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Buttocks irritation from seating
Seating even in a recliner, or lying in bed face up becomes painful. I get red blotches and also painful follicles. I have seen several dermatologists and none has ever had a patient with this problem. I have been prescribed antibiotic creams, etc. Nothing helps. Has anybody suffer from this? Can a frien help?
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I have never been on here before and am the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota at this very moment.My son is having radiation treatments . What cught my eye is your comment about having pain at your buttocks. When my son was 39 yrs. old he woke up one morning complaining about his tailbone hurting.. After a couple weeks went to DR., WAS TOLD THERE WAS NOTHING WRONG. after a couple more weeks went to different Dr , had MRI, and sent to MAYO. He has a very rare cancer. "SACRAL CHORDOMA". ONLY SYMPTOM WAS A PAIN IN TAILBONE. ALWAYS GET a second opinion.. None knows your body like you do. hOPE THIS HELPS, AND WILL PRAY FOR YOU....
Thank you so much. I
Will look in to soon. But I believe it is my thin delicate skin.
I am suffering from a non-blistering, skin/heat/rash problem (not pervasive, but occurs in several places and is painful due to the itch and malaise it causes) and have found that the ONLY help I get is from the following:
air temperature 74 degrees or less, humidity between 20 and 50%, moving air, use of cold water, ice and [even though one dermatologist said these next two substances will CAUSE itching] chilled witch hazel and/or rubbing alcohol.
Like you, no lotion or internal medicine has helped [YET -- I'm still working on this, after 20 mos. 🙁 ]. I'm better in the winter and then just have to apply lotion to avoid trauma to my skin. I believe menopause has caused this, but know that anyone with sensitive skin can experience rash problems with high heat and humidity. A few dermatologists have diagnosed my problem as involving eczema, which is basically is dry skin.
I've done the equivalent of several full work weeks of Internet searches over the last year or so and thus have discovered many unique cooling solutions including air-conditioned chairs (that heat, too), Chilipad mattress pads (cool to 46 degrees, and heat to 118 degrees), Chillow cool gel pillows that you can keep in fridge (these are NOT freezer gel packs) and that absorb your heat up to a few hours and then just need a few hours to regenerate at room temp, or faster in fridge, plus various mobile cooling accessories such as those sold by Polar Secrets. I will attest to the helpfulness of the Chilipad (a single costs around $400, and many Relax the Back stores in USA have one on display) and Chillows. My Polar Secrets ice vest has been helpful, too.
Want to add that my condition has now been diagnosed as symptomatic dermatographism (i.e, 'skin-writing disease with painful symptoms'). The membranes surrounding my skin's mast cells are weak/thinning and thus sensitive to pressure/heat/humidity. This causes the mast cells to release histamines too easily. Blood rushes to the scene, there isn't room for it, and the itch begins. My current dermatologist is having me take the antihistamine Zyrtec during the day and two 25 mg. doses of the antihistamine Atarax in the evening. Atarax, or Hydroxyzine, is the 'first-generation' form of Zyrtec; note: Atarax is Rx only, and causes drowsiness as well. The itching has not been stopped but I sleep well at night - important, also. Apparently the dosage of the Atarax can be increased and the coverage extended to a point where it's 24/7 (i.e., no Zyrtec). Hopefully this treatment will work as this illness has been debilitating.
One other new find is a wool mattress pad (specially-made so that it's not scratchy - it has a cotton cover, too, which helps with that) bought through Verlo Mattress that helps dissipate regulate heat. I'll use this when I'm not needing the Chilipad. I bought the twin size and put it on my side of the queen mattress (same as I do with the Chilipad).
Update: To manage my skin-heat problem (dermatographic urticaria) I also now use the following: an Outlast Temperature-Regulating White Comforter on my bed and a Thermazone Thermal Therapy Device with Universal Pad next to my bed when indoor temperature consistently exceeds 75 degrees, MyPillow with just one pillowcase year-round (dissipates heat very well), Cryo-Max Cold Packs (available at most drugstores) to sit on to stay cool through the day, soft zippered [black] cosmetic pouches stuffed w/ flexible ice packs [such as Caldera Therapy Gel Packs] to tuck under my arms during the day, as needed to prevent the heat-itch cycle, and the use of CeraVe Moisterizing Lotion exclusively for dry skin. I will be seeing a tertiary care skin specialist in a few weeks and hope a _cure_ can be found. [Additional update: I have also found that antihistamines do nothing to ease this condition other than providing drowsiness at night, so only use them for respiratory allergies now. Anti-seizure meds, e.g., Gabapentin, hadn't helped either, by the way.]
Update: Doxepin doesn't help either (i.e, the tertiary care dermatologist's Rx for me a few months ago).
I am using Allegra with 5mg prednisone whenever I get absolutely desperate. The hives are still spreading however. Putting an AC in my bedroom as I noted that having AC seems to handle them pretty effectively.
Good to know, re. the Allegra with 5 mg prednisone. I'm hoping to avoid having to use steroids (the prednisone), but am sure that would help me, too.
To update my running comments above on how I'm handling this disabling heat-skin rash-itch problem: I had to send my Chilipad unit in for repairs and came up with a fairly good interim night-cooling solution (other than super-cold air, which isn't comfortable for me, either). I use the wool mattress pad mentioned above (these are also sold online, btw) and put it under the bottom sheet, but over my pillow. Then I put two Cryo-Max cold packs (these packs have multiple small sections to them so if one of these small sections breaks, none of the other small sections are affected, so no additional leaking) between the top of the pillow and the wool pad and one or two other cold packs (any kind of pack, put in a plastic bag of some sort) between the pad and the bottom sheet, to the side of where I would be sleeping. These packs stay cold all night long, amazingly, and I have been able to sleep all right with this set-up. I prefer the chilled mattress pad, the Chilpad, though. I also run a small fan aimed toward me from a low night table all night (year-round) - really can't sleep without that, either. Starting year 7 with this conditon. Dermaticgraphism can last as little as a few days to the rest of one's life, according to information from the Internet, with numbers all in between.
Welcome back to Connect, @bluecinnamon. I appreciate you're returning to give the community an update on how you're managing your disabling heat-skin, rash-itch problem. You'll notice that Connect has changed a bit since you were last here. I hope you'll take a look around and read some of the other discussions and join in.
Thanks, Colleen.
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Further updates, 'fyi': I discovered that the _small fan blowing towards the head of the bed all night_* is sufficient to keep me cool at night year-round. I of course still use the chilled mattress pad in warm weather, too. My 5-yr old ThermaZone** unit broke - had a good run! - and I decided not to replace it once I realized that the moving air was all I needed.
My self-help systems/tools have varied over the years - for instance, I no longer use the Chillows (although they were great for use around the house, kept chilled in the fridge) - I replaced these with the 6" x 12" Cryomax freezer gel mats.
Also, because I have prevented _heat-itch-scratch_ cycles in the last five-to-six yrs (for the most part), I'm usually able to tolerate somewhat higher temps as long as I have sufficient ice packs and fans around, and the humidity levels are reasonable.
Information from a few Internet articles has led me to believe that the incidence of _symptomatic dermaticgraphsim_ (also known as _dermagraphism_) in the general population is about 1:40,000, btw.
* See my Set. 3, 2016 update/post above.
**See my Jan. 11, 2014 update/post above.
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