Mystery Bumps
 

I Google'd my question and found that my symptoms sound like Herpes. Well, I'm 90% sure I don't have Herpes, so I'm asking what you guys think!

I went to visit my girlfriend this past weekend. Her roommate's boyfriend was there also. I noticed these small red bumps on his arms and legs, but I didn't think anything about it. They looked like small mosquito bites.

It's Thursday now, and my problem started yesterday. I noticed that there were these little bumps that itched like HELL on my side and on my wrists (both). I figured they were mosquito bites (they look like them, but are smaller, not as swollen), but they fucking disappear!! After about 12 hours, they're almost gone. Then 12 hours later they'll come back.

I had literally 30-50 bumps all over my body this morning. There are at least 20 on my arm! I ditched Economics to come ask about this. It's really starting to get me now. My entire fucking body itches like I have a thousand mosquito bites. My arm looks disgusting with so many bumps.

A lot of the bumps are on veins or near them. They seem to appear really quickly as well. Just in the past hour I've probably got 10 more. They disappear just as fast though, then come back later.

When I scratch them, they get as big as normal mosquito bites, but then go back down real small later on. They also don't itch after I scratch them for a minute (unlike mosquito bites).

Any idea what this is? It looks EXACTLY like what my girlfriend's roommate's boyfriend had, so I imagine it's some sort of airborne condition.

I originally thought it was just a bunch of mosquito bites, but now I know that I can't be bit THIS many fucking times in the mountains when it's this cold.

Any thoughts or comments appreciated. I don't wanna go to the Infirmary or doctor over something that's stupid. Maybe this is an allergic reaction?

-Lasereth

I went to the Infirmary. I had a really, really bad case of the hives. Thanks anyway. :)

-Lasereth

Good to know that it wasnt something that will haunt you forever like Herpes. :)

I'll bet thats releaving news, maybe food alergy.

You was probley thinking of chicken pox. Which is a form of herpes zoster.
Getting chicken pox as an adult is not good so it was a good thing you got checked out.

Herpes simplex 1 and 2 are the other herpes you were probley thinking about. They form lesions just near mucous membranes like the mouth and genitals.

My first thought was "chiggers". Good thing you talked to a real medical person!

My money was riding on scabies:)

Can't blame the boyfriend for hives!

What caused the hives?

also think scabies but to me it also seems like maybe its flea's you dont have to have an animal to get flea's in your house.

Aren't hives a form of Herpes too? I'm almost positive that I read this somewhere...

Yep, sounds like hives. I thought I was being eaten alive the one time I got hives. I definitely wouldn't have been able to sit down and type out a post when I had it, good on ya...

Hives are red itchy bumps on the skin caused by the release of histamine due to an allergic exposure. They can occur anywhere, and often everywhere on the body.

Herpes are multiple lesions closely grouped upon a red base, usually itchy, burning or painful, which turn to scab, and are cause by a virus. They occur in the area of exposure such as mouth(type I) or genitals(typeII)

Since we are on the topic of hives, iI'll give my own personal hives story !

So back when I was in high school, I had a summer job on a farm. I did a lot of different stuff, but this day I was picking corn. Anyone who has every actually been inside a corn field knows how filthy and insect-infested they are. ANYWAY I am picking corn and it's got to be like 90 degrees outside, and after a while I notice my back starts itching... and it just keeps getting worse. I could feel all these bumps on my back so I thought that perhaps some weird kind of insect got underneath my shirt and went wild. But then I realized that it was probably hives, because when I was a kid I had an allergic reaction to a cat or dog. ANYWAY the only thing that helped was to hose myself off with some cold water which helped stopped the itching.

What I think caused it was a combination of my sweat that day and all the corn dust/pollen falling down the back of my shirt. So yeah, that's my hives story !

Well, the hives continued a solid week after I was given prescription to it, and they occured at 5 different places. In other words, it was impossible to pinpoint a specific allergic reaction that was causing it. I went back to the infirmary last Monday, and he was amazed that hte Benadryl pills didn't work. I got yet another prescription. He described this one as "5 times stronger than Benadryl." Well, I've been taking it for a few days, and the hives are gone! I'm worried about two things, though:

Are they gone? If I stop taking this medicine, are they going to come back?

And secondly, what the hell caused this!? The doctor said it was NOT an allergic reaction since the Benadryl didn't work.

Oh well, at least they're temporarily gone at minimum.

-Lasereth

It all depends what causes the hives. Even if benadryl doesn't work, it could be an allergic reaction. You should consider getting an allergy test. It could be stress.

I used to have hives that wouldn't go away, even with heavy Benadryl doses. I think I narrowed it down to detergent and/or bounce with perfume. I still get them every so often, but not like I used to.

Well... if we're on itch stories... a few weeks ago I started scratching at night like crazy. I was sure I had scabies. I could have contracted them from an old bed sheet cover that was lying in dust for a long time, and which I failed to wash before using it (stupid, I know). Anyhow, I went to the doctor, she took a look, without actually giving it a close inspection, and said "yeah, you're probably right". I spent a few weeks furiously washing all my stuff, and spreading all kinds of crap on me (some of it lindane-based, and I just learned it's cancerous), but the itch just didn't go away. Then, a few day ago, it stopped. It's gone now, and the only thing left is that the spots I was itching at are more sensitive. I don't think it was scabies, after all, but who knows?

Woke up yesterday morning with some new hives. Oh boy. Zyrtec isn't working anymore. I went back to the damned infirmary this morning to learn some mind-blowing news:

Doctor: "Well, it looks like they're coming back."

Me: "Yep."

Doctor: "Keep taking the Zyrtec, come back Friday."

Me: "Ok."

That was a pretty useless trip.

-Lasereth

I would wash everything lasereth. Your sheets, your shower towel, your hand towel, your pillow case... and maybe do some vacuuming.

Wow, now they're all over my fuckin body again. Jesus, I need the T-Virus antidote before I turn into a zombie from the RE games. None of my medicine works at all.

I'm going back in a couple of days (doctor told me to anyway). Not sure what they're gonna say now...the Zyrtec was supposed to beat its ass, and now they're back, and in different places on my body. This is some sick shit!

-Lasereth

Time to break out the roids!

Medrol Dose Pack

Save yourself a couple days of misery and call the doc now!

Well, since the Zyrtec, they've given me Prednisone and another Benadryl dose. The Prednisone didn't work, but combined with a bigger dose of Benadryl, it works great. They stayed gone for a week, but my medicine ran out two days ago, and now they're back. So it didn't eliminate the hives, it just temporarily made them go away. Great! I've already made an appointment with my actual doctor at home for this Friday. It's gonna suck really bad not having a way to make them go away temporarily from Tuesday till Friday, though.

-Lasereth

Yay, it's Friday! That's about the only good news. They woke me up for the first time. My right arm has probably 150 on it right now. My left arm has like 6. What's up with that!? They usually come on both arms evenly. Doctor's appointment in 6 hours...I bet they disappear before then. Ha ha. Man if that doctor could see'em now, he'd probably go apeshit. They've simply never been this bad before. It's gotta be a reaction to something.

-Lasereth

Did you wash and vacuum your stuff yet?

Yeah, my sheets here are freshly washed. The odd part is that I've got them everywhere: my house, my mom's house, my stepdad's parent's house, my girlfriend's house, my girlfriend's mom's house, my dorm at college...they come and go anywhere I am. I don't think it's something location specific. I guess I'll know in a few hours, anyway!

-Lasereth

I went to the doctor at home. They don't know what it is. They also said that there's no way to find out if they don't go away after two weeks. They put me on Zyrtec (AGAIN!) even after I told them it didn't work the first time. The doctor said to wait two months, and they should be gone. Uhh...the Zyrtec is doing NOTHING, the hives are still all over me every fucking day all day, and it's almost been two months now. This is gettin really fuckin old!

-Lasereth

May help with some info.
http://www.worldallergy.org/public/a...llergies.shtml

Lasereth
I am glad that you found out what it was!!!!!!!!!

............................................ lol

Dude, i hope you find out about them.

Lasereth,

Zyrtec is an H1 blocker(histamine). It may help to add an H2 blocker like Zantac. Yea, I know its a stomach med but It can also help with allergies(it would be the first drug an allegist would add). Its OTC, 75-150mg twice a day. Other than that, the only other alternative is to take the 'roids(prednisone) until the reaction dies down- which may be 4-6 weeks

Laserth, would it be possible for you to see an allergist or a dermotologist?

I had a problem in the past where 2 doctors didn't know what was going on, I visted an allergist and he knew whatI had within like 10 minutes.

I would still take the Prednisone and Benadryl combo, but when I went to the doctor they said to stop taking it. I hear it causes weak bone density if you take it for extended periods of time. But damn, that combo was the *only* medicine that made them go away, even if it was just temporarily.

The doctor said that they last two months in extreme cases, but usually only 4-6 weeks like you said. Well, it's already been 7 weeks, and they're still here with full force.

I've been taking my Zyrtec every single night as instructed. It does make them itch *less,* and there aren't as many as usual, but they're still here 100%. Some days the medicine has no effect on them at all, like today.

The doctor said that they should be gone after I take Zyrtec, and that the only thing I can do is wait it out. Uhh, waiting out a two month long case of the hives that don't go away isn't exactly easy! I'm thinking about hitting up an allergist or dermatologist like Jericho said. This is getting really, really old.

-Lasereth

Is Zyrtec helping

Ok, so I went to a Dermatologist. She thinks it might be diet soft drinks. It's been a few days and I haven't touched diet soft drinks and they're super, super bad today. The dermatologist also gave me Allegra, a super strong allergy medication. It's doing *nothing.* It's not affecting them at all...it may actually be making them worse.

She gave me some more good news: if the hives last more than 6 weeks, then they usually stay for 2-25 years. Wahoo!

Now it's just down to finding out what makes them itch less. I can't live with them itching this bad. All I'm doing right now is sitting here scratching until I bleed! It's ridiculous. Someone has to know how to make these go away!!!

-Lasereth

i had the hives bad a few years ago due to an alergic reaction to a perscription medicine i had started taking.

I went to the ER one night, the docters office the next day, and then they sent me to the trauma unit downtown. by then they were really bad. my hives weren't like mosquito bites though, they were like big spots and my left foot was really swollen to the point that it was round shaped. well, at the trauma center they hooked me up to a few IVs and needless to say there they were able to make them go away after 2 days and a night stay at the hospital. But then again, those were pretty heavy duty drugs they were pumping in my arm.

maybe you should just go to the emergency room or something. have someone else check it out.

*UPDATE*

Alright, I went to the dermalogist again. She says that my taste and smell disorder Dysgeusia may be a key factor in the hives. I had a blood test done (filled up two vials, ha ha) today, then went and got a CAT scan done at another clinic. She also thinks there's a chance that I have a tumor in my head.

Oh well, you win some you lose some. I have three new prescriptions as well. Now I'm on another huge dosage of Allegra (to regulate the hives...it did make them stop in the evening, but come back unbearably strong in the morning), a dose of Atarax (next antihistamine she's trying), and a cream to put on my skin to cure a skin disorder I have.

-Lasereth

You should make a log of your activities in a note book. Log what you eat, drink, wear, meds, cologne, where you go, ect...
Log how your skin is doing too.

The log may help you and your doc figure out what is causeing the problem.

Alright, the hives are 95% gone!! The medicine is working great. I only get like 5-10 per day instead of 100-200 per day. They don't itch either! This is great. I don't care if I have to take the medicine forever...they're gone and they're sure as hell not itching. Wahoo!!

The CATscan came back ok with my sinuses, but they didn't run the full scan like they were supposed to. I might have to go back for that. I also have to go to a neurologist for my taste and smell disorder. I don't care what I have to do now -- the fuckin hives are gone. Best week ever!!

-Lasereth

It's been a while and I've been through more than I'd like to describe trying to figure out what causes the hives, but I think I've narrowed it down to certain types of diet drinks officially. I'm taking expensive medicine right now that works really well if I get hives. I get them maybe once every two or three weeks now and it always seems to correlate to when I drink Diet Coke. Even when I do get them the medicine I'm taking gets rid of them really fast. So basically they're not a part of my life anymore!! Yeehaw!!

-Lasereth

i would say chiggers, flea bites or bedbug bites....hives aren't small bumps