Weird Bumpy Rash

Hi,

Does anyone know what might have caused this? (see photo) I don't know if it's from a plant or a bug. Gross, huh?!

Thanks, Christina

Spider...I get them all the time playing in the garden, but up here I don't have to worry about poisonous spiders.

I HATE spider bites! Be careful - keep it clean and try not to irritate it, as they can get infected.

Are you sure you don't have poison oak/ivy? That's what it looks like when I get into it. If it keeps spreading you'll know for sure.

Thankfully, I've never had that so I wouldn't know what it looks like. What do you think, Christina? Bet the same rules apply, though, besides putting lots of calamine on it!

My poison oak used to look like that too. In case it is, try not to scratch it when it itches, and if you can't resist scratching, wash your hands afterwards so you won't spread it to more parts of your body. My local drugstore carries some kind of soap that's supposed to treat the rash and stop it from spreading. I can't tell you whether it works. I haven't used it because I've stayed far away from poison oak for decades. I don't remember the exact name, but it's something simple like "poison oak soap."

Looks like PO to me too, I get it bad so learned what it looks like in all stages now throughout the year, with or without leaves.

I had it bad on the back of my hand, it got inside my glove somehow. Had to get a cream from the doctor to get rid of it. Probably ask a pharmacist, they'll now what to use.

I agree - it looks like poison ivy. The pharmacies carry all kinds of anti-itch remedies. I think (but am not 100% sure) that the rash will only appear wherever the plant has touched your skin. However, the oils can get on your pet's fur and be transferred to you and it can also get on your clothing, so you may be exposed even if you didn't have direct contact. The worst thing is if someone burns the plant or its roots, because it (urushiol) can then get into the lungs.

Poison Ivy is East Coast, over here it's poison oak. But the same nasty effect!

Either or, when you know you'll be working around poison ivy/oak, you can spray the plant with a mixture of 1/4 bleach to 1gallon of water and it will neutralize the urishol which causes the rash. You can also dab it on your skin at first contact. Wash your clothing with bleach as well.

X

Corrected to say per gallon and not cup. Sorry!

This message was edited Jun 8, 2009 5:26 PM

Whew, that's strong, X! I only use a 1:10 dilution to sanitize my bird cages.

Woops .. you're right .. is 1/4 cup per gallon of regular, not concentrated bleach .. I've got some weird respiratory thing going on and the meds I'm on are messing up my brain.

Thanks for noticing that.

X

This message was edited Jun 8, 2009 5:25 PM

Ah, experience pays off! I thought it might be a typo - OR the fact that I don't know beans about poison oak/ivy!!

Just so that you all will know, Dictamnus also known as Gas plant will cause a rash that looks like that too. My husband is highly susceptable to all those rash causing plants and has threatened me with serious harm should I bring another Gas plant into our yard. While spreading mulch around it, he got too close and suffered for many days with that itching, burning, weeping ugly rash. I have little to no problems to the rash producing plants. I loved that Dictamnus!

This message was edited Jun 17, 2009 10:13 AM

Thanks for all the advice! I think it's unanimous that it was poison oak. Thankfully it's almost completely gone now. :)))

That looks exactly like poison ivy. By the time I got to the doctor, I had to (1) have a shot or (2) the series of pills that I "forget the name" of!!

Karin ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Karin, my hubby also had a weird rash with blisters which we suspect was poison oak. He also went to the doc and got the series of pills. I also forget the name. All's well now.

prednisone

edited for spelling

This message was edited Jul 17, 2009 12:47 AM

Prednisone, yep. Been there done that, until I found the giant patch of jewelweed we have. Oh, and I get a rash like that from japanese honeysuckle if I let the cut end of a branch touch my skin. 'Course we have more honeysuckle than anything else, and I'm out there trying to eradicate it every day. Only 24 9/10 acres to go....