TMBRA - Rider Board

[Anonymous]

Hi Doc,

Last Wednesday night, my wife and I stripped an old peice of furniture. We used some orange stripper and mineral spirits.

Thursday I began showing symptoms which I perceived as an allergic reaction.

* Monkey Butt: no visual blemishes, but a constant maddening itch on the inner and back of the thighs and on the cheeks. This is still present. I get an hour or so releif with some gold bond powder.

* Blisters: One on each forearm near the wrist, and two on one leg below the knee. They've since gone to scab, but the surrounding area is very red. There was no itching associated with these.

Do you think these symptoms are related and also an allergic reaction to the furniture stripping?

If so, how long will this itch last? Is there something else I should treat it with?

If not, what could be happening?

Thanks for any insight.

Regards.

[The Bike Doc]

WARROCKET:

These symptoms could be a contact dermatitis, a skin rash triggered by contact with the chemicle irritants or a chemicle burn, 1st and 2nd degree, from the chemilces in the stripper. Not being able to see and examen the areas it is hard to say for certain. If there is increasing redness, increasing oozing/crusting, spreading blisters, local warmth or you develop fever, you should seek immediate medical attention. To help reduce the itching you can take an over the counter antihistamine, I recommend clemastine (brand name Tavist) tabs 2 tablets twice a day and ranitidine (brand name Zantac) 150 mg twice a day for the next 3-4 days. To soothe the irritated area try Nivea cream applied twice a day. Remember if there is any worsening seek an immediate medical evaluation.

Thanks,
_________________
Paul K. Nolan, MD
AKA: The Bike Doc