I've tried googling all of this, but there is so much information out there, I don't even know where to start...

SO.. here I be!

1. If you have a food allergy do you break out in a skin rash?

2. What kind of rash is associated with Strawberries? Is is some long sweeping almost like scratching type of rash?

I realize I am being vague because I cannot post photos - but this is so irritating, I'm about ready to go through the roof!

In February I broke out in this big time rash. I thought it was stress-induced because it was the first month that we stopped paying on this house and I was EXTREMELY stressed about it. When I say a rash, I mean:

Top of my feet
Top of my thighs & sides of my calves right above my ankles
From my neck all the way down my back
Across my chest but NOT anywhere from the girls down to my thighs
Left thumb all the way down my arm to my elbow
Right arm from my wrist down to my elbow slanting across my forearm
Tops of my fingers between the nails and the first knuckle
My scalp all in the back above my neck.
IN my eyebrows!

Other than stress, my DH and I tried for days to figure out what it may have been, but I haven't (a) changed detergent, cleaner, soaps, etc in DECADES; (b) NO new foods at all, EXCEPT we had eaten at a new very fine-dining buffet which had scrumptious foods and I had Sushi for the first time (blech) and Cerveche made with scallops - BUT, I have eaten scallops many times. I MAY have also had Strawberries - but I really cannot remember and I've always eaten strawberries with no reactions.

So for the first breakout - the only thing I could think of was stress-related. Believe me, it was bad. I had to scratch so much that my entire back was filled with bloody scratch marks from the back-scratcher we have.

Well.. guess what!

The rash is back!

Yesterday when I went out to the grocery store I noticed that my thighs were itching really bad. Didn't think anything of it because the last time my left thumb and forearm were the first to break out. When I got home and started scratching my legs again - I looked and sure enough, the red, bumpy rash was back!

Then last night, my eyebrows started itching. Yup - the rash was back in my eyebrows again. My left thumb again is all red and bumpy and my pinky finger on my right hand is starting to show the bumps. I also found some of the bumps in my left pinky! AND, I have been feeling the bumps again on my neck going up into my hair/scalp! My back is already a mess, I can't stand to wear a bra, let alone a shirt - and I have shops today.. LOL!

The ONLY thing that I have done differently is - I just finished making 10 1/2 pint jars of Strawberry Rhubarb Jam and 11 1/2 pints of Strawberry Jam. But, I didn't wipe my hands on my back - though I did eat some berries!

Wish I could post a photo of what the rash looks like. *ugh* I'm in itchy-scratchy hell right now!

PLEASE consult a doctor, even if you have to go to and urgent care place! This sounds like hives and could very well require medical treatment before it starts affecting your respiration!!!

You can develop allergies at any time. I have a friend who at age 30 was jogging and collapsed. Active-duty military so she was in good health. They ran all sorts of tests and finally did allergy tests and her reactions to almost all the allergens were off the charts. Her body had literally turned against her almost overnight.

I used to own a cat, and gave her away when I was assigned overseas for a year. When I got back I visited some friends who have a cat, and had a severe allergic reaction. They did the cat dander test on me and my forearm swelled up. No more cats for me, and I can't visit friends who have cats.

My son took the antibiotic Ceclor several times over many years with no problems, and one night his whole body ballooned up to where he looked like a Sumo wrestler. No more Ceclor for him.

Your body can change overnight and what you always thought was safe now isn't.

Until you can get to a doc take some Benadryl. You need to get your histamine level down.

@ Wales & Niteowl -

Thanks for replying. When I go out to do my shop I planned on picked up the Benadryl. I'm just stumped. I've even looked at photos of shingles thinking along those lines.

What causes hives? Isn't it an allergic reaction to something? I looked at pictures of hives and none of what these little bumps look like hives!

Have you ever been bitten by a red ant? That's how these little itchies start out like a burning sensation until I scratch for the first time. A 1/2 or so circular patch of bumps. They don't do anything but get red, itch a heck of a lot and then about 5-7 days later just disappear like they were never there, and I'm left with a bunch of scratch marks from the back-scratcher and my fingernails.

I don't have any problem breathing, no sore throat, runny nose, sneezing - nothing. And most importantly - NO Swelling of any kind. It's just a rash that runs the length of skin for a short spell and then quits.

No doctor, no insurance, can't afford it. I haven't been to a doctor since November 1997. If anyone goes to the doctor it has to be my husband.

Shingles is typically only on one side of the body. BUT, to be treated effectively, shilgles needs urgent medical care!!!! Don't mess around trying to figure this out for yourself, please!

Rainey - I think they have to look at you if you go to any emergency room, or at least send you to another emergency room that can help you. I don't believe they can turn you away because you don't have any money. I have spent a lot of time in emergency rooms in the past few years and have seen lots of cases that didn't have insurance or money, and the people got some temporary help. This allergic reaction you're having could be life threatening. Maybe you could get a shot and a diagnosis out of the deal.

Could be shingles. Many people are allergic to strawberries. Go to an ER. They are legally responsible to treat you. And so what if you get a bill. You can pay them off in time. Explain your situation and they may be able to give you free samples.

Could be shingles I agree....

Hives maybe? Stress will do it and so will strawberries.

Plz see a doctor, you don't wanna mess and end up with a huge bill or worse because you waited.

I used to work for a doctor/hospital. Go, they will treat you, then when you get your bill call and see if there is a discount for prompt pay or if there is a financial aid package. Sometimes many places will give discounts for paying fast or if there is a financial need.

Your county may have an indigent program for people who need medical care, in which case the work may be free. Go to the emergency room. If this wasn't an emergency, your local government health clinic can discount your doctor's visits. I went to ours until my MSing and other income got too high for cheap visits. Occasionally they get a government grant for free mammograms or something like that. They don't advertise it.

If the ER say it is an allergy but don't know what, it may be that their allergy tests don't cover something. If that is the case, stop using detergent for a while. It would be all over your body and you may have developed an allergy to it.

Do go to the emergency room.

Later, after the emergency room visit, if you like, you can get free allergy tests at research places that are looking for guinea pigs to test new meds. You don't have to be in a study to get a free allergy test. I am in another clinical trial right now, but the company that does allergy trials called to ask me to do a test in preparation for them having a study after I'm off this one. I did.

Sandra Sue Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Your county may have an indigent program for
> people who need medical care, in which case the
> work may be free. Go to the emergency room. If
> this wasn't an emergency, your local government
> health clinic can discount your doctor's visits.
> I went to ours until my MSing and other income got
> too high for cheap visits. Occasionally they get
> a government grant for free mammograms or
> something like that. They don't advertise it.
>
> If the ER say it is an allergy but don't know
> what, it may be that their allergy tests don't
> cover something. If that is the case, stop using
> detergent for a while. It would be all over your
> body and you may have developed an allergy to it.
>
> Do go to the emergency room.
>
> Later, after the emergency room visit, if you
> like, you can get free allergy tests at research
> places that are looking for guinea pigs to test
> new meds. You don't have to be in a study to get
> a free allergy test. I am in another clinical
> trial right now, but the company that does allergy
> trials called to ask me to do a test in
> preparation for them having a study after I'm off
> this one. I did.


Great advice. Let us know, now we are worried.

What about Motrin? My husband used to take it fine, but then one time he broke out in a rash that actually moved over his whole body. He watched (and felt it) go from head, chest, out both arms, trunk, behind legs, to feet, then repeat back up the body and out the fingers. Crazy, strange, weird!

I am allergic to perservatives (MSG, EDTA, nitrates) and did alot of reading on the subject of allergies. Some allergens stay in your system and do not give a reaction right away. Could be 8 hours or more. Some, of course, react within minutes.

In any case, what you are experiencing needs to be seen. ER has to take you. Please go in. Allergic reactions can change for the worse very quickly.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/23/2012 06:52PM by hudge95.

Youuuuu whoooooooo Rainy....how are you feeling?

It sounds like too much histamine. Here's a great website:

[www.urticaria.thunderworksinc.com]

SecretAgentMom Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Youuuuu whoooooooo Rainy....how are you feeling?


You put this out there so please let us know if you are OK and what happened because it may help someone else. thanks.

Hey gang,

Thanks for all of the concerns. I was giving it a week to see if the dang things came back.

Everything went good-bye by Monday night - except for my back. Nothing on my fingers, hands, arms, face, etc.. My back looks like, as my husband said, "Someone tied you up to a whipping post!" (ha, ahem, no dirty minds here! LMAO!!)

It HAS to be the strawberries. There's absolutely nothing else.

We still have some sitting here in a dish, I am tempted to eat a bowl of them just to see if that really is the culprit. I'm guessing that when I was hulling, slicing, mashing, stirring and making the 26 jars of jam, that I must have gotten some residual juice and then wiped my face or something which caused the rash up by my eyebrows.

But when I first started getting the itchy scratchies on my back, I grabbed the back-scratcher and really made a bad itch even worse. Not thinking, didn't wash hands, grabbed the scratcher and just started using it.

Like I said, the only conclusion I can come up with is strawberries - and that sucks. Big time.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/24/2012 05:27AM by r@inyDayZ3.

Yes sounds reasonable, esp since you were all over the strawberry guts. It does suck though could be something more evil.