I was installing ceramic tile in a friend s basement, and developed have a dozen hives ( I assume that s what they were) on my face and the back of my neck was very itchy. When I arrived home I took a hot bath and got out of the tub and had a rash on my stomach , sides, under my arms, and on my legs. I took benadryl and it seemed to diminish. Late in the night my hands became itchy and swelled up. Yesterday the rash seemd to diminish and the hands stayed swollen, but went down some. During that night my feet became itchy and red, and my hands started to itch badly also. Does this sound like an insect bite?
Hi there Dave. This sounds like a condition called acute urticaria to me. Yes it may very well be caused by an insect bite reaction or due to a variety of other reasons. Is there any fever, joint pain or any difficulty in breathing? It may be better for you to go across to a dermatologist or to the ER to get a prescription for an antihistamine that works around the clock & also perhaps to be started on a short-acting tapering dose of steroids. The rash should subside in a couple of days & then once the acute phase is passed, you can try to isolate what the allergen was at a later date 2 weeks after stoppage of the steroids et al. Cheers & wish you a clear skin soon. Chat Doctor.