Itching After moving to a new home

[stakhui]

Hi,

My wife and I recently moved to a new place with carpet. Our old place didn't have carpet. Everything else including bed is the same.

After moving here my wife started experiencing itchiness on her body. It started out with the uncovered parts of the body including arms legs neck etc. After that it spread to the face as well. Strange thing was I was fine. We have another housemate and she was fine as well.

We went to the doctor and she was asked to apply Sigmacort on her face and DIprosone on her body. The symptoms seemed to subdue for a while then it started to come back again. Then the doctor recommended oral medication - Claratyne.

We felt the Claratyne really helped and all the symptoms were almost gone. Until couple of days ago it started happening again.

We are really at our wits end. I've bought a disinfection spray to spray all around our house, bed etc. We've taken our mattress and basked in the sun. The bed is free from bed-bugs (checked thoroughly). We are now suspecting our quilt which we've put aside and see if the symptoms persist.

Please help

[stakhui]

yes she wears gloves. She's a scrub nurse btw. I don't think she's allergic to latex. Yeah I think we might need to resort to washing her scrubs at home.

[LivingInHope]

She wears a uniform- what about latex gloves, does she wear those?  Can she ask to launder her own uniform?

[stakhui]

Thanks for the feedback guys.

geminigirl1963: We haven't taken the cephalexin for about 24 hours now and my wife seems to think she feels better. Her face appears less swollen and it doesn't hurt as much. However the rashes are still visible. She's still taking the antihistamine. We can't consult the doctor as the clinic is closed for the weekends. We'll go first thing tomorrow. Still unsure at this point if she's allergic to cephalexin.

She doesn't have chills/infections. So I'm not sure about the antibiotics. She had a skin rash couple of years back (not as serious) and the doctor then prescribed her antibiotics and some cream to apply and it worked wonderfully. Can't remember what the antibiotic was then.

SurgiMenopause:

We'll discuss with the doctor about the medication tomorrow. He seems sure that she's allergic to the uniform at her work. Maybe they've changed a different detergent? That's why my wife has been on medical leave and at home for the past 3 days. If the allergen happens to be at home then the more she stays at home she'll get worst.

[LivingInHope]

It really sounds like your wife is suffering from the hives.
I know in the area where I live, they are advising people to shower after being out of doors because of the high pollen counts (10 times higher than last year)- the pollen can land on hair and skin.  Might I suggest a talk with a knowledgeable pharmacist about the medications your wife is taking?

[geminigirl1963]

I'm sorry your wife is still having so many problems.

I think possibly the reason she has gotten worse since starting the medication might be that she's actually now having an allergic reaction to one of the medications themselves.  the most likely culprit would be the cephalexin - it is an antibiotic and antibiotics are a relatively common allergen.  The other medication is an antihistamine.  It's possible that if your wife IS having an allergic reaction to the antibiotic, that the antihistamine could be keeping that reaction from being worse than it is.  Some antibiotic reactions can actually be life threatening.  While it is posible that she's having areaction to the antihistamine, it's a less likely culprit than the antibiotic.

I'm wondering why the doc put her on the antibiotic in the first place - was she showing signs of infection?  Where she was scratching, were those areas infected?  Any fevers?  Chills?

I'm also wondering why your wife's doctor told her not to bathe for four days.  I can understand him not wanting her to put any lotions or makeup on her face, but it's very important to keep up good hygiene, especially when there are any type of rashes and/or broken skin.  I would definitely have her avoid any harsh cleansers, but using cool (not too warm because the heat from that could increase her itching and swelling) water and a gentle soap or cleanser (I like Ivory soap because it's gentle) actually would be a good thing - it'll help get rid of any bacteria that may be on the skin, so if she does happen to scratch her skin open, it'll be less likely to get infected.

My personal opinion would be to have your wife stop the antibiotic and gently wash her face and any other areas where the rash/swelling/itching is.  See if making those changes at least gets her back to where she was before starting these new meds.

Have you called the doctor and told her that things have gotten worse since starting the meds?  If you haven't, I would also suggest doing that to see what she has to say.  You may also want to request a dose of prednisone or some similar oral steroid.  They are very commonly used with allergic reactions.  It may be just what your wife needs to kind of "kick start" everything so that maybe teh antihistamine can then do a better job.  She probably woudn't need a long course of it - probably a week's worth would do it.  If she's only given a week's dose of the steroid she should be fine, but if the doctor decides to put her on a longer dose of it, make sure that they gradually wean her down off of the meds when she no longer needs them rather than just stopping them "cold turkey".  Steroids taken for a longer period of time need to weaned down so that the body can recognize that it needs to start making its own cortisol again that the steroid has been doing for it.

Best of luck.  I hope your wife gets some relief real soon.

[stakhui]

Hi again. Just an update. Now the itch on the body has more or less subsided. However my wife is experiencing a different kind of allergy now. It's like rashes and swollen mainly all over the face and the neck. It itches and it's also quite painful.

We went to see another doctor and he took some blood samples to do an allergy test. He also advised not to take bath for 4 days and not to apply anything to the face because it will trap it under the skin. My wife is also taking Polaramine & Cephalexin as prescribed. Since yesterday (the 2nd day) it has actually gotten worst after taking the medication and not taking bath.

Now the rashes had almost doubled and it's getting more swollen. The itch and pain is also getting unbearable.

Is it because the medication is forcing any allergen out of the body? The doctor prescribed 6mg Polaramine (taken twice a day) but the pharmacist only had 2mg which she asked my wife to take (4 times a day). Would that somehow make the rashes worst?

The doctor has asked us to go back and see her in 2 days time.

At wit's end.

[LivingInHope]

Allergy testing can be done by a specialist and I don't know how expensive it is.  If you have moved into an area like we live in and there's a lot of pollen outside and it turns out she has that kind of allergy, you might consider keeping the windows closed (after airing out the house & making sure you don't have mold) and running an air purifier.  And if you are in an area where moisture is high, as we are, you might consider a dehumidifier to help prevent future mold from growing.  Also, we are planning to get a radon mitigation system in since that level is too high in our house and the contractor said that system can help to dry out a house as well.

[Dr. Kokil Mathur]

Hi! If there is wood under the carpet and the carpet has recently been washed, then it is possible there is some dampness underneath and this could have caused mold to grow, Also if it is an old home chances of mold and other fungus are high. It would be cheaper to test for mold at home than go for allergy tests unless you look at mold allergy only. Also only those susceptible to mold can catch the symptoms and others not. Yes, it can also be the detergent and if you leave the windows open and air the room well, with time its effect will go. Take care!

[stakhui]

I haven't noticed any difference after using the bacterial wash. The itchiness on the body is getting better after medication. just the occassional few new spots. now its just the itchiness on the face.

I can only roll up the carpet at the edges of the wall. Can't roll the whole thing of the floor. Its quite an old house. there pieces of wood underneath the carpet.

Thinking about it, the detergent they use to clean the carpet sounds like a plausible cause. No my wife hasn't done any allergy test. Can they be done at any gp? Are they expensive? I don't think its food related nor stress at this point. I would like to thank u all again for your wonderful feedback. I guess its just trial and error at this point.

If it does turn out to be the detergent used to steam the carpets, would the detergent disperse over time or do i need to reclean the carpets with other detergents?

[LivingInHope]

The fact the rest of you aren't affected does make it sound more like a possible allergy or if they are hives, even a reaction to stress.  Moving is one of the top stressors you can find on lists of the worst stressors.  

Since your carpet is so loose that you can actually flip the corners up- wow, can you even perhaps try rolling up the whole thing?  Has your wife been through allergy testing?  

[geminigirl1963]

It's possible she's having an allergic reaction to whatever they used when steam cleaning the carpets.  An allergy would definitely explain why the rest of you aren't affected - of course not everyone is allergic to the same things.

I suppose it is possible that something "became active" in the bed during the move, but if that were the case, I would think that you would be having symptoms also.  It sounds much more like she's allergic to something in the house that you and your roommate aren't.

Have you checked for mold/mildew?  Especially in the bathroom area.  Mold/mildew allergies typically bring on asthma/breathing type symptoms, but it's always possible to have a different type of reaction.

Changes in laundry detergent, soap, lotions, even dish washing detergent/dish liquid could also be cuplrits.  You said you bought an anti bacterial solution for washing your clothes - have you noticed any difference since using this?

As a test, you may want to purchase some new laundry detergent that is perfume and dye free (it will say so on the bottle/box).

Also keep track of what your wife is eating and see if you notice a change in symptoms after any particular foods/drink.

[stakhui]

Thanks for the feedback guys. The carpets aren't new. But they were supposedly steam cleaned before we moved in. We haven't changed any detergent recently. I've check underneath the carpet around the corners where they flip up and there doesn't seem to be any dampness there. i've tried using a damp white cloth and wipe around the carpet to check for flea droppings and so far its negative.

The really strange thing is why aren't the rest of us affected. We're at our wit's end what to do. I'm considering getting someone to steam clean the carpet again, would that help? we haven't washed our laundries with hot water but i've bought anti bacterial solution that rinses through the clothes during the detergent cycle.

Could it be something in the bed that's became active during the move? So far i haven't been able to spot anything moving on the beds.

[Dr. Kokil Mathur]

Hi
Welcome to the MedHelp forum!
This looks like urticaria or hives. Urticaria is usually triggered by allergens, such as drugs, foods, insect bites, inhaled substances, in response to sunlight, cold, heat, stress, exercise, or a viral infection. Other common allergens are pollen, mold, dust, pet dander, or cosmetics. Since you experienced an itch, just go over these possibilities in your mind. Something may strike you. In many cases, hives clear up themselves and don’t require diagnosis or treatment. However if they persists you may need to see a specialist called an allergist to determine what is causing the reaction.
Check for damp walls or floor. Remove the carpet and see—maybe you will find dampness underneath.
Hope this helps. Please let me know if there is any thing else and do keep me posted. Take care!

[LivingInHope]

I'm not sure if the place is new or new to you.  I believe formaldehyde is found in higher amounts in new carpet and it looks like online that an allergy to formaldehyde can cause itching.  If the place was new to you but the carpet was not new, there could be dust mites or cat dander or fleas in the carpet or potentially mold spores down into the carpet pad if isn't the hypoallergenic variety of pad.  Has there been any change in detergent or soap?  

Your description of where the itchiness and the fact the other two occupants of the house aren't having a problem doesn't sound like fleas or the scabies pattern, but scabies can be very difficult if that's the problem.  You have to wash all clothing and linens in hot water and I'm not sure about carpeting.  Elomite is what the doctor prescribes to get rid of them.