<p>My son has been complaining of a terrible rash for the past 10 days. He has seen 2 docs at the university, both of which say it is poison ivy. He is on prednisone, benedryl, and a topical treatment. He is a runner and does run without his shirt at times so the poison ivy angle is plausible. He says that the itching is at its worst in the middle of the night, and he can’t sleep. He often showers at 4am just to relieve the itching.</p>
<p>I have done my own research and think the culprit may be bed bugs! I emailed him this morning instructing him to strip his bed and inspect carefully. My question is what does a school do when there is a confirmed bed bug infestation. I can’t believe this is happening. He has been through a lot medically already the past 6 weeks to include a nasty virus, which we thought may be mono, then pink eye. </p>
<p>I don’t know really what to do if he does not find any bed bugs either. Do I call the school and have them hire an exterminator to look??? I am at my wits end and need advice.</p>
<p>As far as bed bugs I am not going to be much help. I can tell you that my son had contact dermatitis (more than likely poison ivy just before he left for school). I was stressing about it. It began with a smaller rash in his face. He went to a dermatologist. He put him on a topical steroid and it healed. One month later it was everywhere from head to toe! I took him back to the same dermatologist and he said this is a dermatitis due to allergies and he needs an allergist. We saw a wonderful allergist who put him on medication for the itch. He told me that benedryl makes you sleepy and is short acting and this med. was better. I cannot think of the name of it, but it starts with a C. Also one area behind his knee was getting infected so he had bactroban for that. He did not get any better, so after one week we went back to the allergist. Now he could see that this was contact dermatatis and he said that he needs a dermatologist. Mind you, my kid was leaving for college seven days later, and he was miserable and completely covered in a rash! The allergist got us an emergency appointment with another dermatologist. He was kind enough to dial around for an in network doc who could see us the same day!! Normally one cannot get an appointment for a month when trying to get an appointment as a layperson. We were successful. That doc took a skin biopsy to be sure that it was poison ivy, and told us that it would be cleared up in time for school. She perscribed some more topical steroids. It did clear up just in time! Stitches from the biopsy had to be removed a week sooner than normal, so his doc said that wound could open. Fortunately, it did not. Stitches came out the day before he left to go to college.
My theory as to how he got this- over the summer he worked in a home improvement center that has a garden area. He worked with plants in the garden center for an hour each day. My guess is that this is where he got it, bc he was working or indoors. His dermatologist found this to be plausible. One can this from petting animals (ie: dog) who were in contact with poison ivy. Also, if the oil is on one’s shoes, and one touches those shoes one can keep getting re-exposed. Shoes need to be washed if this is a possibility. I hope that your son feels better! Mine was so miserable with this.</p>
<p>My other stress was really not knowing for sure if my son needed an allergist while at college. I found out that the closest in network allergist was a 40 minute car ride away, and my son does not have a car. Fortunately, he was finished with the doctors, and the timing was right.</p>
<p>If it’s poison ivy I’d expect the rash/itching to be somewhat localized whereas bedbugs would be anywhere. I’ve had poison oak before and it’s quite a hassle. It just won’t go away on its own. The key is to get rid of the plant’s oils on the skin without spreading it elsewhere on the body. A lot of soaps will only serve to further spread the oil and make it worse. He needs to was the area thouroughly with a product made for this. </p>
<p>I’ve used a product called ‘Tecnu’ before that’s worked for getting rid of the toxic oils. It’s used to ‘wash’ the area without spreading the oil around. It should be available over the counter at the drug store.</p>
<p>Bedbugs leave a distinctive bite pattern that a dermatologist can identify without too much trouble. (A friend recently went through this.) I hope your son gets better soon!</p>
<p>Where on his body is the rash? If he has it on his back it’s very unlikely to be poison ivy. People usually pick up poison ivy on their legs (or pants) and then spread the oils to other parts of their bodies with their hands. Since people seldom touch their backs they seldom get any poison ivy rash there (unless he laid down on it out in the woods somewhere).</p>
<p>My son has had poison ivy a couple of times. The second time, two of his friends got it, too. One of them had such a bad rash that it looked like he had been burned. I’ve seen this stuff work. You rub it on for a couple of minutes with a cotton ball, and then wash well. It helps even long after the exposure (but works best if used quickly, apparently). Burt’s Bees also makes a poison ivy soap which is quite good. </p>
<p>Sarna lotion (in drugstores, OTC) is the best I’ve found for itching from any source.</p>
<p>Oh, and about bedbugs, I have little experience (fortunately). My husband got them once at a hotel in England. He said that he couldn’t sleep because they were so bad. He could see them - your son should turn on a light at night. I seem to remember that they also caused a little bleeding, so there might be spots of blood on the sheets.</p>
<p>Thanks for the info on tecnu, Burt’s bees. Our dermatologist said to just use soap and warm water. I think that I am going to buy some tecnu, and send it back with my son after winter or spring break.</p>
<p>Don’t wait until winter or spring break - buy it and send it to him ASAP in the mail or if you order it on the internet have it sent to him. The itching is so bothersome you say he is not sleeping.</p>
<p>I had a case of poison ivy that went undiagnosed - the dermatologist thought it was hives. I would wake up scratching so hard I was drawing blood!</p>
<p>Don’t wait - send the tecnu ASAP and to be on the safe side send the SAMA lotion, too. Good luck to your son. Having poison ivy is a miserable experience.</p>
<p>Westcoastmon, no, my kid is now over it! He is sleeping fine. That is why I was going to wait until winter or spring break to give him the tecnu. </p>
<p>BTW, my kid presented at first with hives, just like you did. That is why the dermatologist sent us to the allergist. The allergist just diagnosed him incorrectly with hives. It was a week later that it was clear to him that my son had a contact dermatitis. My kid still had hives, but he develped these classic looking straight lines of a red rash on his legs several days after he saw the allergist on the first visit. That fixated rash on the legs made the allergist change his diagnosis.</p>
<p>We have problems with poison ivy and the runners at our house as well. May seem like a dumb question, but: Has he thoroughly washed his clothing, towels and bed linens? Poison ivy oil can stick around for ages. Our dermatologist says it can stay on gloves and shovels, etc. from one season to another. Might be worth washing those sheets, etc. a second time, in the hottest water possible! Just a thought.</p>
<p>Is he using a different detergent or soap at school than he used at home? It’s possible that whatever he has is either exacerbated or caused by ingredients or fragrances.</p>
<p>That’s a good suggestions, mattmom (any relation to mathmom?) During my first pregnancy, I bought Dreft to use on the baby’s clothes. In those first few weeks we were using it to wash his clothes and bedding, and I would throw in my flannel nightgowns and nursing bras (the only clothes I was wearing!) In the first week, I developed a horrible itchy rash over my entire body. For some reason it did not affect my face, but the rest of me was entirely red. It was the Dreft. I’ve never reacted that way to anything before or since.</p>
<p>A young man we know had it last year. It was misdiagnosed for several months. What triggered the memory was your mention that your son’s itching is at its worst in the middle of the night. That’s a classic symptom of scabies.</p>
<p>He is using Coast soap (I don’t use it at home) which I bought on sale for him to take to school, but he has been using it since he got to school about 6 weeks ago. </p>
<p>My thinking on scabies was that he does not have any direct contact with anyone, no girlfriend. He has a roommate who is fine. </p>
<p>He is going back to the university doc tomorrow and I will be following up with a phone call. We would like him to see a dermatologies asap, and will suggest this. </p>
<p>We talked to our neighborhood pharmacist who thought that the prednisone he is on 60mg at this point should have knocked out the poison ivy, therefore, his thinking was that the diagnosis of poison ivy was incorrect.</p>
<p>He just needs to get the correct diagnosis and we will be able to deal with it. He was up twice in the night taking showers because of the itching.</p>
<p>Since reading this thread this morning I have been itching! Once I hear about bed bugs or lice my body reacts. When the kids were little and the note would come home from school that a classmate had lice, it would make me itch just thinking about them! </p>
<p>My oldest S is very sensitive to soaps and fragrances. He can’t use Dial soap at all, and when he breaks out from some of this stuff the rash and itching last quite a long while. I use Tide free, no fragrance or dyes and we use Ivory or Lever Bros bath soap. I would definately have him check his soap and laundry detergents, and re-wash everything with the plain soaps.</p>