Perils of hiking. I have an itchy, red rash all over my body.
The rash started four days ago on my left shin. The rash rapidly spread to my thighs, stomach, chest, arms, armpits, hands, neck and back. Want to scratch down to the bone!
This morning, two doctors could not figure it out. They sometimes see full-body rashes in kids, but not in adults. They prescribed a strong course of Prednisone steroid over five days to calm down the rash. They said it is NOT:
- Bedbugs.
- Lyme disease (no bullseye rash).
- Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever (not in Washington State).
"While hiking, you may have picked up some kind of mite," the doctors said. "If it's not gone in a week, we'll give you a permethrin bath."
"You're not gluten intolerant, are you?" No.
A follow up appointment is scheduled in a week. Today I sprayed my hiking clothes with permethrin. It repels and kills ticks, mosquitoes and thirty-six other biting insects. (Not deer flies, darn it!) Lasts forty-two days or six machine washings.
NOTE: There was no poison ivy in the dry sagebrush hills where I hiked last week.
Photo: Early Spring in the Cascade foothills, April Fools Day, 2021
11
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Were you perhaps doing a frolic in some Poison Ivey ... 
phoenixone1
Level 8
Apr 10, 2021
0
There was no poison ivy nor poison oak.
Life's surprises are fun. No? I'm glad you found a treatment and I'll also try to keep that advice in mind. Lack of ticks and poison ivy is a positive aspect of desert hiking but our negatives will kill you.
rainmanjr
Level 8
Apr 8, 2021
1
There are tons of ticks in desert environments, even in winter.
Yesterday I sprayed my hiking clothes and gaiters with permethrin insect spray. It repels and kills ticks, mosquitoes and thirty-six other biting insects. (Not deer flies, darn it!) Non-toxic, it lasts forty-two days or six machine washings.
@LiterateHiker Very good info. Thanks. I wonder about using an insect spray but I can't abide the chemical exposure so will keep that in mind. Had no idea we have ticks.
Permethrin spray is non-toxic. It's made from Chrysanthemum plants. Permethrin has been used on horses for decades.
Once it's dried, Permethrin spray is odorless.
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Good news! The first day of taking the Prednisone steroid reduced the itchiness and pain.
Yesterday, a warm bath with one cup of Epsom salts temporarily reduced the itchiness. This morning I took a warm bath with a cup of baking soda. The baking soda calmed the rash redness, pain and itchiness much more.
Must have picked up a mite during two hikes last weekend. Was wearing long sleeves and long pants. A bug crawled up my pant leg as I sat in dry grass eating lunch, and bit me on the left shin. A painful, itchy, full-body rash rapidly spread up my body.
I forgot to wear gaiters. Gaiters keep bugs from crawling up your pant legs. Also, gaiters prevent sharp pine needles, sticks and rocks from getting inside your boots.
Photo: Summit of Sauer's Mountain, 2015. Wearing short gaiters.
LiterateHiker
Level 9
Apr 8, 2021
11
Were you seen by Dermatology? Did it involve you head or face?
Robert_2001
Level 6
Apr 8, 2021
1
My regular doctor has to refer me to dermatology. He's gone for Spring break with his kids.
First, I want to see if the steroid does the trick.
@LiterateHiker Hopefully they will work.
@LiterateHiker Hope the prednisone works, that is a very powerful steroid.
Good luck with the prednisolone, it's horrible stuff. I've found that a bath in epsom salts was the only thing that would calm down a full body itchy rash I got from a drug allergy (vancomysin). A cup of epsom salts in a bath as hot as you can handle and stay in it for 20 mins. Google it. Or in my case, 4*5min stretches. Towel dry but don't wash it off afterwards for a few hours. The relief was almost immediate and two baths a couple of days apart fixed the problem, whereas the creams and medicines they gave me in hospital didn't touch it.
Cyklone
Level 7
Apr 7, 2021
2
You're right! Epsom salts bath calmed down the itching.
THANK YOU.
Could be poison oak or poison ivy. Never know, it could be that simple .
MrDragon
Level 7
Apr 7, 2021
2
There is no poison ivy in dry sagebrush hills where I hiked last week.
Eastern Washington.
@LiterateHiker what about poison oak??
No poison oak, either.
@LiterateHiker Okay, then I don't have a clue. Hope they find out or that you'll just recover on your own.
Good Luck.
You just have all the luck don't you, I am hoping that you are able to solve your problem very soon, it's got to be terrible. And now on the light side, once you are over this, have you ever considered maybe using some of that shrink wrap they put on boats in the winter as an undergarment? 
oldFloyd
Level 8
Apr 7, 2021
3
Took my first dose of Prednisone in the parking lot.
@LiterateHiker I sincerely hope it works well. 
If it's Poison Ivy get treated sooner than later. I had a dose of it a few years ago. I didn't get a chance to use anything for a few days and it took 6+ months to get rid of. Multiple flare ups in unexpected spots. I empathize. Good luck 
Davekp
Level 8
Apr 7, 2021
2
I'm sorry you got poison ivy. Sounds awful.
There is no poison ivy in dry sagebrush hills where I hiked last week.
Eastern Washington.
Feel better soon...
Mitch07102
Level 8
Apr 7, 2021
2
Thank you, Mitch.
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