What will soothe my itchy post-rash skin?

[Dilbertian]

I was ill and had my usual viral rash. This one was a humdinger of a rash and though it is starting to go down it has left my skin over-sensitive and itchy.

I'm running myself a bath with a sock of oats in it, to try and soothe my skin a bit.

What else might I have at home that I could add to the bath?

Problem: nothing fragranced as I am allergic to certain fragrances.

I've dug out some aloe vera jelly and some Childs Farm nappy cream. Wondering about adding them to the bath...

Are you taking antihistamine tablets?

yes this will take the itch out.

i wouldn't put cream in the bath it wont really work and make your bath a death trap!

do you have kids? Mine got prescribed aveeno, cetraben and zerobase cream as well as various other aqueous creams so these are always a good bet to slather on!

Calamine lotion or Savlon. Another no to cream or oil in the bath. Too slippery.

Antihistamines help, but they don't stop the sheer sensitivity of my skin after this rash. I know from experience that my skin will look normal by Monday, but my work lanyard will feel like a bread knife scraping at my neck. Obviously I'll wear something with a soft cotton collar, but even the seams on my clothes will irritate my skin until it settles down again.

I am a delicate blossom 😜

If the rash was on your face, LaRoche Posay Effaclar H moisturing cream (sounds fancier than it is) is a really good face cream. It's designed to soothe skin that's over-dry from Acne treatment, which can cause redness, flaking, burning skin. It's not oily or thick and it's very soothing, so good for the face. But if it's for the body you want, probably not so good.

You can get it in Boots for around a tenner, might be worth getting some for in future.

I got excited - until I checked the ingredients. Can't use it. 🥺

Won’t help tonight but have you tried Dream Cream from Lush? I don’t know if the ingredients work for you but my husband has extremely sensitive skin and swears by it.

I itch just walking past Lush shops.

Given that aqueous creams are often used as substitutes for soap, why not add such creams to the bath water? I'll just have to be careful getting out of the bath and give it a wipe afterwards - which I would in any case..

My son with severe eczema swears by Palmers cocoa butter (but the fragrance free one), its very rich and soothing and often on offer at superdrug.

Yes, that is good stuff.

When the rash is this bad I can't moisturise my skin in the last day or two of the rash or the first 3-4 days after. Everything stings. Except hydrocortisone ointment. So I just put oil on my skin, usually coconut oil.

I'm hoping that by moisturising before the rash ends I won't get so sore and sensitive.

It's bonkers because once the rash has faded my skin looks fine. Not inflamed at all. But dear God it is sensitive.