Creeping crud rash *with language!!!*

[Becks]

Yesterday, before work, I was slightly itchy.

Didn't think much of it.

At work (and I was more or less helping in the floral department), I was itchy again. Still didn't think a lot of it. The place is very dry, after all.

After work, I went to hang out with Bella and Mommy. *Itch, itch, itch*

O...k...Hey, maybe I didn't completely rinse myself off in the shower. I thought I did, but...maybe not.


After a few hours, I come back home and take a shower. Look at myself.

Fuck.

I'm blotchy. Upper arms, chest, my neck and shoulders. Belly, too.

They're itchy.

Hop in the shower.

Damn it, that's icky.

Get out of the shower. Show the man of the household.

"Wanna go get some cream or something?"

"I'm afraid to put clothes on!!!"

So he goes. Buys stuff. Comes home. We apply it.

A while later, I go to bed. I wake up a few times because of the itching. And hell, is more of my body itching? Damn. I have to work tomorrow, damn it.

I wake up. Look down. Shit.

Lower arms, wrists, hands, just under my knees on top of what I had last night.

I call my Mommy and cry.

Then I call out of work. The powers that be weren't pleased, even though I was quite clear in stating that I had a rash and it was spreading.

After that, I start looking for clinics and whatnot. Ah, the joys of being uninsured.

Try one place. It moved. OK. Can't find where it moved to. Go to Mommy and Lizziebeff's to find out and get a map.

OK, find it, get back in the Jerseymobile, and off me and the MOTH™ go.

Crap. Closed at noon. Just missed it.

Go to an immedicenter type place. Open all year round. Woo.

Wait, $150 just to see me?!?!? I can't afford that!!!!

Next on the list--Shopko's walk in clinic.

$49? I'm good.

Do the paperwork and whatnot.

Get taken into the room. The doctor sees my hands, ask if that's it and I tell her "Yes. But there's more."

So off goes my shirt.

One look (she seemed mildly grossed out) and I'm told it's an allergy.

Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay.

What am I allgeric to? Damned if I know, but I'm taking steroids now.

Most of it is slowly clearing up, but it's spreading, too, at the same time.

Can I be any more talented?

[RootedPhoenix]

*sends hugs and soothing non-itchiness*

Rashes are SO annoying.

[Irving Patrick Freleigh]

I can't help but think Becks+Roids=the biggest, meanest, most pissed-off pirate ninja I've ever seen.

I scared.

[Becks]

It'll suck if it IS work related.

Plans were vaguely afoot.

I'll be going in to work tomorrow.

I don't know how long I'll *stay* there, but I'll at least go in...unless the rash spreads to my face. Then it ain't gonna happen.

Irv, thanks for the giggle. I needed that.

[Bella_Vixen]

Damn, Becks.

You always seem to get the short end of the healthy stick.

I would've gladly gotten this rash instead of you.

[SengaKitty]

That sounds like something I had for years as a kid, on and off. They said it was contact dermititis, and that is was an allergy caused by me touching something, and then touching my skin, but they never figured out why. It really sucked

-hugs and offers calomine and cool damp rags- the rags will help ease the itching, and the swelling

[Becks]

I would've gladly gotten this rash instead of you.

No, you don't. Trust me.

-hugs and offers calomine and cool damp rags- the rags will help ease the itching, and the swelling

Thanks most kindly. I appreciate it.

Now for the latest.

At the moment, a lot of it seems to have cleared up. However, I still have splotches and itchiness.

Around midnight, I was trying to sleep. I was planning on waking up at 6 am, since I have to be at work at noon, and I like having computer time before work.

I had been itchy, but trying really hard not to scratch. All of a sudden, my feet starting itching like crazy. I started to cry. Again. I put some cortisone cream on my feet and it started BURNING. More tears. I wonder what I did to deserve this. I contemplate staying up all night, since I couldn't seem to fall asleep anyway, and having the MOTH© drive to me work when it opens at six to show them what I'm going through.

All the crying wore me out, though, so I finally fall asleep, after resetting my alarm for 8 am. (No shower for me. I'm afraid to, anyway.)

Sometime after 7, I get a call from work. It's bosslady M, asking if I'll be coming in today. If I'm not, they need to know so they can try to find someone to come in, since it'll be busy. (No shit. Day before Easter. However, as best as I can tell, the floral department wasn't even that busy on Valentine's Day...) I told her I'll come in, but I can't promise that I'll be able to stay the whole time. That last part was ignored.

So here I sit, vaguely miserable, trying not to scratch, and waiting for the steroids to kick in.

I'll update everyone after work.

[KabeRinnaul]

Any idea if it's contact allergy or eczema? The cortisone burning definitely sounds like the latter, but yours seems to be spreading a lot further and faster than mine, which focused on folds in the skin.

I have some experience here.

Having your arms and lips chap and crack until they bleed is a fun little experience.

And I'm no doctor, but I've found that cortisone is the second-worst thing you can do to eczema. The worst I tried was lotrimin. It did a good job of masking the rash, but in reality it was just drying the skin further and making it worse.

Mine's mostly faded at this point, aside from a few flare-ups, but you'll likely end up with a prednisone-based cream and more steroids. I've had those a while.

[calulu]

Benadryl can be your friend like it is mine...

[thegiraffe]

There's this lotion called callergy that we give the kids at work....they seem to LOVE it, and it helps clear things up. Give that a shot... It's clear!!

[McGoddess09]

Try an oatmeal bath.

It might just work.

[AccountingDrone]

How about domeboro? Burroughs solution was an absolute lifesaver when I had poison ivy over 80% of my poor 12 year old corpse ... for 6 months.

It wasnt always the same 80%, it liked to heal up in one area and spread to a different one. Never get systemic *anything* which is sort of what it sounds like you have.

Double wash and triple rinse your clothing in case it is something in your clothing. Make the borroughs solution and keep it in the fridge, in a spray bottle. You can either have SO spray it all over you and dance around til it dries, or you can spray it on clean muslin and wrap up in it.

[Becks]

Try an oatmeal bath.

Tried that yesterday. That's when I noticed it had started to spread to my feet.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Work went a bit better than expected. Still itchy, but not as bad...but in some unmentionable places.

Most of the rash is in places covered by my clothing, so I'm pretty sure that some members of management think I was faking it...even though I was rubbing at my wrists and lower arms when I walked in.

I still have spots on my upper arms, though. Showed them to a couple of coworkers. I was satisfied by their response.

Hopefully I'll be itch free by Tuesday.

[Becks]

Hopefully I'll be itch free by Tuesday.

And so I am.

Rash is gone.

Itchiness is gone.

I fear the floral department now.

I also have a couple of small bruises on my upper arm (one of the original areas affected).

[Evil Queen]

So... you're allergic to flowers now?