the pracelet is made of, but it was on the same wrist.

Can anyone shed light on this mysterious, non-itchy rash? I've attached a photo, though it isn't the best quality. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[Bhupinder Kaur, MD]

Hello,
From the symptoms it looks like scabies. It is transmitted from objects or beddings, but more with direct skin- to – skin contact. First the person becomes symptomatic only after four to six weeks of infection, but on re-infection of recently cured person, symptoms appear within 24 hours. 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.

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.

[NocNoc2112]

Update: the centers are more pronounced today, but I don't think they're quite as red. They still don't itch. I've washed them with hot water and antibacterial soap, then applied some tea tree oil mixed with olive oil.

They haven't reduced in size at all, and I keep looking for the burrows... still very worried it's scabies. Nothing as spread yet; keeping everything I touch very sanitary.

Any advice or thoughts as to what this could be?