Dr. Hive: Is This a Poison Ivy Rash? Chiggers?

[JumpyTheFrog]

Tigger played outside a bit on Friday. On Saturday, we dropped him off at gymnastics at 9am and he was fine. By the time we picked him up at 1pm, he had a rash near his mouth and down his legs. Sunday and today it is even worse.

 

Symptoms:

-The rash is red, but outside each spot is whitish. The white rings didn't appear until day 2.

-It is mildy itchy and now some spots have a bit of orange crust on them.

-He doesn't seem sick or tired otherwise.

-He doesn't gave a single spot on his chest, back, or upper legs, spots covered by his clothes. He is way overdue for a haircut and doesn't have spots on his forehead or neck. He does have a bit on an eyelid. The palms of his hands are clear, too.

-He wasn't outside a long time and hasn't had a sunburn yet this year. (We had wondered about sun poisoning.)

 

We thought maybe he touched something at gymnastics, but he generally takes his shirt off there. Could this be from poison ivy?

[JumpyTheFrog]

On second thought, moderately itchy is probably more accurate.

[JumpyTheFrog]

I'm trying to figure out if we need to quarantine him. If it's poison ivy, he can go to practice tonight. If it's a virus, we should keep him home.

[Sharpie]

My experience with poison ivy includes an INTENSE need to itch until you bleed.  However, if he is just starting with it, in my experience, the itch increases.  I too am dealing with poison ivy currently.   My rash is now forming pusstuals (spelling??) and oozing.  You can get an yellow/orange type crust if the ooze dries up.  However, in my experience, it will ooze and literally run down my legs, arms, etc.  I have never had poison ivy on the palms of my hands even though that is usually touched by poison ivy.  

 

I do know others who have a milder reaction to poison ivy so he may not have such an intense itch.  I hate the stuff with a passion but it is everywhere here.  I try to avoid it as best I can but worked on flower beds this weekend. 

[JumpyTheFrog]

Yesterday it was mildly itchy. It seems like it has gotten itchier in the last hour. He's now saying he doesn't want to go to practice because it is so itchy.

[In The Great White North]

Has he washed it?  If it is poison ivy (or something else he touched/walked through) he should wash it off with hot water and a really harsh soap (Fels Naptha, Tecnu, etc) A little chlorine in the water also helps dry it out.  Wash the socks & shoes too.  Poison ivy oil is hard to wash off, so dh always washes it several times.

 

Reactions to poison ivy vary wildly.  It doesn't bother me at all (no itching, no rash, no oozing grossness);  dh gets it all and it lasts forever. He has to take steroids to get rid of it.

 

ETA.  Were there any pets around?  Even if you don't see any poison ivy, dogs & cats can transfer the oil for days.

[Miss Tick]

Sounds like poison ivy to me. I cleared some out yesterday fully clothed (change to a bitter voice here) but of course I got it anyway because I always do.

 

Today I have some small red patches that look like abrasions. In the next day, or do they will stay to itch and increase in intensity. New spots can appear for up to a week.

 

Get some anti-itch lotion and apply liberally as needed, cold packs also help.

 

If it started on day 1, I often don't see much improvement for a week.

 

If there is swelling on his face you may want to see a Dr. both to be sure it is poison ivy, and to get a steroid shot to help clear the rash.

[Mandylubug]

I'd take them in to be seen. Doesn't look like poison ivy rash to me.

[PinkyandtheBrains.]

It doesn't look like the poison ivy rash I get, I'd get it checked out.

[littlebug42]

Doesn't look like poison ivy to me either.  My ped told us that the characteristic rash for poison ivy is obvious because the rash is in lines.  I would go get it checked out. 

[J-rap]

It could be.  It's hard to tell for sure.  What helped me most the last time I had it was a good swim in the ocean.  You could probably recreate it with a salt-bath!  (If indeed that's what it is.)

[Mandylubug]

You can get some infections from gymnastics too. Although, it seems too quick to be from gym. My girls had rough looking toenails for forever. They didn't look yellow or yucky. Just rough but my girls were always barefoot so I assumed it was just their poor feet being mistreated. We took a break after 3 years of gymnastics and their toe nails are beautiful. They still walk around barefoot. Only change was no gymnastics. Those gyms are breeding grounds for yucky stuff!

[zoobie]

They look like mosquito bites to me. That's what I would've guessed without any backstory. The welt in the middle of each seems unusual for poison ivy or oak.

[Mandylubug]

They remind me of mosquitoes but really remind me of red bugs. Those are horrible too!

[JumpyTheFrog]

Well, I went out and looked at their favorite place to play in the hedge row. There were several plants with 3 fuzzy leaves in the area where he had been running through that looked like they could be poison ivy. I doubt they are bug bites because I've only seen few mosquitoes so far and Little Guy doesn't have the rash.

[Mandylubug]

Well, I went out and looked at their favorite place to play in the hedge row. There were several plants with 3 fuzzy leaves in the area where he had been running through that looked like they could be poison ivy. I doubt they are bug bites because I've only seen few mosquitoes so far and Little Guy doesn't have the rash.

Typically poison ivy or oak will be within wooded areas or at the borders of wooded areas and not in middle of fields of grass.

[Mandylubug]

Could be a mosquito in the gym?

[JumpyTheFrog]

They were playing in the woods. That's where I found the plants that I think are poison ivy.

[ktgrok]

can you post a picture of hte plants? But to me, that doesn't look like poison ivy rash at all. Too circular. I'd say some kind of bug..chiggers/no seeums/deer flies/etc. ,Or impetigo I guess, but not really. 

[almondbutterandjelly]

It looks a bit like chicken pox to me.  Google some images and compare.

[littlebug42]

Could be chiggers bites.   Epsom salt bath helped my daughter with hers last year.  

[Tiramisu]

Dd had poison ivy recently. It started out looking like mosquito bites, too, quite a bit like the picture. I even took her into the ped because it looked so strange to me. Half her face got so swollen I was afraid it was a weird infection from digging in the dirt and not washing her hands. The ped pointed out certain characteristics that convinced us it was poison ivy, but I can't remember what they were. LOL.

 

Interestingly, dd also had some spots around her mouth, so I think she must have got some on her had and wiped her mouth area. She never got spots on her hands, though.

 

I got a small spot on my chin where I made contact with the side of her face when I kissed her. :)

 

Because it was on her face, she was put on a low dose of steroids. But a rash came out on her chest when we stopped the steroids. We then got a prescription steroid creme that worked amazingly well. But that cannot be used on the face. You may want to ask for that. It helped immensely. We also gave her Benadryl for the itching. That helped a lot, too, especially with sleep.

 

I am a huge fan of tecnu. You could try it. It might help prevent further rash development.

[Matryoshka]

Now that the pics are finally showing up for me, I actually don't think that looks like poison ivy, especially with the red dots in the middle of some of the rashes - I've never seen that with poison ivy.  I'd get it seen.

 

Dd had poison ivy for the first time recently.  I only get it where I'm touched, but apparently she's like dh and it goes systemic.  It came out in blotches in some spots, but they were not all round like that.  She had it on her face and shoulder at first, but then it started popping up elsewhere - torso, legs (in some cases it can travel via the bloodstream) - the face and the spreading sent us to the doc for steroids.  I've gotten really bad cases but never had to use steroids because it's never been on my face or spread past the initial area (although it could spread to a large rash around the initial area). 

[JumpyTheFrog]

Now I'm wondering if it might be from chiggers. Many of the welts have red dots in the middle. I've never dealt with them before and the photos online of various rashes make them a bit hard to tell apart.

 

I'll take wome photos of the alleged poison ivy tomorrow. I'll also see if I can get some closer up photos to see if they might be chigger bites.

[trulycrabby]

It looks like clusters of bug bites to me. My first thought was mosquito, but it could be something else. Will go look at chigger bites, because I have never seen them IRL.

[jenn-]

You can sometimes shine a bright light at an angle and look close up and see the chiggers buried in the skin.  The only relief we have found is removing the chigger from the bite with very fine tipped tweezers.  I have had them all over me before (seriously thought I had the chicken pox at 30+) and had to go on a round of steroids and a steroid cream because my body hyper responded to the shear number of bites.

[Unicorn.]

Chigger bites are typically around the elastic areas... tops of socks, waistband, etc.  Those don't look at all like chigger bites.  Use the spray benadryl to help w/ itching.  it works sooo much better than the cremes.  

[In The Great White North]

 

 

My ped told us that the characteristic rash for poison ivy is obvious because the rash is in lines. 

 

DH's poison ivy has never been in lines.

 

 

 

There were several plants with 3 fuzzy leaves in the area where he had been running through that looked like they could be poison ivy. 

 

 

Poison ivy usually is shiny, at least in this neck of the woods.  

 

Now that I see the pictures, I don't think it looks like poison ivy either.  DH never has rings around bumps like that.

[fairfarmhand]

I must be weird then, but my poison ivy typically looks like that. My dh's does too.

 

He is so severely allergic to it, that a small exposure will give him a systemic reaction. He;ll break out all over.

 

You can spread the oils even after you have washed. It's awful.

[StephanieZ]

Whatever it is, I'd get him to the ped tomorrow for sure. It looks pretty bad, and since it is really itchy, there will be scratching, and infection is likely IMHO. I'd want it seen and on meds right away, especially since if the initial meds don't work quickly, follow up care in form of meds change, etc, is likely. 

 

To me, it looks like a strong inflammatory response to bites or contact with something. There are other plants that cause reactions. 

 

I'd dose with Benadryl around the clock until advised otherwise by a doctor. Also, wash ALL clothing that the kids were wearing as well as anything else that might have came in contact with the plants OR with the kids before they bathed. (I assume everyone involved has already bathed!)

 

Oh, also, washing with dishwashing soap (blue Dawn ideally) as soon as you notice the plants is a great control measure, but you have to do it within 15 min or so of contact to really prevent the rash from getting going. But, later is better than never!

 

If it gets much worse than it is, then infection, scarring, or systemic steroids or other strong meds will be on the table, so I'd want to stop it in its tracks now, which is why I'd definitely get in to a doctor tomorrow.

 

FWIW, IME, triamcinolone (steroid) cream is THE BOMB for allergic/inflammatory reactions, and I've had my share of both as I have very reactive skin. It is really amazing. If you catch it early enough, topical steroids + systemic antihistimines might be all that is needed. A few days of oral steroids will likely be used, too, though, as bad as it is. Triamcinolone is generic and cheap. Ask for a "big" tube, and keep it on hand for future needs. I have it on hand at all times due to my skin issues, and we use it whenever we have a bite/allergic response. As with any topical steroid, be prudent about covering quantiites of skin, especially with kids, as you do absorb some through the skin, so over-using it can cause problems. Just ask the doctor . . . IME, we use it without worry on small (under palm sized) areas on any of us whenever indicated, but I don't do larger scale applications on anyone other than ME, since 1) I am an adult 2) I was the one who gets the RX and 3) the alternative for me is oral steroids, which are a bigger risk. So, anyway, just wanted to put that caution on the use of any topical steriod, but especially with the stronger RX ones. 

 

 

[hellen]

My son had a rash that started out like the two in the pictures last summer. The ped thought it was poison ivy. He was prescribed the two types of cream mentioned earlier.

[TechWife]

 Also, wash ALL clothing that the kids were wearing as well as anything else that might have came in contact with the plants OR with the kids before they bathed. (I assume everyone involved has already bathed!)

 

Oh, also, washing with dishwashing soap (blue Dawn ideally) as soon as you notice the plants is a great control measure, but you have to do it within 15 min or so of contact to really prevent the rash from getting going. But, later is better than never!

 

 

Don't forget to wash bed sheets and towels as well. 

[ktgrok]

definitely do the benedryl around the clock!

[Cera]

Any chance they were catching bugs?  one of my dd's had a rash like that from exposure to a caterpillar.  It was a white one with longer black spikes of fur on it but apparently most of the caterpillars with longer, different colored, spikes of fur can cause reactions.  

 

We thought she had chicken pox but the ped pointed out differences that indicated a reaction to the toxins in these types of caterpillars.

[Tammi K]

Never lived in the south so I don't know chiggers. BUT, I used to get awful poison ivy ( had to get shots every summer for years) and that doesn't look like a poison ivy rash. Hope you figure it out. Poor kid.

[mysticmomma]

Yikes

[Jaybee]

Chigger bites are typically around the elastic areas... tops of socks, waistband, etc.  Those don't look at all like chigger bites.  Use the spray benadryl to help w/ itching.  it works sooo much better than the cremes.  

I can't see the photos, but this is what I was going to say--they generally are not in open areas, but on the skin under where the clothing fits tightly, especially waistbands and the legs of underwear, etc. 

[trulycrabby]

If it is poison ivy; the rash will likely develop further in the next few days.

[littlebug42]

That's right.  I forgot about the chiggers and waistlines, socks, etc.  My daughter got them all over her feet when we were camping last year and she was miserable.  I would get it looked at to be sure what you are dealing with. 

 

[jenn-]

Although it would be suspicious for there to be no bites around the chigger hots spots, they don't always remember where the should be.

[PinkyandtheBrains.]

Were you able to get a definitive answer on the rash? Hopefully it isn't itching so much today!

[fairfarmhand]

I was wondering how things turned out??

 

.

 

FWIW, IME, triamcinolone (steroid) cream is THE BOMB for allergic/inflammatory reactions, and I've had my share of both as I have very reactive skin. It is really amazing. If you catch it early enough, topical steroids + systemic antihistimines might be all that is needed. A few days of oral steroids will likely be used, too, though, as bad as it is. Triamcinolone is generic and cheap. Ask for a "big" tube, and keep it on hand for future needs. I have it on hand at all times due to my skin issues, and we use it whenever we have a bite/allergic response. As with any topical steroid, be prudent about covering quantiites of skin, especially with kids, as you do absorb some through the skin, so over-using it can cause problems. Just ask the doctor . . . IME, we use it without worry on small (under palm sized) areas on any of us whenever indicated, but I don't do larger scale applications on anyone other than ME, since 1) I am an adult 2) I was the one who gets the RX and 3) the alternative for me is oral steroids, which are a bigger risk. So, anyway, just wanted to put that caution on the use of any topical steriod, but especially with the stronger RX ones. 

We love that stuff too!