Hi Hunter - that's quite the experiment you did :-)
There are several factors as to why the rash is or appears to be spreading. I'll run down a few here and leave you with some easy-reading (vs. easy-listening) links:
- You may be reinfecting yourself. Has everything which came in contact with the urushiol oil been thoroughly cleaned? Make sure that under the fingernails are squeaky clean too.
- Urushiol oil causes what is a delayed allergic reaction (notice how you don't break out immediately after contact?) Depending on concentration of oil and thickness of skin, you might be seeing rashes appear in places that were in contact with urushiol oil from the outset. Remember - the rash is an allergic reaction to what the body considers to be foreign entities in your body (the bonded urushiol to skin cells)
- Scratch - DON'T SCRATCH THAT ITCH. Yeah I know - it feels good to scratch. Some people swear by it. But apparently scratching causes histamines to be released to the skin and voila! more rash
- Stress - relax this will all end soon enough. Stress too can cause histamines to be released and again voila! more rash
Now for some reading material:
And for a totally unrelated but really cool site - Kudzu the vine. Kudzu is an amazing and highly invasive plant. Really cool pictures of just how invasive it can be. I'm recommending this site as it's so much fun to go through that it takes your mind off that rash :-) |
