A couple days ago the skin was dry on my neck. Stupidly, I scratched the hell out of it. Then, desperate for some mosturizer, all I could find was moisterizing wrinkle cream.The next day, I woke up to a large red rash on my neck. Obviously a allergic reaction, right? So I decide to see if it would go away. By the evening it was still there, red and itchy as ever. I took some antihistimine, figuring it was the solution to my problem. This morning IT IS STILL THERE! It doesn't look like it got any better. Needless to say, it is VERY embarresing and I have to go to work. I just took more antihistimine, but I'm starting to get worried. Aren't rashes from allergic reactions supposed to go away after a few hours? FYI, I'm positive I'm not still being exposed to the allergen. And I'm not going to see a doctor unless it is a last resort.
Answer:
You are correct that the moisturizing cream has caused an allergy. More specifically, you have a contact allergy. This can occur when a substance (in this case, the cream) comes in contact with the skin. It could be the skin on your face, neck, or any other body part in which you have applied a substance.Several years ago, I washed my hair with a small bottle of shampoo that my mother brought back from a holiday in which she spent a few days in a hotel. The bottle of shampoo was from the hotel (a courtesy sample) but it didn't list the ingredients and I didn't think much of it at the time.Within a few hours of my hair drying, although there was no problem with my scalp (no itching or redness, etc.), there was a rash on parts of my face and neck - wherever the shampoo had come in contact with my skin. I didn't use a lot of the shampoo and so very little of it (or none) came in contact with my arms or the rest of my body.Of course, at the time, I had no idea where this rash came from or what caused it. When I did go to my doctor, he had to give me a prescription and an ointment for my skin although at the time, I could not tell him what might have caused it. I normally used Ivory soap to wash my face and could not figure out why after using this for so long, it would suddenly cause problems. Of course, after much thought about what products I had used over the course of a couple of days, I finally realized that the shampoo was the culprit and since there were no ingredients listed, I had to assume it was that small bottle of 'stuff' that was the problem.Within a few days of using the ointment prescribed, along with the prescription (which did have an antihistamine in it along with something else), my skin finally started to clear up.I can honestly tell you that whatever the cream was that you used is almost certainly the cause of your rash. And, without a doubt, it will take days for it to disappear, with or without a prescription medication and/or ointment. This is because it all goes back to what is known as contact dermatitis. The skin on the scalp (in my case) is quite tough and resiliant and seldom gets itchy when one uses a product that has not been used before. If it does seem irritated, the problem will disappear much faster than it would on your skin. The most delicate part of skin on your body is that on the face and neck. This is because those areas of skin are very thin compared to most other skin on the rest of your body. Therefore, any allergic reaction to a substance is going to take longer to heal than most other areas.You can wait this problem out and not see a doctor but you really should find out for certain if this cream did cause the problem. This is because in the future, you never know when you might use a product that has the same ingredient(s) in it, and you would start the whole process of contact dermatitis all over again.Besides, how many more days do you want to put up with feeling lousy and looking the same as well?I would see a physician if I were you, as I said, because this could easily happen again because so many moisturizers as well as shampoos/conditioners and other skin and hair products do have the same or similar ingredients in them.
You could easily run into this situation again and end up seeing a doctor anyway. Better to get the problem solved now rather than later.Good luck and try not to scratch too much.
i had a spot on my chin and thought it was a pimple. Then it blistered and put on campho phenique. It got bigger and put on benadryl cream. Didn't work and by the time I went to see DR it was the size of a half dollar. Turned out I was having an allergic reaction to all the stuff I put on it and turned out fungal. Go to the DR before putting anything else on it. If the antihistamine didn't work, then I'd see a DR.
you probably did what i have done. scratched it so much you gave yourself a abrasion, or as my mom would say, scratched yourself raw. try a little neosproin with added anti-itch on the area. next time (before scratching) try aome aveeno un-scented moisterizing creme. be sure it is unscented. alot of times the alcohol and scent cause you to itch more. good luck and i hope your feeling better
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