What could this be?(pics)

A few weeks ago, Trav and his dad were in my paren'ts woods cutting down trees. My dad was CERTAIN there was no poison ivy. Trav never even got signs of it.....until now. This was two weeks ago and just now is starting to break out into something. His clothes from the woods were washed in hot water the same day they cut the trees down. He hasn't worn them since anyhow. This"poison ivy"-which we don't think it is anymore-is spreading in some spots up his legs and has a few on his arms. He doesn't itch and puts Ivarest and Calamine lotion on it off and on. He washes them off every morning. It's not blisters, it's bumps. So here are the pics:
















Please help someone. It is bothering him. I told him if it doesn't clear that we will go to the doc's.

Sorry mods, if those are too big. I don't know how to adjust the size....

Is he allergic to anything?, could be hives?

Originally Posted by Miss Mew

Is he allergic to anything?, could be hives?

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this is travis,
to my knowledge imn ot allergic to anything. also i had hives when i was about 11 and from my knowledge it doesnt seem like hives. when i had it before it was all over me.

I don't think it is, but it possibly could be chigger bites, or tiny deer fleas.
I think though that if it were deer fleas, the kitty would have them as well.
Lots of possibilities.
Sumac, nettle....

Hard to tell from the pics, but it looks an awful lot like the reaction I get to fiberglass fibers.

Originally Posted by Arlyn

I don't think it is, but it possibly could be chigger bites, or tiny deer fleas.
I think though that if it were deer fleas, the kitty would have them as well.
Lots of possibilities.
Sumac, nettle....

Hard to tell from the pics, but it looks an awful lot like the reaction I get to fiberglass fibers.

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well i havent been around any type of fiberglass fibers. ans as far as fleas if they were to bite why it would take 2 weeks to finally show up.

That's what has me stumped
It's quite possible that this is a reaction quite unrelated to your wood cutting.
As I can think of absolutely nothing that would take so long to show up.

Originally Posted by Arlyn

It's quite possible that this is a reaction quite unrelated to your wood cutting.
As I can think of absolutely nothing that would take so long to show up.

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I don't think it is related. My guess would be heat rash - that looks a lot like what I get sometimes when it's really hot and sticky weather.

Have you changed the laundry detergent, or use scented laundry detergent?

I use to use it for years, then one day I began to get red bumps and a rash on my skin. Doc told me to switch to dye-free, perfume-free detergent and I haven't had a problem since.

Originally Posted by lunasmom

Have you changed the laundry detergent, or use scented laundry detergent?

I use to use it for years, then one day I began to get red bumps and a rash on my skin. Doc told me to switch to dye-free, perfume-free detergent and I haven't had a problem since.

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no we havent switched anything at all. everyone i seem to ask continues to say that its poison ivy. but the thing is, is its not blistering. the only place that it scabbed was on my ankles but that was from me a couples nights ago actually scratching it not thinking it was anything major.

i bought some aveeno bath stuff and some benadryl cream so ill try those things and see what happens.

Originally Posted by Oscarsmommy

no we havent switched anything at all. everyone i seem to ask continues to say that its poison ivy. but the thing is, is its not blistering. the only place that it scabbed was on my ankles but that was from me a couples nights ago actually scratching it not thinking it was anything major.

i bought some aveeno bath stuff and some benadryl cream so ill try those things and see what happens.

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Have you or your SO bought any new personal products lately?

I would also try some alergy meds from the drug store, the over the counter stuff.

could he have a rash????? when he got back did he have this???? He must got that alfter cutting wood. because why would it wait for two weeks???
I think he got that from alfter cutting the wood.

Originally Posted by lookingglass

Have you or your SO bought any new personal products lately?

I would also try some alergy meds from the drug store, the over the counter stuff.

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We never bought any new products.

Originally Posted by KittyLova

could he have a rash????? when he got back did he have this???? He must got that alfter cutting wood. because why would it wait for two weeks???
I think he got that from alfter cutting the wood.

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And he cut the wood two weeks ago and it never showed up until Tuesday. He never went back into the woods or anything since he was there 2 weeks ago. We are just baffled.

Originally Posted by Oscarsmommy

And he cut the wood two weeks ago and it never showed up until Tuesday. He never went back into the woods or anything since he was there 2 weeks ago. We are just baffled.

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This may not be related to him being in the woods just due to the time difference. My DH gets something like this when he is really stressed. He went to a doctor about it and she prescribed a steroid and an anti-anxiety. It cleared right up. I hope that helps!

Does he have flue like symptoms? I would check out a deer tick bite which can lead to Lymes disease.

I would go to the doctor and get it checked out.

Go to a dermatologist, if you can. The doctor might just send you to one anyway. If it's unlike anything you've seen/had before, it might be something different. I can't really see those pictures very well, but it looks like all over the legs and one piece on an arm? Is it anywhere else?

Another question: Did you burn any of the wood you cut down?

Originally Posted by GailC

Does he have flue like symptoms? I would check out a deer tick bite which can lead to Lymes disease.

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Well the both of us have just gotten over the stomach flu but this started before he even got sick.

Originally Posted by Zissou'sMom

Go to a dermatologist, if you can. The doctor might just send you to one anyway. If it's unlike anything you've seen/had before, it might be something different. I can't really see those pictures very well, but it looks like all over the legs and one piece on an arm? Is it anywhere else?

Another question: Did you burn any of the wood you cut down?

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We are now almost positive that it is hives. The pharmacist said that it could be both and it is almost not likely that he would have gotten poison ivy two weeks after the fact. We are just now thinking of what could have caused it. Everyone that we talked to around here also says hives. Now we jsut have to see what caused it. Wish us luck!

And yes we did burn the wood. My parent's had a bonfire a few nights later.

To me it looks an awful lot like when I get poisin ivy. It usually takes about a weekish to show up from when I know I was last around it and it always starts out like a bad bug bite (I'm allergic to ant bites, so usually I think just think it's bad ant bites for the first few days). It's really bumpy and red and itches like mad and then when I realize that ant bites would have gone away in a few days and not spread to other areas I know I've got poisin ivy! yay!

Then it usually gets flaky and scabs as I'm not good at not itching! 4 weeks later . . . everything is healed up.

Has he ever had poisin ivy before? If not, that could be what it is. If he has and he doesn't get it like that then I don't know what it could be? I would try to think back to the first day he noticed them and think about if he did anything out of the ordinary that day. Ate a new food, worked with chemicals, was around anyone with heavy perfume or cologne on them.

I hope he feels better soon. It's never fun to be so itchy!

I was thinking hives as well. I bought a pair of cute slacks from Old Navy and as I usually do, I didn't wash them before wearing them. Yeah, I'll never do that again! I wore then to the Indy 500 and the next morning I noticed I had hives on my thighs. Later that day, they grew larger and were very itchy. After about 4 days of dealing with it, I went to the Dr. He said because it was concentrated to one area (i.e., not all over my body), it wasn't medicine induced.

That being said, it is entirely possible to only have hives in a concentrated are, with one or two smaller spots elsewhere. You will most likely get prednisone or some type of steroid and an allergy medication (I was given a prescription for Zyrtec). It started clearing up in a day or two.

Good luck!!!

I would go to a doctor to have it checked. There is also poison oak or sumac, that can cause the same type of reaction as poison ivy. Since it is spreading, it is more than likely poison ivy, oak or sumac. He may not have come into contact with it on the day he was in the woods, it could have been later. I also had hives when I was a kid. When I broke out, the would itch for maybe a few hours, then go away. By the looks of this rash, it is not hives IMO.