# Ow. Ow. OW!! **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [May 30, 2003, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ow-ow-ow/178413 "2003-05-30T00:50:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![t-keela](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a3d4f5/32.png) [@t-keela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/t-keela)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2003, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ow-ow-ow/178413/61 "2003-06-04T02:04:40Z")
I’m serious here…of course do what the doctor says but I guarantee the corn starch is the best I’ve ever found. I get poison oak/ivy from time to time, matter of fact I just got over a rash. There was really nothing the dr. could do except charge me $60 for a shot of cortizone (he wished) and tell me to take a benadryl and to use powder and keep it dry…yadda yadda Well, I’ve been through this before. So, do what you want of course BUT remember corn starch and benadryl in the future. I swear by it. Good luck ---
**Author:** ![dantheman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dantheman/32/9421_2.png) [@dantheman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dantheman)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2003, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ow-ow-ow/178413/62 "2003-06-04T02:07:50Z")
Well, yeah, there’s that whole cost thing. That won’t be good. Did you take the cortizone shot? If so, what was the effect? Tell you what. I’ll go, and we’ll see what he says. If that’s the only alternative he can offer, I might just try the corn starch first. Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![t-keela](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a3d4f5/32.png) [@t-keela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/t-keela)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2003, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ow-ow-ow/178413/63 "2003-06-04T02:34:14Z")
Not this time I didn’t. I did as well or better than the last time when I did get the shot. It was only $20 two years ago. I found out about the starch & diphenhydramine (generic Benadry) $1 a box of 24 at Wal-Mart and $1 box of corn starch. Try to stay as cool as possible under normal circumstances. I put the corn starch in a shaker (spice bottle) or just get a handful and apply it liberally. ---
**Author:** ![t-keela](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a3d4f5/32.png) [@t-keela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/t-keela)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2003, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ow-ow-ow/178413/64 "2003-06-04T02:49:40Z")
& you’re welcome ---
**Author:** ![Lynne\_kilii](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d26b3c/32.png) [@Lynne\_kilii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynne_kilii)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2003, 6:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ow-ow-ow/178413/65 "2003-06-04T06:10:52Z")
Good luck w/ the Benadryl. I hate that stuff, it knocks me out like noone’s business. Can I share my funny rash/allergic reaction story? Or would that be an unforgivable hijack? ---
**Author:** ![dantheman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dantheman/32/9421_2.png) [@dantheman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dantheman)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2003, 9:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ow-ow-ow/178413/66 "2003-06-04T09:38:58Z")
Oh, no, feel free. I keep waffling about getting the corn starch or going to the doctor, but I think I’ll choose the latter because this has gone on too long not to have a professional opinion. ---
**Author:** ![i\_like\_bacon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/54ee81/32.png) [@i\_like\_bacon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/i_like_bacon)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2003, 9:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ow-ow-ow/178413/67 "2003-06-04T09:42:48Z")
i keep picturing dan as that little brother in “a christmas story”. he has on so many layers of winter clothes, he “can’t put my arms down!” ---
**Author:** ![dantheman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dantheman/32/9421_2.png) [@dantheman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dantheman)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2003, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ow-ow-ow/178413/68 "2003-06-04T14:26:53Z")
Heh! Yeah, what was his name… Ralphie’s brother… I finally made an appointment. Check this out. First doctor couldn’t take me until next week. Second one didn’t appear to speak English - might have been a bad connection, though. Third one’s phone number was disconnected. Fourth one was leaving the group, but there was another doctor who was accepting new patients. I made the appointment with this doctor for tomorrow afternoon. Thanks again, everyone, for your help. I should be okay until tomorrow, and we’ll see what the doctor says. ---
**Author:** ![Lynne\_kilii](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d26b3c/32.png) [@Lynne\_kilii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynne_kilii)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2003, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ow-ow-ow/178413/69 "2003-06-04T20:30:53Z")
I went to New Mexico to do some mission work with my church. Every day when I’d go to the work site, I’d come back, with what looked like a sunburn, but I was staying inside, mostly, working on an addition to this guy’s home. We were working with insulation, so they blame a small, bumpy rash on the back of my hands on the insulation, and my back/face to sunburn. So I lathered up the sunscreen, put a hoodie on, and tried to stay out of the sun. I’d go take a shower first thing after we got back to the school we were staying in, with a travel-sized body wash to try and get whatever I was reacting to off, and I’d take benadryl twice a day when things got bad enough. Larger bumps appeared on my arms, which were (theoretically) from something in the environment down there, a grass, or the animals. So I’d go every morning, fall asleep on the site from the benadryl, and wake up and go try and help as best I could. This went on for 5 days. We’re on our way back to Denver, and we stop in Santa Fe. I’m on oral _and_ topical benadryl at this point, and it’s doing nil. We go to the ER, who looks at me, says the same thing as above, insulation, sun exposure, and something in the environment, and put me on oral steroids. Yay, increase the appetite of the pudgy chick. Thanks folks. I feel a bit better, but not much, and I finally reach home. I go and chat with my next door neighbor (a former dermatological nurse) who takes one look at my hands and says, “what happened?!” I tell her that I had come in contact with insulation, and most of my story, and she goes, “that’s not insulation, insulation is between your fingers and at your hairline, where it’s hard to wash out. Who said that?” I told her that everyone at the workcamp had said it. She asked me if I was using any new products, and I told her, “Yeah, this new body wash.” Turns out the body wash I was using to scrub the irritants off me was causing my skin to have a reaction to the sun. Took her 5 seconds to figure it out, and it hasn’t come back (much) since. I still get it on the backs of my hands from time to time. ---
**Author:** ![bittersweet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/c57346/32.png) [@bittersweet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bittersweet)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2003, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ow-ow-ow/178413/70 "2003-06-04T20:51:55Z")
> [@](#): > > Gold Bond medicated powder has been described as “10,000 magical elves massaging your scrotum” I’m sold, and I don’t even have a scrotum. But yes, I can attest to Gold Bond’s wonderful itch-relieving properties, as well as Benadryl Itch-Stopping Gel. Feel better soon, F\_X! ---
**Author:** ![dantheman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dantheman/32/9421_2.png) [@dantheman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dantheman)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2003, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ow-ow-ow/178413/71 "2003-06-04T21:30:18Z")
Is **Flamsterette** illing, too? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Wintermute](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e19b73/32.png) [@Wintermute](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wintermute)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2003, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ow-ow-ow/178413/72 "2003-06-04T21:42:38Z")
I had assumed that you were all better by now, and that this thread had died peacefully in it’s sleep. Guess that’s what I get for assuming! 😉 I’m sorry to hear that you are still having problems. If the doctor doesn’t give you a referral to a dermatologist when you see him, ask for one. The fact that this is ongoing, despite the fact you’ve quit using not only the product causing the problem but have switched to new ones is very worrisome. Add to that the Benadryl you’ve been taking, and this sounds pretty serious. Let us know what the good Dr. says. Hope you feel better soon. ---
**Author:** ![dantheman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dantheman/32/9421_2.png) [@dantheman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dantheman)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2003, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ow-ow-ow/178413/73 "2003-06-04T21:47:44Z")
I haven’t gotten the Benadryl yet. ☹ And I’m peeling now! I wonder if that’s really all that bad, though. Could mean it’s going to end. ---
**Author:** ![bittersweet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/c57346/32.png) [@bittersweet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bittersweet)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2003, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ow-ow-ow/178413/74 "2003-06-04T21:49:21Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by bittersweet \* > \*\*Feel better soon, F\_X! \*\* Oops! Where did I get F\_X from? I meant **dantheman**. Sorry, must’ve been a blonde moment.:smack: ---
**Author:** ![White\_Lightning](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f04885/32.png) [@White\_Lightning](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/White_Lightning)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2003, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ow-ow-ow/178413/75 "2003-06-04T22:11:22Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by \*\*Exgineer \*\*\* > Huh? You don’t remember… > [@](#): > > \*Originally [posted](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?s=&postid=3433775#post3433775) by \*\*Exgineer \*\*\* > No, no, no. > > If you’re doing it lefthanded, you’re doing it backwards. You lefties always look like you’re mining for gold in your pants when you’re standing in front of a urinal. > > You guys seem to use a “dig and grab” protocol which is much less elegant and graceful than the procedure I outlined earlier. Tighty-whiteys were designed for right-handed operation. Of course, boxers are still far superior. ---
**Author:** ![Exgineer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a88e4f/32.png) [@Exgineer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exgineer)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2003, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ow-ow-ow/178413/76 "2003-06-05T00:22:45Z")
Oooooh. Now I feel like an idiot. Yes, I remember that thread (now that you rubbed my nose in it), but I dispute the initial premise of your post. It’s actually _you_, not me, who is peeing the wrong way. Deal. This is just another example of that Nazi bastard **Coldfire** making my life difficult without his really trying. And then there’s this: **dantheman** , if you are peeling, your rash is getting worse, not better. Hie thee to a dermatologist, now. ---
**Author:** ![Flamsterette\_X](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/41988e/32.png) [@Flamsterette\_X](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flamsterette_X)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2003, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ow-ow-ow/178413/77 "2003-06-05T23:22:49Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by T. Slothrop \* > \*\*I IM my mom and pretend to be the ghost of her previous computer come back to haunt her. \*\* Hahaha… that’s a good one! 🙂 > [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by dantheman \* > \*\*Is Flamsterette illing, too? 😉 \*\* Not currently… but about two and a half weeks ago, I was. F\_X ---
**Author:** ![dantheman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dantheman/32/9421_2.png) [@dantheman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dantheman)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2003, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ow-ow-ow/178413/78 "2003-06-06T00:12:02Z")
Well, I’m home, with a bag o’ goodies from the good doctor. She gave me samples of Allegra and Zantac. Both act against histamines, just different histamines. Yeah, I know, Zantac is for upset tummies. But it should help, she says. Neither drug will make me sleepy. She says to take them both (once a day for Allegra, one twice a day for Zantac). She also gave me a script for a cream and for another drug - looks like “atarax” but I’m not positive. This drug is a last resort only; I won’t get it filled right away. I need to get the cream script filled asap. See, the benedry and chlortrimiton (pretty much the same kind of drug) both make you drowsy, and I was very exhausted today as a result. When I got home from the doctor, I walked the dog and lay down for a nap. Anyway, the doc said if this isn’t cleared up by Monday I need to see a dermatologist, and she gave me a couple of names. Hopefully they accept my insurance. ---
**Author:** ![i\_like\_bacon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/54ee81/32.png) [@i\_like\_bacon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/i_like_bacon)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2003, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ow-ow-ow/178413/79 "2003-06-06T00:19:39Z")
finger crossed for you dan. btw ralphie’s brother’s name was randy. ---
**Author:** ![Eats\_Crayons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/278dde/32.png) [@Eats\_Crayons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eats_Crayons)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2003, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ow-ow-ow/178413/80 "2003-06-06T01:05:38Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by ReBusEniGma \* > \*\*I got the same thing once and it was nasty. Suffice it to say, I could now be the “Toms of Maine” posterboy. I started using their deodorant and it cleared right up. Wonderful stuff! \*\* Back off, pal! _ **I’m** _ the “Toms of Maine” posterchild! Understand? Me! Me! Me! I used to shell out $20 for hypoallergenic deoderants to no avail. I even reacted to the mineral salt crystal deoderants – but Tom’s of Maine works for me! I’ve got a doctor’s note from a dermatologist that says “Crayons has positively insane contact allergies and will receive scarring chemical burns when exposed to a variety of ordinary things.” But Tom’s of Maine can be slathered all over my bod (well, the unscented stuff anyway – I live in fear of all things fragrant.) I am the one and only T.o.M. poster child! _putting up dukes… shuffling, bobbing and weaving_ If you want that title, you’ll have to go through me first. _jab, jab_ Oh, and as for the OP – for allergic rashes my doc prescirbes a hydrocortisone cream and Benadryl. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ow-ow-ow/178413.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ow-ow-ow/178413.md?page=5)