Rash driving me utterly mad - any ideas what it might be as I await referral to dermatology??

[PunishmentRoundupWithJoon]

I have a rash and it's driving me crazy. It started around armpits and has now spread down arms, past elbow and it also on my side, over ribs and on my back.

First GP said it was fungal, gave Canesten HC. That didn't work but did sting when applied. Went to Urgent Care last week as utterly desperate and doctor prescribed steroids as rash was inflamed and spongy.

Saw a GP yesterday for follow up after Urgent Care and she was clueless. She took photos and said she would submit them to dermatology for 'urgent review'.

I have been taking 3 180mg Fexofenadine every day (Urgent Care doc said it was ok, given intensity of itching) but I swear they are making barely any difference. I am using Eurax, Germolene (for anaesthetic effect) and Vagisil (for lidocaine) and the itching is still making me want to scratch my skin off.

Does anyone have any ideas what this might be? It's hot to the touch, and i can feel it burning even as I sit here.

Yes, I am "asking strangers on the internet"! Though not as an alternative to seeking medical treatment.

I'm wondering if it's infected, though surely 2nd GP would have suggested this?

I feel well enough in myself, just utterly frenzied with the itch.

Thanks in advance!

Sorry, here.

@FlipthelidSid - no, no leather sofa.

the one on your side does look like shingles - but you'd think they would have said that by now!

It looks like a rash I get. Tried my usual steroid cream and it made no difference. Was prescribed Clobetesol 0.05% and it cleared in two days.

Yes, I'd agree, very eczematous look, possibly overlaid with Impetigo, or infection, but I'm surprised that 5 days of oral steroids hardly touched it.

@Oneearringlost - the steroids MAY have calmed down the redness a tiny bit. But no major difference. At least if there's infection I'm on the antibiotics now. After that...who knows?

@Piggywaspushed - it's not very sore though, I thought shingles was quite painful? And I'm not ill with the rash - no fever or anything. The soreness there is seems to be more due to the abrasion of scratching.

Shingles makes your body sore which is sort of what you say in the OP. Some people are much sicker than others with it.

@Piggywaspushed - Maybe I gave the wrong impression then. The rash only burns (kind of) on arms and is hot and I can feel it, but the side rash is not sore and doesn't burn, Also, I thought shingles was only on one side of the body? This is all over, both sides. There's no blisters, I think the soreness comes from the scratching.

I hope the bloody dermatologist is useful on Friday!

Fair enough OP . You dont have to have blisters with shingles though.

Have you submitted a photo unto AI?
I came back off a school trip and thought I was getting bitten in my garden. My dermatologist friend took one look at my photos and told me I had bed bugs and scabies from the lovely hostel in The Netherlands. I was reacting to my own bites and it made me ill. Thankful he was an expert.

Poor you. I have had something similar both at stressful times in my life. It was diagnosed as an immune reaction and eventually calmed after very strong antihistamines and steroids.

@Autumngirl5 - I'm wondering if there's stronger antihistamines they can give me but I'm already taking loads; I don't even want to say how many different types I'm taking!

Good to hear that yours cleared up - hope it doesn't recur!

@Vivienne1000 - not sure how to submit a photo to AI but have done an image search on google and it came up with a whole heap of options!

I’ve had chronic spontaneous urticaria since 2020, it’s an autoimmune immune disease. My local dermatology were useless, so I pushed for a referral to Guys/St Thomas allergy department, where they were excellent. I still have some flare ups, if they are really bad I take ice blocks to bed! I use Aproderm cream twice a day,plus the menthol cream occasionally. I’m on four Cetirizine a day plus two other meds prescribed by the consultant. Push for an allergy appointment, there were people there who came from quite far away. Good luck.

My GP phoned my local hospital in Oxford and arranged for me be seen by a doctor that day. Luckily there was a junior doctor strike so I immediately saw a consultant, who prescribed the stringer antihistamine and increased my dose of steroids.
I hope yours clears up soon. It is miserable x

Rashes are difficult as they look like red patches lol … I have had psoriasis for years and it can sometimes look like that before it starts to go scaly. Hopefully the dermatologist will have a diagnosis quickly

I have this also alongside cholinergic urticaria. Xolair is the only thing that worked for me, it’s been life changing

I had an intensely itching rash a while back. The doctors couldn’t identify it and none of the creams seemed to work. The only thing that really helped was using cold packs on it. It think the sensation of cold outweighed the itching sensation.

The rash went away and hasn’t ever come back. Still don’t know what it was. I was also menopausal at the time.

It may be a bit dramatic for some, but have you looked at fasting?

I have found fasting to be so helpful in giving my autoimmune body a reset.

Three days, 72 hours. By the last 24 your body starts scavenging bad cells apparently.

Obviously I am having water with a little salt, black tea and coffee, electrolytes.

I have just found it calmed my body down completely.

Not medical advice, but could be worth looking at.

@karinahh - I think fasting is an excellent idea. It's something I would struggle with, but it's something that intuitively makes sense. Who knows if my body is reacting to something?

As it happens I've just spoken to the dermatologist who is putting me on a course of anti fungal tablets for a couple of weeks and organising blood tests and a skin biopsy.

Fasting is something I may look into in the future. I also feel, again intuitively, that it would be good for my body.

Thank you for reminding me about this,

@cinnamonmilkandhoney = cholinergic urticaria! That's what I had suddenly a few months ago! Came on so suddenly and was annoying and embarrassing but at least the antihistamines took care of it. Didn't know it had a name (just looked it up).

OP, has anyone suggested the possibility of Lupus? It can cause intensely itchy red patches. Lupus is an autoimmune disease. I would definitely ask if bloods can be taken, and to be referred not only to dermatology but rheumatology too.

@Sassylovesbooks - I have seen pics of the lupus rash when researching this, and I guess it's always a possibility, though it's not on my face, like the typical lupus rash.

An appointment for bloods is being sent and I will ask about lupus - thank you.

I have had an incredible amount of leg, hip and lower back stiffness lately, though, incidentally, it improved when I had the 5 day course of steroids for the rash!

@Sassylovesbooks - and it looks like it can develop after an infection and I had pneumonia in October.

I'm astonished they haven't put you on antibiotics as it is clearly spreading and it sounds like a staph infection. You need Doxycycline.