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Dr. Andrew Rynne
MD
Dr. Andrew Rynne

Family Physician

Exp 50 years

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Rashes, Started Off As Welt, Raised Skin. What Can I Do?

My skin has been breaking out in a weird rash for the past year. It starts off as a welt and is raised on my skin. Then it itches so bad I can t help but itch it. I haven t changed my diet , soaps, or anything else. It shows up randomly mainly after 2 and into the night. It doesn t happen everyday, but it does happen a couple times a week
Mon, 29 Jul 2013
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Dermatologist 's  Response
Hello,
Welcome to healthcare magic
You seem to be having a condition called as chronic urticaria.
In about 90% of the cases, it is not possible to find out a cause for the urticaria, which is when we call it is “idiopathic”.

In only about 10% of the cases, it could be due to a specific food, medications and infections, or auto-immune.

Are you taking any kind of over the counter medications especially pain killers or dietary supplements, Ayurvedic concoctions, herbal remedies, etc? If so, try to see if it correlates with onset of rashes?

Do you have a bad tooth (caries) which troubles you on and off which you seem to ignore? If so, please get it treated as many times, the source of infection triggering the rashes could be a tooth infection.

I would also suggest you to get your thyroid profile checked as urticaria could co- exist with a thyroid abnormality. And sometimes, correcting the thyroid status would control the rashes to some extent.

Have you noticed that the rashes triggered by cold air (eg AC), sweat (eg, after a workout) or water (eg, after a shower). These are well known triggering factors.

But unfortunately, most of our patients fit into the idiopathic category.

I would suggest you the following –

1. Do go through the above checklist as you might pick up a clue to a triggering factor and try to exclude it.
2. You could take 1 antihistamine every day after consulting with your doctor.
3. Avoid foods containing preservatives ( eg , canned food, colas , etc) and those containing food colourants( eg, kebabs at restaurants which have orange colour) as they are potent allergens.
4. Keep a food diary and write down everything you eat on the day you get rashes. You can look for any common food, which repeats in the diary, eliminate it and see if it helps.

Unfortunately, it is not possible to say when your allergy will be “cured". It depends from person to person. Play Sherlock Holmes and try to find the cause.

Hope this helped you.
I will be glad to answer if you have any queries.


Take care
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Rashes, Started Off As Welt, Raised Skin. What Can I Do?

Hello, Welcome to healthcare magic You seem to be having a condition called as chronic urticaria. In about 90% of the cases, it is not possible to find out a cause for the urticaria, which is when we call it is “idiopathic”. In only about 10% of the cases, it could be due to a specific food, medications and infections, or auto-immune. Are you taking any kind of over the counter medications especially pain killers or dietary supplements, Ayurvedic concoctions, herbal remedies, etc? If so, try to see if it correlates with onset of rashes? Do you have a bad tooth (caries) which troubles you on and off which you seem to ignore? If so, please get it treated as many times, the source of infection triggering the rashes could be a tooth infection. I would also suggest you to get your thyroid profile checked as urticaria could co- exist with a thyroid abnormality. And sometimes, correcting the thyroid status would control the rashes to some extent. Have you noticed that the rashes triggered by cold air (eg AC), sweat (eg, after a workout) or water (eg, after a shower). These are well known triggering factors. But unfortunately, most of our patients fit into the idiopathic category. I would suggest you the following – 1. Do go through the above checklist as you might pick up a clue to a triggering factor and try to exclude it. 2. You could take 1 antihistamine every day after consulting with your doctor. 3. Avoid foods containing preservatives ( eg , canned food, colas , etc) and those containing food colourants( eg, kebabs at restaurants which have orange colour) as they are potent allergens. 4. Keep a food diary and write down everything you eat on the day you get rashes. You can look for any common food, which repeats in the diary, eliminate it and see if it helps. Unfortunately, it is not possible to say when your allergy will be “cured . It depends from person to person. Play Sherlock Holmes and try to find the cause. Hope this helped you. I will be glad to answer if you have any queries. Take care