Random body rash: what could it be?

I feel like nobody’s gonna know what I’m talking about, but I gotta try anyway...
A few days ago, my skin started breaking out in these red patches... they look just like mosquito bites, maybe a little bigger, and man, do they itch.
It first popped up on my chest and stomach—I totally thought it was just an allergy to some new undershirt I bought, and it cleared up in like 3 or 4 days.
But now, it’s spread to my legs.
I haven't switched up my body wash or my lotion... I have zero clue what could be causing this.😕
Lately, I've been super stressed out getting ready for this brutal exam, but I highly doubt that has anything to do with it...
Anyone else dealt with something like this?

Did you ever end up getting chickenpox?

Based on your description, it sounds like classic urticaria. It usually starts on the chest, spreads to the stomach, and eventually moves down to the legs. Or sometimes it just hits the face.
It looks exactly like what you described—like mosquito bites, and the itching is intense.

Honestly, my advice is to go see a doctor. I dealt with a REALLY severe case of urticaria this past summer. I had blisters breaking out for nearly six weeks straight because I wasn't disciplined enough and didn't take it seriously. Even now, five months later, I still have white patches on parts of my body because I was so negligent when the urticaria first hit; it practically ate through my skin. I went through absolute hell with it.

Urticaria is pretty common and is usually just a harmless allergic reaction to something in your diet. It tends to flare up when you're stressed or when your immune system takes a hit. Do a little Googling, and you can also check out my old thread on the Health forum along with some great advice from other users here.

Regardless, you definitely need to get to a doctor so you can get ahead of it with medication and creams before things get complicated. Also, if you feel any chest pressure or start having trouble breathing, get to the ER immediately. Good luck.🙂

Lady, thank you so much... I seriously thought nobody would have any clue what I was talking about.

You actually scared me a little bit, but I just did some Googling and it looks like this happens all the time (it even says the itching gets way worse with heat... and ugh, seriously, I was standing too close to the heater today and it was driving me absolutely crazy...)
So, does this mean I definitely need to see a doctor—no self-medicating?
Do you happen to remember which meds you were prescribed?

Bradley Davis33 said:Nathan Collins2, thank you so much... I honestly thought nobody would have any clue what was going on here.

You actually scared me a little bit, but I just did some digging online and it looks like this happens quite often (and it says the itching gets way worse with heat... seriously, I was standing near the heater today and it was driving me absolutely insane).
So, does this mean I have to see a doctor—no self-treating at all?
Do you happen to remember which medications were prescribed to you?

We started off with Claritin and Flonase, plus a base cream mixed with Hydrocortisone, but nothing touched it. Eventually, I ended up taking 3 Diphenhydramine a day along with a base cream mixed with Eloc. That’s some heavy-duty stuff, and Eloc is a very potent cream, so you shouldn't be messing with any of that on your own without a doctor's okay. What you *can* do yourself is try a strict diet for two or three days—stick to cooked foods, stay away from spices, and cut out eggs, fish, shellfish, shrimp, chocolate, strawberries, and things like that.

Let me know what the doctor tells you.🙂

It’s the exact same struggle 😢
it seems to be happening to me almost constantly now, and to make matters worse, it comes with these bright red patches all over my face! It’s definitely an allergy because my total IgE is sitting at 599, which is just wild considering the normal range tops out at 65. Even though my tests didn't pinpoint a specific culprit, I am on a mission to figure out what exactly is triggering this mess. So far, I’ve managed to deduce that one of the main offenders is red paprika powder.
At first, I was just jotting down things like, "okay, I had some chili beans" or "I drank a Coke," you know how it goes, but I eventually realized that if I want to actually solve this mystery, I need to keep a much more meticulous log of everything.
Since I cut out the paprika, I've been feeling a little bit better, so now I am officially on the hunt for the next "culprit" in my diet!

P.S. Stress definitely plays a role here too, since it really takes a toll on your immune system.
Have you happened to switch up your laundry detergent or maybe a fabric softener lately?
I always make sure to run an extra rinse cycle in my washing machine, because even after a standard rinse, I still find way too much residue left behind in my clothes.

It’s kind of the same deal for me—I dealt with eczema and dermatitis back when I was a kid, and then it just totally cleared up for a while. But now? It’s back with these twenty or so red patches, mostly hitting my face, which makes my whole skin look all swollen and puffy🙄
along my elbows and legs too
I went through allergy testing and found out I’m allergic to dust mites and pet dander, but lately—over the last year or so—I’ve noticed a pattern: it flares up big time whenever I'm stressed out or just completely frazzled. Like, I have an exam in a week, and honestly, I look like I’ve got a freaking case of the flu or something because of how bad it is, or just whenever life is hitting the fan
Oh, and one more thing—if I end up crying, it’s the exact same story the next day... my whole face goes red again, especially right under my eyes.

I dealt with urticaria for the first time because of some pomegranate juice, and then the second time was thanks to Advil. I went in for testing and it turns out I'm allergic to Advil and some specific acid—honestly, I can't even pronounce it or remember the name 😁.

The absolute worst part was when those blisters started breaking out all over my head 😲.

silentowl43 said:I’ve noticed over this past year that they flare up the most whenever I'm stressed out, agitated, or just going through hell.

Look, I dealt with urticaria during one incredibly high-stress chapter of my life.

Once that whole situation finally settled down—they were gone.

Heading to the doctor tomorrow... My insurance card actually expired, so I had to spend all day today getting my student verification sorted just to get everything renewed...

Man, this is seriously one of the most stressful times I've ever dealt with... I've already had to retake a year because of this exam, and I haven't been able to think about anything else for months. Honestly, if I actually studied half as much as I stress out about it, I’d be a genius by now! Plus, my skin has been acting up like crazy too... just super sensitive lately...

Luckily, nothing new has popped up on my face yet! Right now, it’s just stuck on my legs, but man, it is driving me crazy... Just when one patch starts to clear up, a whole new group shows up right in its place. It's finally fading on my inner thighs, but now I've got them all over my shins...

I’ve been eating such absolute junk lately... barely touching any fruits or veggies, just living on pasta and way too much coffee...
Ashley Nguyen5 says her mom hasn't even switched up her detergent or fabric softener...

You might want to try telling your mom to set the washer to an extra rinse cycle for your bedding and underwear; honestly, it might actually offer you some relief!
Another thing you could try—just to see for yourself—is taking a piece of laundry straight out of the machine and soaking it in some lukewarm water, and I bet you'll be surprised by just how much detergent residue still comes out of it.

Has anyone here ever actually gone through anaphylactic shock?

I’ve noticed over the last few weeks that I keep getting these red patches popping up on my face, my ears, and my joints—specifically my wrists, elbows, and knees. My skin gets all flushed, starts stinging, and it actually feels warm to the touch in those spots. It usually lasts for about half an hour and then just clears up. Has anyone else dealt with this? Any idea what might be causing it?

I think mine might flare up this winter, but mostly just on my hands. Maybe you should go see a dermatologist? I know this one lady who gets hit with the exact same thing for a few days after she dyes her hair, and it turns out she was allergic to the bleach—thank God they caught it early.

Hey everyone,

I’ve been dealing with these skin allergy reactions for about six months now, and honestly, it's getting old. My palms and feet swell up, and I get these rashes—sometimes small spots, sometimes larger red welts all over my body.
The weird thing is, these red welts don't actually itch, and they usually clear up within 24 hours. Some areas of my body swell up just from pressure—like if I lean against the edge of a desk or something. After a mountain of tests, I still don't have a real diagnosis. I did test positive for pressure urticaria during allergy testing. They put me on Zyrtec, but it hasn't done a damn thing. To top it all off, some private dermatologist told me this whole thing is just "psychosomatic"...!!! I'm not buying it. It doesn't make sense to me because I'm not exactly living under massive amounts of stress or dealing with major life crises.
Has anyone else dealt with anything similar?

Best,

I’m going through the exact same thing... my fingers, palms, and toes are itching like crazy...😕 I have no clue what's causing it, but I'm starting to think it's some kind of allergy...

I heard that you can actually treat an allergy like this with black tea—apparently, some doctors over in Germany even prescribe it—so I've been trying that out lately to deal with my own symptoms.

Uh oh... you should probably deal with this before it gets out of hand. A friend of mine went through this bit by bit until her entire body was covered in those spots; it took her a full year to get it under control.

Your skin is likely dehydrated. Think about whether you might be drying it out somehow... for instance, drinking alcohol can absolutely wreck it. Go to a pharmacy and pick up some neutral body lotion (it’ll cost a little more), and make sure to apply it right after you shower.

I’ve got these red patches popping up all over my body, specifically on my arms and stomach. Right in the middle of them, if you look really closely, there's this tiny white dot—maybe about the size of a dime? They feel kind of hard to the touch and they itch quite a bit. I guess it looks like an allergy, or maybe just a reaction to some mosquito bite...

Now, you might be wondering why I don't think it's just a simple bug bite. Well, both of my daughters and my husband have them too. And I was chatting with my neighbor earlier, and it turns out she has them as well! She thought it was just an insect bite, but hers has been sticking around for a while now. During our talk, she mentioned that two of her relatives who were visiting from St. Louis yesterday showed them too, and they look exactly the same... and they aren't even from around here, plus we haven't shared any meals or anything with them.

It’s been lingering for a while. It itches pretty bad on the first day, and then maybe not quite as much after that, but the spots just won't go away. I tried using some Hydrocortisone, but I guess that didn't really do much.

I'm looking for some advice, please. Just, please, don't tell me "just go see a doctor." I mean, I probably will, but honestly, sometimes when our doctors see something like this "minor" thing, they just brush it off and say it's nothing... but I'm really not happy about us all having this. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Is anyone else dealing with joint pain? I don't know, maybe it’s something like typhus? You should probably try looking it up on Google.