I've had poison ivy, which ran its course and disappeared. I've also had a fungal infection, which looked (on me) and acted exactly like the poison ivy, EXCEPT . . .
a) it continued to spread long past the time poison ivy would be expected to spread
b) fungus will go into 'remission.' (My husband, a doctor, has another term for it; I forget what. Something like hibernation.) If I think it's gone, and quit treating it with the Lamotrin (or whatever), it happily reappears and starts to party on my skin.
I've learned to keep treating the rash even after it appears to be gone. Now, when I get "poison ivy" I mix the Lanacane (for itch) with Lamotrin (for fungus), because the only way I can tell the difference is either by having it cultured, or by waiting to see how long it keeps spreading.
I'm wondering if a lot of you have self-diagnosed (or friend-diagnosed) a fungal infection as poison ivy.
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