I have a strange situation that I've never heard of before. Even my doctor is stumped.
Four years ago, I got a terrible rash from poison ivy. I was gardening wearing shorts & a tank-top, & it was hot! I was pulling weeds left & right, continuously wiping away the dripping sweat from my forehead, face, chest, shoulders, arms & legs. Yep, you guessed it! One hour later, I was covered with red, raised blotchy areas, & blisters. I took a shower, but it was too late. I've never been in such misery (& I've given birth to 7 babies without any medication)! I was pregnant (first trimester) at the time, but my rash was so bad that they put me on steriods anyway (high risk to the baby, but I looked like a burn patient). I had to cover my body with ace bandages in order to sleep without scratching, but I'd rip them off in my sleep anyway & scratch 'til I bled (my bed would be drenched from the blood & ooze- disgusting!). I still have leopard-spot-like scars on my arms.
I've noticed in the past summers that this rash seems to come back (& believe me, I have sworn off gardening). I mean, I never go near any plants, & still, each July (the anniversary of my first rash)I break out here & there with a rash that comes from INSIDE of me, looks just like the original rash, itches like crazy for several days & then just fades away, as another rash will show up somewhere else on my body. I've noticed that during my last two pregnancies (happened to be during July), the rash is even worse.
It seems that the poison ivy got into my body systemically, & that when conditions mimic the first rash (hot weather, hormones during pregnancy), I get a flare-up of poison ivy from within my body, rather than initiating from actually touching the plant. Has anyone else experienced anything like this? Is there a way to stop this from happening?
Any feedback would be appreciated.
My heart goes out to all of you who are suffering from this demonic weed!
shalom, Dena Brehm
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