Poison Ivy or Skin Bends?

[DeepBound]

How can I tell whether I have Type I DCS skin bends or poison ivy? What's the worst that could happen if its skin bends but I just treat it as poison ivy?

 

[RoadRacer1978]

Call DAN........ That is the best answer I can give as just a lamen.....

 

[do it easy]

I think that Dr Deco is on vacation, so let me give you some free and inaccurate advice.

I think the skin bends, like poison ivy will be blotchy and itchy. However the skin bends will be localized and won't spread by contact like poison ivy would. A really bad way to test it would be to rub your affected area on someone else's unaffected area and see if it gets itchy too. Disclaimer: Don't do it!

Short of my un-scientific test, I think that skin bends will tend to clear up faster than poison ivy, although I've never had poison ivy. I have had skin bends and they were accompanied by slight pain and tenderness.

Do you have any reason to believe it's a skin bend (deco diving?) or perhaps poison ivy (frolicking through fields of leaves of three?).

Disclaimer: I'm not a doctor, nor did I stay in a Holiday Inn Express last night. Some parts of this post should be considered bad advice and you should seek professional help. Call Don!

 

[JahJahwarrior]

Hey there, that's not true, that whole thing of touch the area and it'll spread! Atleast, after you have washed it to remove the urushiol oil, once that oil is gone, the wound does not produce more of it, so you can touch it all you want and it shoudln't spread.

If you still have some of the urushiol oil on your skin though, then it will spread. Nasty oil.



[edit] Just so I'm not alone on this:
WebMD Link

The rash is not contagious. You cannot catch or spread a rash once it appears, even if you touch it or the blister fluid, because the urushiol will already be absorbed or washed off the skin. The rash may seem to be spreading, but either it is still developing from earlier contact or you have touched something that still has urushiol on it.

 

[DeepBound]

I haven't done any deco dives but I also haven't been in the woods. I dove a few times this week and it started some time this week. Not sure exactly when.

Another weird thing is that all the itchy spots are on my left side. Like my left leg, left side of my abdomen, left arm, etc.

Oh, by the way, poison ivy doesnt spread by contact, unless you still have the oils on your skin from the poison ivy plant.

 

[Kayla]

Call Dan. Just for peace of mind. They are excellent- and can help you with just about anything.

 

[cinder4320]

Does the rash have any open spots that ooze? My poison ivy always actually opens up and gets crusty...yeah, nasty I know. Are the bumps raised above the skin a lot like poison ivy is? Also when Poison ivy starts for me its usually a single dot or straight line of dots which quickly spreads out.

I don't know if any of this helps and I'm sure both problems manifest different in different individuals. I will say I say some pictures of a friends skin bends and it didn't look much like poison ivy to me.

Miranda

 

[DeepBound]

Does the rash have any open spots that ooze? My poison ivy always actually opens up and gets crusty...yeah, nasty I know. Are the bumps raised above the skin a lot like poison ivy is? Also when Poison ivy starts for me its usually a single dot or straight line of dots which quickly spreads out.

Yeah it's just like that! I bet it's poison ivy or some other allergy. I wonder if it could be an allergic reaction to eating too much Splenda?
Thanks

 

[JahJahwarrior]

 

[do it easy]

Yeah it's just like that! I bet it's poison ivy or some other allergy. I wonder if it could be an allergic reaction to eating too much Splenda?
Thanks

I think it's an allergic reaction, but if it was from ingesting lethal amounts of Splenda, why is it only on your left side?