Face + Body rash

[NYCMark]

I'm nearing the end of my 72 week ordeal (8 more shots to go), but the symptoms that I had at the beginning of the treatment when I was double-dosing the peg seem to be back in force, especially the skin rashes. I've now had these slighyly raised red, very itchy bumps on my face, neck, upper chest, abdomen, back of neck. I take some Benedryl for the severe itch, and put some prescribed cortisone 2.5% cream on the lesions. They take a few days to go away, but are very itchy and painful when around. I hope this is a passing symptom, and will soon be a thing of the past. I/m so looking forward to October when I get to stop all this!

Mark

[meki]

OK - hate to say this... But for me it was chocolate and the sun... LMAO!

Little red bumpies everywhere - itchy stuff.

Follow all of the above advice... They all work.

Oatmeal baths worked a lot for me.

Meki

[Valtod]

Thanks, Mark... Jim and Mremeet gave some good advices on the other side.
http://www.medhelp.org/posts/show/300019

[wyntre9]

Yikes!  Post is going nutso.

Here's a link to pics of the parrots hilton at brooklyn college - pics from yesterday's post.

hope it makes you smile.

http://www.nypost.com/seven/10012007/news/regionalnews/the_parrots_hilton.htm

[wyntre9]

Hope the rash clears up when you finish TX.

i's such a miserable sx and depending on where on the body it shows it can make you feel super self conscious.

But congrats!   you're almost done.  hang in there, mark.

wyntre

[NYCMark]

Val, I never did figure out how to keep these skin problems at bay. As I near the end of treatment now, they still flare up predominantly on my chest and neck and lower face. The best I can do is try not to scratch, and gingerly apply topical steroid here and there. I'm sorry to hear you are still having this issue now 6 weeks after stopping the meds! What a number is must do on the immune system.

Mark

[Valtod]

Mark, did you find a way to deal with the cycles of autoimmune skin flare-ups? If you did, please share your approach. I'm 6 weeks post-Tx and my skin problems do not improve at all (actually, they seem to get worse). I feel my immune system is really messed up.

I just wrote about my post-Tx problems here:
http://www.medhelp.org/posts/show/300019

Thanks!
Val

[FloridaMouse]

I was indeed the one that told Sparkle that my GI recommended that the areas be washed in Head and Shoulders and then treated with OTC hydrocortisone cream.  My GI told me that any of the dandruff shampoos would do the trick (Seleson Blue, etc.).  I was also warned to be careful with the hydro cream on the facial area.   This treatment did work for me but I had to keep doing it it 'cause as soon as I would stop, the rash would come back.

Mouse

[Valtod]

I did use Elidel several times. If I knew what I know now about it, I would NEVER use it. It causes skin cancer and lymphomas. See:
http://www.protopiclawyers.com/index.htm
http://www.elidel-cancer.com

[ponyshel]

I am so glad to hear you are ending the 72 week ordeal soon..(the last countdown stinks) but I wish you well and svr...I still have rashes..this sounds weird but especially around where my undies are...I asked my hubby if he had bugs lmao;).....I also have a few under arms,on stomach etc...
I have used everything and sometimes it works,sometimes not...I now use hydro cream then powder but still there..it helps relieve the itching and starts to look better but I wake myself up at night scratching...it is alot better then before..hang in there :) shelly

[meki]

LMAO--- Our own kind.. it is kind of a kinship... a little odd - but kinship never-the-less.

[nygirl7]

When I got really really desperate with the huge massive rashes that developed at the end = before I could get an appt with the derm = I went out and bought literally EVERYTHING I could find at the pharmacy.

Believe it or not (i'd forgotten until now, sorry) the thing that did provide me the most relief (but didn't heal it at all) was good old fashion calamine lotion like for when you get poison ivy.  It did help dry it up and take the itch away somewhat ... but by this time my rash bumps were like a dime in size and I looked like i was growing little tomatoes on my face - so I didn't care much that I had calamine covering it...it looked better rather than worse!

God all the phases of this treatment - first you turn grey then you lose weight then your hair falls out then you rash over...I'm surprised we can't recognize our "own kind" on the streets like some sort of aliens with the way we all get to looking!  ;)

[NYCMark]

Your ideas about either a buildup of inf, or a completely new rash at this point are both good. I see the doc Monday. Little by little, the red blotches scab over and fall off (perhaps to be replaced by new areas).

I just read of your loss! I'm so sorry to hear. You've been through so much, and now another trial. Best to you and your family!

Mark

(Jim, thanks for the list...)

[meki]

LMAO!!!

Babywipes are the greatest invention...for wiping the tub out.. And a little comet after --- does the trick every time.

[ladywhy]

How the heck dija clean the tub? Or dija just have big family style breakfasts?

[meki]

Oatmeal bath --- olive oil afterwards while still wet - I spray perfume on my hands and mix with it before putting it on skin.

It helped me.

[jmjm530]

http://dermatology.about.com/cs/medications/a/steroidgroups.htm

[jmjm530]

Yes, cortisone/topical steroids work. Works wonders indeed for almost any skin condition and often "IMMEDIATELY" like NYGirl says. lAnd that's why it's so widely prescribed. And that's also why they are so widely abused. My only point being don't use them on your face, period, without speaking to a derm (not just your regular doc) and don't use them longer than two weeks on your body without speaking to a dermatologist.

Here's an incomplete list of topical steroids and their strengths with class I being the strongest (most effective and potentially most dangerous) and class VII being the mildest (but still can cause problems). If you can't find your med on this list, by all means look it up to see if it contains a topical streroid. But if your rash/condition goes away like "magic", then that's probably what you've been prescribed.

-- Jim

[nygirl7]

PS If you had first developed this when you were double dosing and now at end of treatment it's back...somehow to me that does say it is caused by the interferon and might not be regular old "riba rash".  You've accumulated a LOT of IFN into your system now...much more than regular tx'ers.

Be careful.

[nygirl7]

Mark,

Towards the end of the 72 weeks I got the rash BAD - worse worse worse than it ever was before and I ignored it.  At that time it was now on my face too but it never had been before.

I finally broke down and went to a derm doc and he put me on a really really strong med that you aren't even supposed to use on your face (flucotisone? something like that) because what I though was regular old riba rash like always had turned into an interferon developed eczema or something or other.

I have to tell you - that med took the itch away IMMEDIATELY and even my beloved Gold Bond could not do it for this "extenders on treatment" rash.

If yours is like mine and it's way worse than the earlier rash...try and see what the derm says.

I'm so sorry you have this - it's so horrible and I can honestly say "I have the scars to prove it".  I wish I'd realized it was a completely different rash WAY earlier!

Good LUCK!~

[NYCMark]

THanks for the advice. I have been using 2.5% cortisone on the torso, and benadryl for the itching. No much else to do but try not to scratch and make it worse.

Mark

[jmjm530]

Sounds very familiar. Yes, they work (initially), but do not use the cortisone on your face (even OTC hydrocortisone) unless you're under the direct supervision of a dermatologist. Some derms won't even allow them on your face, and the rest use them judiciously, because misuse can cause more problems then they can solve, including steroid rosacea, steorid rebound, and thinning of the skin. Dermatologists understand this, the rest of the doctors often don't.

In my case, I did use topical streroids briefly (1 week) to bring down my inflamed skin, but then was switched to Elidel Cream, a non steroid. Sounds like you have a bad case of seb dermatitis and possibly mixed/layered with other problems. In my case I had seb derm, psoriasis, and rosacea, all layered together with some sort of 'mystery' rash mixed in. They all pretty much eventually disappeared, but the seb derm and rosacea lingered for many months after treatment. As mentioned, steroids used judiciously to knock down the inflammation from the seb dermatitis,and then elidel. If your derm says you've got rosacea, let me know and I'll share my experience in that regard. Meanwhile, try and stay out of the sun, and be carefrul with OTC moisturizes that might have irritatnts in it. Gold Bond, for example, that helps some, irritated my face because of the menthol. Sometimes when inflammation exists, less is more. At one point, I was told not to use water on my face, because water can also be an irritant. An excellent product -- both to wash with is Cetaphil Gentle Skin Cleanser. Use it instead of soap -- with or without water -- especially on your face.
http://www.mycetaphil.com/products/Cleansers.aspx#Cleanser1

Hope you feel better soon,

-- Jim

[Sparkle Girl]

I think it was Missy Mouse who turned me onto Head & Shoulders ...... I had a rash on the back of my neck, right near that spot on your neck that  the tag on t-shirts always aggravates, extending across to my left shoulder, and I'm a scratcher too ....... I have difficulty just leaving things alone ....... I might be 50 something but I'd scratch a mosquito bite till it bleeds!  Speaking of Missy Mouse and skin issues, she brough to my attention, while on tx. that a skin tag she had had was shrinking and darn if, upon looking, I wasn't experiencing the same phenomenon.  Who would have guessed that Pegasys would get rid of skin tags ...... my gastro said it was just coincidental.  L

[pigeonca]

Benadryl and cortisone cream.  Try the drugstore stuff first, and if that doesn't calm your skin down in a couple of days, you may need an urgent appointment with a dermatologist.

[ladywhy]

I also got the Gold Bond and use it sparingly. I heard from another poster that the oils are not good for our livers...peppermint oil and others..................