# Ever had your palms turn bright red? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 13, 2015, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-had-your-palms-turn-bright-red/727777 "2015-08-13T21:31:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![pohjonen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pohjonen/32/423_2.png) [@pohjonen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pohjonen)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2015, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-had-your-palms-turn-bright-red/727777/1 "2015-08-13T21:31:46Z")
I already have an appointment to see a doctor in two weeks, but just wanted to see if anyone else has experienced this. My palms have turned bright red and itchy. The first time it happened was after the flu shot last fall, but that went away in a few days. This time it has been going on for more than two weeks. Has anyone else had this happen? What did it turn out to be? I am 66 and female. Does this ever just happen without some underlying reason? Thanks, dopers. ---
**Author:** ![DinoR](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dinor/32/2821_2.png) [@DinoR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DinoR)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2015, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-had-your-palms-turn-bright-red/727777/2 "2015-08-13T21:37:53Z")
Been eating a lot of eggs lately? Egg allergies are on thing they ask about before giving the flu shot. ---
**Author:** ![grude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47774/32.png) [@grude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grude)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2015, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-had-your-palms-turn-bright-red/727777/3 "2015-08-13T21:45:18Z")
Huh my wife had this happen the other night, but just for an hour or so. ---
**Author:** ![pohjonen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pohjonen/32/423_2.png) [@pohjonen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pohjonen)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2015, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-had-your-palms-turn-bright-red/727777/4 "2015-08-13T21:50:58Z")
> [@DinoR](#): > > Been eating a lot of eggs lately? Egg allergies are on thing they ask about before giving the flu shot. No. I am 99.9 percent sure I am not allergic to eggs. Last time was a first for a flu shot reaction. I got the super duper quadruple vaccine last October. I have had many before that without a problem. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2015, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-had-your-palms-turn-bright-red/727777/5 "2015-08-13T23:28:17Z")
Sure, all the time. But I regular niacin (it is one of the few things that helps keratosis pilaris) rather than the no-flush kind, so it’s not _just_ my palms. ---
**Author:** ![TheSeaOtter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ed655f/32.png) [@TheSeaOtter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheSeaOtter)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2015, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-had-your-palms-turn-bright-red/727777/6 "2015-08-14T20:25:14Z")
Well, I’d be willing to bet that you’re having an allergic reaction to _something_. Finding out what is difficult, though - people can develop allergies to all sorts of stuff. ---
**Author:** ![SciFiSam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/47e85d/32.png) [@SciFiSam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SciFiSam)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2015, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-had-your-palms-turn-bright-red/727777/7 "2015-08-14T20:42:04Z")
Yes. Topical steroids have a bizarre effect on me in that every part it touches turns red, swells and is horribly itchy. I think it’s what Americans call hives. (Bizarre because they don’t usually cause this). I also get red palms when I come into contact with some animals. It’s basically an autoimmune response to something you’re in contact with. It does go away quickly for me - a day or so - but that’s without repeated exposure. You should get it checked out if you can and try to recall everything you’ve been in contact with. ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2015, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-had-your-palms-turn-bright-red/727777/8 "2015-08-18T01:15:28Z")
> [@SciFiSam](#): > > Yes. Topical steroids have a bizarre effect on me in that every part it touches turns red, swells and is horribly itchy. I think it’s what Americans call hives. (Bizarre because they don’t usually cause this). … Not only do steroids not usually cause those symptoms, they should explicitly TREAT those symptoms, as hives are autoimmune and steroids suppress the immune system. No clue on what’s bugging the OP beyond thinking it’s something systemic rather than, say, a contact allergy. Do you still have your gallbladder? When mine decided it wanted to come out and play, my hands and feet became _ **intolerably** _ itchy for several days - related to my liver enzymes getting thoroughly out of whack. I think the gallstones caused some backup in the bile ducts, and I was very slightly jaundiced, and the bile salts were causing the itchiness. (the pain sucked. The itching nearly drove me off the nearest cliff). ---
**Author:** ![pohjonen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pohjonen/32/423_2.png) [@pohjonen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pohjonen)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2015, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-had-your-palms-turn-bright-red/727777/9 "2015-08-18T03:16:16Z")
> [@Mama\_Zappa](#): > > Not only do steroids not usually cause those symptoms, they should explicitly TREAT those symptoms, as hives are autoimmune and steroids suppress the immune system. > > No clue on what’s bugging the OP beyond thinking it’s something systemic rather than, say, a contact allergy. Do you still have your gallbladder? When mine decided it wanted to come out and play, my hands and feet became _ **intolerably** _ itchy for several days - related to my liver enzymes getting thoroughly out of whack. I think the gallstones caused some backup in the bile ducts, and I was very slightly jaundiced, and the bile salts were causing the itchiness. (the pain sucked. The itching nearly drove me off the nearest cliff). I don’t think it’s contact allergy either. I am allergic to various and sundry things and this reaction is different. Yes I still have my gall bladder. I don’t think I"m jaundiced. As I said in the OP the only thing that caused this in the past was the super dooper quadruple strain flu vaccination last fall. It went away in a few days. Now I’ve had it for 3 weeks. My cheeks are bright red too. I don’t like this. ETA: Oh - it did itch for the first day or two, but doesn’t any more. ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2015, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-had-your-palms-turn-bright-red/727777/10 "2015-08-19T03:06:53Z")
The mention of the face made me think of [fifth disease](http://kidshealth.org/parent/infections/skin/fifth.html), though your pattern doesn’t match that. [Erythromelalgia?](http://dermnetnz.org/vascular/erythromelalgia.html) > [@linked page](#): > > The actual cause of erythromelalgia is unknown in most cases. Primary erythromelalgia develops spontaneously without any associated underlying disease associated, and is sometimes called ‘idiopathic erythromelalgia’. Secondary erythromelalgia develops secondarily to medical conditions such as neurological diseases (e.g. multiple sclerosis, peripheral neuropathy), autoimmune diseases (e.g. lupus, diabetes mellitus), or more commonly the myeloproliferative disorders. In these disorders the bone marrow produces excessive numbers of cells, e.g. polycythaemia vera (increased red cells), and essential thrombocythaemia (increased platelets). Erythromelalgia presents before the appearance of the myeloproliferative disorder in 85% of cases. Some of the possible causes there suggest autoimmune issues. Have you seen your doctor yet? If it’s a flareup of something autoimmune, blood tests might be more informative if done while the flareup is still happening. BTW, the term “idiopathic” always makes me chuckle. I interpret it to mean “it just means your body is an IDIOT”. ---
**Author:** ![pohjonen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pohjonen/32/423_2.png) [@pohjonen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pohjonen)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2015, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-had-your-palms-turn-bright-red/727777/11 "2015-08-19T03:09:40Z")
I always thought idiopathic meant “of course there is a reason but we don’t know what it is.” ---
**Author:** ![Carryon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9fc29f/32.png) [@Carryon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Carryon)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2015, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-had-your-palms-turn-bright-red/727777/12 "2015-08-19T19:20:59Z")
I’ve know a few asthmatics with similar symptoms that are caused by the steroids they use.