Any ideas what this rash (?) might be?

Can you post a photo of them? That would really help. It doesn’t sound like a food allergy or hives. From the description, it really sounds like poison ivy or oak.

In case you are interested in a temporary solution to the itching, I recommend Band-Aid’s anti-itch gel. It works immediately and is clear, so it isn’t visible like some other medications.

I would have thought maybe shingles, but it is so all over the place that probably not. When I get shingles it itches like crazy, but it comes and goes. And, that more pop up over time probably makes shingles less likely.

Are you using any new soaps?

Could it be insect bites?

I would definitely be careful not to autoinoculate yourself in case you might be spreading it.

I will try to post a picture tomorrow.

It could be poison ivy. This possibility part of why I haven’t gone to the doctor. I would feel stupid going for a minor case of poison ivy. I have just never known it to pop up one tiny blister at a time in completely different places and even then they don’t multiply into clusters of any sort.

According to the members of my family who have had shingles, it hurts almost more than it itches. I have zero pain. Doesn’t shingles only break out on one half of the body?

@Supacase I get horrible itch, not really painful. Other jellies have said on previous Q’s that they have the same experience. Usually it is down one nerve, so one side but it can be multiple nerves. That is why I kind of doubted myself when I suggested it to you since it seems rather random. I have two spots right now, that are not where I typically get my shingles outbreaks, that I thought were insect bites, but now they have lasted so long, I keep telling my husband I think it might be varicella, but he keeps telling me he doesn’t think so when he looks at them.

If you are going to a GP ask him to culture it. The first time I had an outbreak I went to a GP, and he said I had an infection and gave me antibiotics (which of course would not help). A few months later I was at the dermotologist for something unrelated but he noticed the red mark still leftover from the outbreak, and when I described it he said he thought it was herpetic, and if I get it again in the same place I’ll know it was. The next time it happened I was at the GYN for something again totally unrelated, but I showed it to him and he cultured it. He said he was surprised when it came back positive for zoster.

In case you don’t know the lingo Herpes zoster and varicella are used synonomously,

I live in the west in poison oak land.
I have been lucky the last few years and my property is pretty clear, but, my cat goes wandering into the woods across the road where there is the worlds largest PO bush grows and I just got over an outbreak.

If you have been exposed or handled any pets that might have been, well, that would be my guess. Tis the season.

Also, not every outbreak will be severe and, it is a myth that it spreads by scratching.
Once you have showered and washed the oils off of your body the blisters do not continue to spread. It is a contact situation only.

If you re-expose yourself by handling your clothes or shoes or pets you can have a new outbreak.

I once read that the oils in Poison Oak last for 10 years on a dried leaf in a bag, a laboratory experiment.

Also, it won;t itch much IF you aren’t scratching it.

A good test is to expose the blisters to very warm/hot water and see if the itching increases. Hot water releases the histamines and the itching will be INTENSE, but, also relieved by rubbing with a washcloth under a hot shower. You can get hours of releif from this methodology. haha

Go take a hot shower and report back if the sensation is overwhelming.

@Coloma You crack me up, I love how you write. The thing about your test is, everything that itches is from a histamine reaction pretty much.

@Supacase You’re not taking any medications are you? I don’t mean to treat the rash, I mean before the rash started.

Have you been in the woods where you might have come into contact with poison oak or poison ivy? Or, even out in the green at all where insects, maybe chiggers, might have had a chance to get you?

My first thought was shingles, too. (Mine hurt more than they itched.) But, it does usually stick to one side of the body or the other.

@JLeslie

:-)

True, the histamine release, but, poison oak or ivy s more reactive in that manner compared to say, a Mosquito bite.
I have no experience with shingles, sounds miserable.

@JLeslie I am on some medication, but nothing new – as in, same meds for a couple of years or longer. No new soaps, foods or anything else I can think of. I’m not really the outdoorsy type. :) I was out picking raspberries a couple of weeks ago, though. I forgot about that until you asked.

The zoster photos I looked up seem pretty close – although I have a mild case compared to some of those pictures. Yuck! Would this be something that warrants a visit to the doctor?

Here are some pictures. I took them with my phone so they aren’t the best. http://photobucket.com/supacaserash

I get a similar rash after sun exposure. I used to be able to be in the sun as a kid, but got a really bad sunburn and now get rashes like you describe after just about any sun exposure.

As for zoster, have you ever had the chicken pox or the vaccine?

@Supacase I looked at your photos. When I have shingles there is usually quite a bit of redness surrounding the area, although probably mostly from me scratching. Sigh. Shingles can look very different from person to person. I’ll try to look for some photos online. Sometimes I look at someone and I know for sure they have shingles, almost half their face (which must really suck) really red, but other times it is so minor. The one area that reoccurs on me is only about 2 inches by 2 inches more or less, but it is messy, irregular shaped not perfectly round like an insect bite, and on my butt.

If it is shingles you can take medicine if you want, but it should subside on its own. The medicine works best if given at the beginning of the outbreak, so by the time you get your cultures back, it will probably be late anyway. I usually don’t take any medication, but I have.

But, if it is not shingles, and there is a good chance it isn’t, I think it wise to have it looked at and treated. If it gets worse, spreads, get it addressed immediately. Poison ivy, shingles, or an allergic reaction to something from a week ago should not continue to get worse. God forbid a TENS reaction from a medication, that gets worse and worse as you continue to take the med, and becomes grave, as in you wind up in a burn unit and die. But, I don’t think you are dying, God forbid.

If it is shingles you can rent yourself out for all those moms who won’t vaccinate their kids for chicken pox and get them sick on purpose. LOL.

Here is one site with photos. Of course most are exetreme amd horrific, but you can see a few where it is just a few marks, kind of looks like yours.

You say, “I am looking for ideas, not medical advice.”
You actually are looking for medical advice. It is impossible to diagnose a rash over the internet, especially without a picture.

@Rarebear The pictures are in photbucket a few posts up on @supacase’s last post.

Contact dermatitis.

So some cortizone and see if it gets better? Or, still go to the doctor?

Cortisone might help. Usually these get better on their own. If it bugs her than I’d go get something stronger.

@Rarebear Actually, I’ve asked if anyone has any idea what the rash might be. I hoped some people may have experienced something similar and toss out some possibilities that I can then research and perhaps find my own suspected diagnosis.

Any treatment advice was unsolicited (although appreciated) other than to ask @JLeslie if zoster is something that needs medical attention and I asked her that because she has had experience with it.

Besides, it isn’t like I’m having chest pains or difficulty breathing. It’s a rash for God’s sake.

BTW, @ All: Tea Tree oil has been the best topical so far.

Quite a few more places popped up last night, so a trip to the doctor is the plan for Tuesday. Thanks for pointing out a couple of new thoughts @JLeslie. I never would have thought to look into zoster.

@Kayak8 I have had chicken pox.

@Supacase Do you have a fever, or any other sick symptoms? Are your lymph nodes swollen?

I don’t think it is shingles if it is getting worse and worse days later.

Were you outside again?

I was out out on the deck for a while last night. It is one floor above ground, so I wasn’t near anything.

@supacase Let us know what the doctor says, and if his treatment works.

I will. I am starting to suspect an allergic reaction after all, but am having trouble narrowing down the cause.

Yes, it does sound like contact dermatitis as @Rarebear guessed. Well, very educated guess, he is a doctor. Think soaps, laundry detergent, lotions, shampoos, green things outside.