Hubby has been afflicted with recurring rashes for about two months now. We went to see a doctor about it, who prescribed a steroid and an antibiotic. The doctor said it was an allergic reaction to some sort of external source. The rash went away after he took the course of drugs, but it keeps coming back in different locations. He only gets it on his arms or his legs. (Mostly on the arms.) It looks sort of blistery, like a poison ivy rash.
Thinking it might be our laundry soap, I switched to a dye and perfume free hypo-allergenic detergent. Nope-- that wasn’t it. He just came up with another rash: a dime-sized spot on his arm. Then I thought it might be the new soap we were using, but he went back to one we know he’s not allergic to.
So, what could it be? Hubby thinks maybe the dogs are brushing up against something out in the yard, but shouldn’t those plants be dead by now? If it is the dogs, why am I not similarly afflicted?
He hasn’t changed anything in his diet, so that’s probably not the cause. Nor have I changed anything else in the house.
I wish I had ideas for you. I’ve had a rash on my neck all summer which I figured was just prickley heat, I’ve been getting it every summer for the past couple years. Lately, I am also breaking out in hives a lot. My Zyrtec for my nasal allergies helps a bit with the hives but sometimes I still get them. Right now I have some starting on my right wrist and I just realized that’s where my arm is rubbing up against the mousepad, perhaps I’m developing an allergy to that material?
If your husbands allergy was to the soap it seems odd it would only affect his arms and legs.
Poison ivy/oak/sumac can happen any time of year, if you or a dog comes into contact with it. If it happens to be limited to extremities, I doubt that it’d be caused by laundry chemicals. That would be anywhere he had clothes on.
Check your yard for poison ivy/oak/sumac, and make sure the dog doesn’t get out of the yard to roll in it elsewhere.
Does hubby work in an industrial environment where something could get on him, or maybe have a workshop with chemicals?
It does seem odd, but let me relate. I used to get a rash every winter. It was always confined to my upper back and upper arms. It kinda looked like ringworm, so I tried all the OTC topical treatments I could. Nothing really helped and it went away on its own when winter was over.
This lasted more than five years before someone suggested I change my brand of soap. I switched to Oil of Olay (yeah it is kinda girly) and I haven’t had an outbreak since.
I think it was caused by a combination of the dryer climate in the winter and the type of soap(the Oil of Olay has moisturizers).
Weeks, in some cases. The big one on his arm that sent us to the doctor actually left a scar.
He works in a prison. God only knows what sort of things he comes in contact with there.
That was actually our biggest concern with the big rash-- we were worried he could get infected with staph or some other kind of horrid bacteria. Luckily, none of them have ever gotten infected.
No. He doesn’t have any sort of equipment that could be causing it.
I vote for the dog bringing in poison ivy/sumac/oak. My wife and I get the same
rashes, some of them lasting months and leaving scars. It occurred once we started letting our cats out of the house.
We later found the sumac, in a brush area along the fenced side of our house where people never go (lots of ivy), but the cats love.
Do you know for a fact that you’re allergic to poison ivy/oak/sumac? A surprisingly high percentage of people (I think it’s like 15%) aren’t. When I was in grad school, I told my doctor that I’d never had poison ivy, and he said I’m probably immune to it (still never have, and if I see someone walking a dog, I will usually go over and ask to pet the dog). I have all kinds of nasal allergies, too, so you can be non-allergic to poison ivy and be allergic to other things.
Are the doctors certain it is a rash? There are skin conditions that look rash like, some are infectious. Has he been to an allergist? Has your husband been to see an acual dermatologist? He should go to both, I’d think. If not, take him there and start keeping a log of what he is exposed to and when. Get a special booklet, and a littler one for him so he can write down what he touches and eats while away from the house to transcribe to the log later? Good luck, I hope the mystery is solved soon.
Does your husband wear long-sleeves and long-pants most of the time? Spend some time in shortsleeves and shorts? Does he wear a work uniform?
I had a mystery rash that was driving me crazy on my arms – and, as I work at a chemical plant, it was of concern to our plant health folks, too. We’d disregarded the uniform because it was only on my arms – but forgot that I wore a t-shirt underneath the uniform shirt. Turned out to be the new detergent used on the uniforms.
If your husband wears a uniform, try laundering them at home for a while and see if that helps.
He doesn’t have a uniform. About half the time, he wears a dress-shirt and tie, or a polo shirt and slacks. At home, he mostly wears shorts and t-shirts.
The doctor we saw was a family physician (not our usual one-- one that works at the same office). He looked at it and said it was a rash, but he didn’t run any sort of tests. If I can’t find the allergen, I’ll take your advice and send him to a dermatologist.
No, I don’t. I remember getting it when I was a kid once or twice, but I’ve heard that allergies can change, so maybe I’ve become immune as an adult. I don’t have any other allergies.
Your husband needs to see a dermatologist. Primary care doctors are not highly trained in skin disorders, and there are so many possible things he might have, that he might as well just go. They can be hard to get into, so I suggest he go ahead and make an appointment, as he may not be seen for several more weeks. Prison employees are exposed to a lot of infectious disease and he should see a derm to rule that out, if for no other reason.
I have had allergic reactions for the for past 10 years and even after repeated trips to the dermotologist. The Doc said that I might never figure it out. We’ve eliminated all the common allergens and most of the uncommon ones. Sometimes the rashes just come and go. They can happen all over my body, such is life. At this point I just treat the symptoms when they arise.
