Not Sure about Cause of Rashes over Body

Need help from this community to see if anyone has had similar experience and what may be causing my rashes. Paramedic and GP had no clue too.
A little history:
1st time I had rashes was in 1999, last day in my first job in Singapore, management took me to disco for the first time and offered me a beverage, which I later realise had abt 2~3% alcohol in it as after drinking, face was red and hot. Afterwards had rashes on my back for 2 consecutive nights during midnight hours.
2nd time was sometime in 2008, abt 48hrs after I had a daytime operation to stitch my left middle finger as I had accidentally cut it with a surgeon knife (it was in the drawer at work) while opening a packaging. This is in Perth. Doctor then said it would not be due to allergic to medication then as it was not within 24hrs. Rashes were big red patches mainly around my body. Did not take any medicine, let it heal by itself. Can't remember how long it took, probably a few days.

3rd time was recent, early Feb. I am at work on a minesite up in Mardie area. Usually hot and dry. That day when I got it, it had been quite cool and windy for those few days though. I had been sleeping on the same bed for nearly 3 weeks before I got the rashes. I was on RDO that sunday and had a afternoon nap, I remember scratching my shoulders but took no notice. Until that night when i went to bed, I started scratching all over my body, legs but still not aware I am developing a rash, did not sleep well that night. The next day it start to develop on my arm so i went to see the paramedic on site, he couldn't provide any reason as I only know I am allergic to alcohol (due to 1st rash) and I do not drink anyway. I am also not eating anything special as it's all provided on site. I have been working on the same site for 20months now and this rash occurred for the 1st time since I am here. The rashes developed as a small red puffy dot like a mossie bite then developed to a big patch (can be as big as the size of hand palm), perhaps due to scratching. Medic gave antihestamin and I had 1 tablet that evening and it ease after a couple of hours just after dinner.
I flew back to Perth the next day and went to GP who couldnt offer a solution too, only suggest sometimes its the body's own protective reaction.
All was good until 8Feb, 1st day of Chinese New Year morning, a rash start developing on my back again and some on my thigh. I had stayed up the whole night before and ate some tidbits. Mum applied cold aloe vera gel on my rashes and I tried to get some sleep, rashes subsided after a couple of hours.
Back on site and these few days, developed rashes again. Not as much as previously but bits on my tummy area, thigh, etc. Yesterday feel the rash on both middle fingers, gone for a while then came back again. Then last night around 11pm, rashes started developing around my neck area! All very itchy. I splash with water to try cool it down a bit and applied some apple cider vinegar and tried to get some sleep. Gone in the morning except for 1 small rash still visible near my tummy. Room had aircon set at 23 but I usually feel cold, dont like aircons so had cover with blanket.
Don't think it's the food as there is nothing special to eat on site and I am vegetarian, so even more limited choices.

BF suggest it might be heat rash. I rarely sweat in dry aussie weather though.
Mum had a history of cold rash when we were in Singapore, where it's often windy and cool at night where we lived.
I do not have any known allergies to any food too, used to love peanuts and had it almost every dinner but had not been eating it much for nearly a year now. Not allergic to other nuts too.
Thanks for reading.

Comments

  • +9

    Talk to a dermatologist and/or an allergy specialist (whatever you call them), rather than asking the internet.

    Just adding on, I wouldn't rule out allergy without talking to a doctor, people can be allergic to pretty much anything from what I've seen with people I know. I guess this is another way of me saying, talk to a specialist/get an opinion from a doctor specialising in that area.

    • A clinical Immunologist is usually an allergy specialist.

    • Thanks for the info :)

  • +2

    Are you allergic to tomatoes? ๐Ÿ…๐Ÿ…๐Ÿ˜„

    • +1

      hahaha…i hope not.

  • your alcohol allergy explains the first episode.
    The second episode - possibly related to topical alcohol in the hospital but i doubt it. Was the rash the same as the previous one- size texture , raised etc etc
    Your third episode could be scabies, there is an incubation time with scabies. Three weeks is about right. Its very contagious. If you are working in a mine perhaps there was some possiblity of it being transferred from bedding etc. The fingers are a common area . Its very common in europe, but Australian doctors are less exposed to it and so often miss the diagnosis. Have a look at the pics below. Heat will aggravate it.
    https://www.google.com.au/search?q=scabies+incubation+periodโ€ฆ

    • 1st rash was on my back only so I can't see it.
      2nd rash were big red patches over my body and slight raised.
      Doesn't look like scabies…its still small red dots like mossie bites, while i m typing, there is 1 on back of my right hand, like a mossie bite.

  • +2

    Is this a story telling post or asking for advice?

    • got to provide a bit of history 1st…then ask :)

  • GO see an immunologist at your local hospital. If that fails, go find an allergy clinic or research institute that specialises in allergy.

    • Thanks for the info :)

  • Hello Tomato,

    I am no doctor but I also have rashes a few times. I believe my rashes was caused by alcoholic drinks. Along with the rashes, my body will feel itchy as well. Could it be probably caused by allergy reaction to alcohol since the first case was experienced after drinking alcohol?

    • I come from an Asian background and explains my allergy to alcohol. Apart from that members of my family has few allergy symptoms and asthma which is caused by allergy.

    • I am from Asian background too…most of my family don't drink, only remembered my dad drinking in the early days and no more at least 20yrs ago…so I dont drink and in contact though of cos i hv some friends who drink every now and then. Our family dont have history of asthma.

  • +1

    Rashes were big red patches

    have you got any pics? I used to get rashes all over my body when I was younger and it looked like lots of little red bumpy dots.. they'd all join together into a big red one and it'll feel hard, but satisfying to press because it was itchy. Kind of like the itch from a mosquito bite. Hot showers made the itching a lot worse. It was very embarrassing to be at school and I felt like a leper - so I always ended up wearing long pants and long sleeves - even during summer.

    It took me years, but I eventually seemed to just grow out of it - I pretty much ate nothing artificial for about five years - no colouring, preservatives, etc and I was on monthly steroid injections. I never got to find out exactly what was causing it.

    The doctors kept telling me that it was an allergy, but they seemed to just be making educated guesses based on their experience because there didn't seem to be any definite trigger.
    Like you, I noticed that I used to not sweat too much either.. and I personally thought that might've had something to do with it. I'm not a doctor though. I had very dry skin when I was younger so that would've been a factor too.

    But because it's not a frequent occurrence for you, it might be difficult to find a pattern for whenever it happens. I guess you could try it the other way around… ie, try eat specific foods only or be in certain environments at certain times and note it. The rashes seem like they're not harmful or have lasting effects, so if you think it's something in particular causing your problem, then try it out. At the end of the day, I think everyone knows their body quite well and the diagnosis might be up to you to do.

    Btw.. do you sometimes have asthma symptons as well? There seems to be a connection between asthma and skin conditions (but not necessarily experience both types of symptimes at the same time).

    • Thank you for sharing. Recently it has been occurring more frequently but not covering as much areas each time, it just comes and goes without taking any antihistamine. I am 1 who try not to take medication if I can bear it. Medicine is just not good for the body. Not sure what asthma symptoms are but my family do not have a history of asthma.
      I used to sweat easily before 16yo and after that, not so easy and now since moving to WA 12 yrs ago, rarely sweat, unless there is a heatwave like during the CNY period.

  • +1

    My son has allergies and we got referred to an allergy specialist from the GP. It took about 6 months to get an appointment though. In the meantime, I guess if you want to see if the rash is due to an allergic reaction, maybe take some anti histamine medication(try both claratyne and telfast) the next time it happens and see if it goes away.

    • As mentioned above, i took it for the 1st time when offered by our company's paramedic and it went away after a couple of hours. Will i be able to test for allergies via blood test?

      • From my experience, when my son went for the test, the specialist just dip the needle in a bunch of common things and did a prick test on his arm and measure the swelling, if any. If there is a huge swelling, then he is considered very allergic. I don't think you can test for allergies via a blood test.

        I guess if the allergy medication worked, then you are likely to be allergic to something, so maybe try and book an appointment with an allergy specialist and find out what you are allergic to. It might not be one thing, it could be several things, that's why you couldn't find a pattern in your allergy attacks. For example, we found out my son was allergic to eggs and nuts.

  • +1

    Anything new that you have bought recently? New clothes, bedsheet, towel, soap, perfume, sofa, aircon? The way I understand it is basically anything new that comes in contact with you have the potential to trigger an allergic reaction. Fungal spores cld also come up if your home/work environment becomes a bit damp.
    But as a lot of ppl said previously, you should ask your GP for a referral to a specialist. For allergic investigation, it would help also to try to remember anything new that you come in contact with, or any new food that you eat. Some culinary dishes use wine in their cooking, so that cld triggers it as well.

    • Nope, m a budding minimalist :) And at work we only wear the same uniforms, wash and repeat of cos :) Our company only provides ordinary and almost always the same food and like I mentioned, am a vegetarian so choices are limited as well.

  • Tomato
    I get itchy dry skin with "mossie bites" yet have no allergies that explain it, tested via blood test for pollen, dust mites etc. I do notice my skin reacts badly with some washing (Laundry) powders, mostly the ones that carry a lot of fragrance.

    On your mine site, what's the go for washing, a laundromat with their washing powder at 20 cents a scoop or do you use your own? Could be a possible cause, also if I wear a polo shirt that is a weaved type cloth it irritates the skin via rubbing, cotton T shirts etc do not.

    Hope you get it sorted and can get some comfort and relief.

    Shannon

    • Thanks Shannon, our mine site provides free laundry powders, have been using it as usual since 20mths ago. Always try to line dry instead of using the dryer as well. The recent rashes are there whether its my own clothes or the uniforms. Hence I think this is out as well. I just cannot find any patterns in my recent rashes. :(
      Glad you found yours and containing it :)

  • Not sure if you guys are interested in being updated but here is my update anyway.
    After talking to a few people and showing photos to my sis-in-law, she is quite sure I have hives, not rashes.
    Apparently her hubby, my bro, and her daughter would have it sometimes as well.
    She suggest to take the antihistamine for 3 straight days to break the cycle and go from there.
    Another colleague had it in his 30s and suggest the same, to take the antihistamine to break it.
    I listen to their advice and only took 1 non-drowsy tablet that night, after suffering for at least another week after these posts here, prob abt 4days now, the hives has not resurface (touch wood).
    Fingers crossed.
    Thank you to everyone who replied :) Have a great ozbargain day!
    Flying home this arvo…yay!

    • Do you regularly moisturise your body ? Especially areas prone to rashes/hives.

      • not regularly and I hv not changed that habit recently, so it doesn't seem to be the cause.

        • I wouldn't say it's the cause, unless you used something that's heavily fragrances. I would've thought moisturising would actually help prevent the rashes/hives.

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