I've been putting hydrocortisone on them for about four days and they've subsided a little bit, but I thought they'd be gone by now. They don't itch. The two bigger bumps turned out to be just pimples. It's only on this part of my arm, so I don't think it's bed bugs. And they're not spreading, so that's good.

Any other ointments I should try?

12/9/2010 2:53:31 PM

YOU SHOULD TRY A WORKING IMAGE

12/9/2010 2:54:34 PM

have you tried taking a shower and washing your clothes more than once a year?

[Edited on December 9, 2010 at 2:56 PM. Reason : .]

12/9/2010 2:56:38 PM

Aha. That's funny. But this is serious.

12/9/2010 3:01:12 PM

Sry babe, I didn't want to tell you the news this way, but I think I gave you something the other night

Merry Christmas, b00!

12/9/2010 3:07:45 PM

TOTALLY WORTH IT

12/9/2010 3:08:34 PM

^^ It's okay.

12/9/2010 3:09:30 PM

12/9/2010 3:12:25 PM

lupus

12/9/2010 3:28:11 PM

Well I was going to say keratosis until I saw the pic. I don't think keratosis bumps get that big.

12/9/2010 3:28:20 PM

^ Yeah. That was my thinking as well.

I'll get in the sun more and see if that helps.

12/9/2010 3:47:56 PM

You can try lotions with lactic acid in them as well or taking a milk bath. Also try cutting out all sweetened foods/drinks for a week to see if that does anything. If it does it may be keratosis after all.

12/9/2010 3:52:46 PM

^ That's what my mom said. I approve.

12/9/2010 3:53:28 PM

Is it trolling if I say, "AIDS"?

Aww, fuck it. Too hard to resist.

YOU GOT DA AIDS!

[Edited on December 9, 2010 at 5:20 PM. Reason : The picture is fuzzy so I can't really give my expert opinion.]

12/9/2010 5:19:46 PM

buncha dermatologists ITT

12/9/2010 5:50:33 PM

this thread is not about

12/9/2010 6:05:55 PM

i'm guessing MRSA or bubonic plague

12/9/2010 6:37:36 PM

staph infection?

why not go to a doctor?

12/9/2010 6:39:03 PM

Cuz a regular doctor will prescribe antibiotics, tell him to put more hydrocortisone and ask for money. The dermatologist is going to take samples and do lab work and never tell you the results. In the meantime they will prescribe antibiotics and tell you to put more hydrocortisone or worse, prescribe an expensive cream with zero results and ask for more money hahaha

[Edited on December 9, 2010 at 7:00 PM. Reason : why don't they just make them OTC, professionals are clearly eschewing responsibility with antibioti]

12/9/2010 6:58:54 PM

^that's what I liked about living in Mexico the summer that I did. You could walk in any drug store & buy several different antibiotics. The problem though is that people take antibiotics for viral infections, and the antibiotics end up not working as well in future bacterial infections. Doctors overprescribe antibiotics a LOT. The general public doesn't know any better; doesn't know that their cold is a virus or that antibiotics are for bacteria only. They can't be trusted lol

12/9/2010 7:33:58 PM

Are they spreading in a certain pattern? My arm looked like that twice this last year alone: one was from contact with some stupid plant from trail riding in the woods, and another was from Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, also from being outside and bitten by a damn tick.

Other possibilities I can think of for non-itching bumps: you came into contact with an irritant of some sort (allergen or chemical) and that's a rash, or you've got a skin condition like eczema from the dry weather. Or you've got some weird zits going on.

12/9/2010 8:51:14 PM

It is pretty dry up here. Also, there's a slim chance I got some chemicals on me lately. Like with any skin bump, there's like a lottery's chance of guessing what it is. I'll stop the "Cortaid" on Sunday, so I don't develop super resistant skin bumps in the future and do the lactic acid thing and moisturizer dealy.

Cool beans! Thanks Dr. T-Dub!

12/9/2010 11:07:11 PM

have you been using any new soap, shampoo, detergent, dryer sheets, etc?

12/10/2010 8:34:49 AM

Body wash.

12/10/2010 9:48:56 AM

Could be one of the chemicals in the body wash causing an allergic reaction.

12/10/2010 10:02:57 AM

just to jump in with se7entythree and GREEN JAY's convo.
i agree 100%.

i know a friend who pops antibiotics like their candy, and then swears by eating yogurt to keep the good bacteria in while killing the bad with the antibiotics.
i tried to tell him it doesnt work that way, but he doesnt listen. (what would I know? )

i think he may have ruined is immune system as well.:/

sorry to derail...back to the thread...

[Edited on December 10, 2010 at 10:21 AM. Reason : ]

12/10/2010 10:20:53 AM

herpes

12/10/2010 2:17:19 PM

Quote :

"Body wash."

i'd bet money that this is it then. even if it's not all over your body, it's still very likely imo. when i was about 8 or 9, my mom switched laundry detergent & i got kinda similar bumps all over my back, but just my back. they went away after she bought new detergent, although i don't remember how long it took. they didn't itch or anything. it happened in the middle of swim team season though

12/10/2010 3:23:48 PM

^ yea

are allergic reactions isolated ?

I thought they were usually spread out.

12/10/2010 6:56:31 PM

my guess is that for whatever reason the skin in that particular spot got more contact with the allergen than the rest. in my case, it was the middle of summer & maybe playing outside, gettting sweaty, etc plus the back is a large flat surface basically, maybe that's why mine was isolated to my back.

in his case, idk. maybe he didn't rinse as well there. it's worth a shot just to change back to whatever he was using before/something else, & replace the body pouf thing or get a new washcloth.

12/10/2010 9:46:07 PM

Sweet, thanks!

12/10/2010 10:33:46 PM