Amy Gen Posted January 28, 2021 Share Posted January 28, 2021 For 4 months now, every few weeks, I’m getting something that at first I thought might be a spider bite. The first day, I just notice slight itching in a location like calf or neck or elbow. The next day, there will be a group of what looks like large bug bites. The group is randomly spaced with 3-5 bumps. By day 3, the swelling is at least 6 inches across and the itching becomes intense. It reminds me of how bites can really swell on a baby or someone allergic to them. On day 4, there appears a tons of small blisters on the top of each bump. I try to keep them covered with a bandaid so I won’t scratch but if I bump one, clear fluid pours out from under the bandaid. By day 5 the swelling starts going down and if it got opened, it turns into a scab and scars. If it didn’t open, and I keep cortisone cream on it, it goes away in about 3 more days. Dh has vacuumed and shampooed all of the carpets and furniture. No one else in the family has gotten a single one. Once they heal, they don’t appear again for a couple of weeks so I’m always hopeful that they are gone for good. Today I had a video appointment with my primary care doctor and I showed her some new ones on my neck. She said that they are definitely not bug bites. She called in a strong steroid cream and said if I get more, she wants a dermatologist to take a look. Im going to have one of my kids photograph this new cluster every day of the cycle so I have something to show the dermatologist. I just thought I’d check in with the hive and see if anyone as ever heard of anything like this before. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lauraw4321 Posted January 28, 2021 Share Posted January 28, 2021 It reminds me of shingles except for the clear fluid part. Do you feel tingling at all beforehand? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amy Gen Posted January 28, 2021 Author Share Posted January 28, 2021 (edited) Hmmm....I’m dealing with neuropathy from Chemo, so I’m pretty much tingling most of the time. The part I don’t understand is if it was shingles, could it go on for months being just a few spots at a time? I’m going to go google images of shingles. They definitely have more of a blisters on bumps than the pictures of I saw of shingles. Edited January 28, 2021 by Amy Gen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
klmama Posted January 28, 2021 Share Posted January 28, 2021 It sounds like a histamine reaction of some sort. Have you tried taking an antihistamine to see if it helps? Zyrtec and Claritin don't cause drowsiness; a nurse once told me that Zyrtec is better for skin reactions than Claritin or Benadryl, although I've read online that sometimes people develop sensitivity to it, too. You may also want to keep a food diary to better remember what you eat, as some people have skin reactions to too much histamine in their food. Comparing your food diary to this list may help you determine if you have been eating a lot of higher histamine foods in the week before your swelling starts. While you are trying to figure this out, you might also want to use a dye-free, fragrance-free detergent, in case that's a contributing factor. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Katy Posted January 28, 2021 Share Posted January 28, 2021 I’m not a doctor but I’ve definitely taken care of patients with diagnosed shingles that blistered & wept. My bet is on that. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gardenmom5 Posted January 28, 2021 Share Posted January 28, 2021 5 minutes ago, klmama said: It sounds like a histamine reaction of some sort. Have you tried taking an antihistamine to see if it helps? Zyrtec and Claritin don't cause drowsiness; a nurse once told me that Zyrtec is better for skin reactions than Claritin or Benadryl, although I've read online that sometimes people develop sensitivity to it, too. You may also want to keep a food diary to better remember what you eat, as some people have skin reactions to too much histamine in their food. Comparing your food diary to this list may help you determine if you have been eating a lot of higher histamine foods in the week before your swelling starts. While you are trying to figure this out, you might also want to use a dye-free, fragrance-free detergent, in case that's a contributing factor. Yes - 2dd developed (stress) hives during her final year of grad school (she also got engaged and was planning a wedding six weeks before graduation). That's what she was taking. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kbutton Posted January 28, 2021 Share Posted January 28, 2021 I had shingles that got crusty. I don't remember them weeping, but they were definitely blistery first and then crusty, so either something I put on them dried them up, or they did leak a bit first (it's been about 27 years since I had them, so that part is a little hazy for me). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EKS Posted January 28, 2021 Share Posted January 28, 2021 Herpes? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
itsheresomewhere Posted January 28, 2021 Share Posted January 28, 2021 15 minutes ago, Katy said: I’m not a doctor but I’ve definitely taken care of patients with diagnosed shingles that blistered & wept. My bet is on that. This. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
itsheresomewhere Posted January 28, 2021 Share Posted January 28, 2021 1 hour ago, Amy Gen said: Hmmm....I’m dealing with neuropathy from Chemo, so I’m pretty much tingling most of the time. The part I don’t understand is if it was shingles, could it go on for months being just a few spots at a time? I’m going to go google images of shingles. They definitely have more of a blisters on bumps than the pictures of I saw of shingles. Are you still having chemo or have had it in the past couple of months? If so, bring this up with your cancer doctor. It could be related ( chemo does strange things to some). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clemsondana Posted January 28, 2021 Share Posted January 28, 2021 Zyrtec makes me sleep a lot for the first few weeks, but I take it for months at a time. When I quit, I usually have a few weeks of 'roving histamine rashes' - one big whelp or patches of little bumps that can last for days. After I had my first kid I had a rash from those weird mesh disposable underwear that they give you in the hospital - it lasted for weeks and I ended up needing a steroid cream to get rid of it, so allergic reactions can definitely last. I haven't had one to weep, but bug bites can do it so it doesn't seem crazy. It could be something else, but maybe trying an antihistamine or an antihistamine or steroid cream to see if it helps would be an easy way to figure it out or cross something off your list of possibilities. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
klmama Posted January 28, 2021 Share Posted January 28, 2021 12 minutes ago, EKS said: Herpes? It does sound similar, but she mentioned both ankle and neck. Isn't HSV just found either waist up or waist down due to the way the nerves work? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lauraw4321 Posted January 28, 2021 Share Posted January 28, 2021 If you are immune suppressed, I’d say shingles. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amy Gen Posted January 28, 2021 Author Share Posted January 28, 2021 (edited) I wish I had asked here months ago. I finished Chemo in September, but my doctor said I am definitely immune comprised. I remember getting my first cluster of these pretty soon after finishing chemo. I did tell my oncologist, but I didn’t have an outbreak at that moment to show her like I showed my primary care doctor today. I just took a Claritin, so I’ll see if that helps. I will keep a food diary. I mostly eat the same things everyday and some of them like avocados could be the culprit. I don’t drink alcohol much anymore, except for tonight when we are having champagne to celebrate a negative test result. Dh said, “I never thought I’d be so proud of you for getting a zero on a test!” This is day 2. They haven’t developed blisters yet. Edited January 28, 2021 by Amy Gen Thought I’d try adding a photo! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EKS Posted January 28, 2021 Share Posted January 28, 2021 25 minutes ago, klmama said: It does sound similar, but she mentioned both ankle and neck. Isn't HSV just found either waist up or waist down due to the way the nerves work? That I don't know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Governess Posted January 28, 2021 Share Posted January 28, 2021 https://dermnetnz.org/topics/papular-urticaria/ My dd had something similar a year ago and we think it was either a strange type of eczema or papular urticaria. It’s basically an immune response to a bug bite that can continue cropping up. We kept thinking she was getting bit by something in clusters but no one else in the family ever had bites. She is pretty reactive to bug bites in general and one of them must have set off a systemic immune response. The dermatologist gave her a topical steroid to put on them and they eventually calmed down, but I want to say it was several months before the breakouts stopped. She also developed some eczema patches at the same time that she is still dealing with. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amy Gen Posted January 28, 2021 Author Share Posted January 28, 2021 25 minutes ago, lovelearnandlive said: https://dermnetnz.org/topics/papular-urticaria/ My dd had something similar a year ago and we think it was either a strange type of eczema or papular urticaria. It’s basically an immune response to a bug bite that can continue cropping up. We kept thinking she was getting bit by something in clusters but no one else in the family ever had bites. She is pretty reactive to bug bites in general and one of them must have set off a systemic immune response. The dermatologist gave her a topical steroid to put on them and they eventually calmed down, but I want to say it was several months before the breakouts stopped. She also developed some eczema patches at the same time that she is still dealing with. That would make sense to me. I had allergic reactions to bug bites when I was a kid. I remember being sent home from school with chicken pox when I didn’t even have chicken pox. I eventually outgrew any allergies, moved to California where I never seem to get bitten by anything, then had Chemo which might have knocked down some of the immunity I had developed. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clemsondana Posted January 28, 2021 Share Posted January 28, 2021 (edited) You might try looking up histamine and foods - there are certain foods that affect histamines but you aren't actually allergic to them. I have certain foods that always cause a response unless I"m on antihistamines. I also had a kid who had atypical eczema - they didn't get the big bumps, but anywhere that they had any skin irritation they'd get long-lasting, sometimes weepy, bumps that the drs decided were opportunistic staph. Once we figured it out it was easily treatable with an ointment. Edited January 28, 2021 by Clemsondana 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.