Hi there! Please do not ever apologize for having questions or for being new at this. We were ALL there at one time and there is no question that is not a valid one. I have only had RSD for 3 months now. It started in my left foot after surgery and has already spread from the top of that foot, to the right foot, to the bottoms of my feet, to both hands, and is spreading up both legs. Mine does itch sometimes.....like a sunburn.......but it HURTS to scratch it (so I try not to).

I use Aveeno bath powder or Aveeno lotion to soothe it. It has natural colloidal oatmeal in it that forms a protective film on your skin. The bath powder can also be used in leiu of soap for when your skin is extra dry......just soak for about 20 minutes (check very carefully the temperature of the water.....or use a bath thermometer......many times we cannot "feel" temperature accurately with RSD). It turns the water a kind of muddy gray color, but it FEELS so good......and it is totally fragrance free which helps me because I'm super sensitive to smells with my RSD. I have found that sifting it before adding it to the water helps it dissolve better (it tends to clump) and the name brand clumps less than the generic (but both will work adequately).

It is not uncommon, unfortunately, for doctors to be uninformed about RSD. It is fairly rare, but not so much so that the medical profession shouldn't be educated about it. We all have had to take our care into our own hands, to some degree, being very proactive to learn as much as we can (from forums and from internet research) because docs aren't going to spend as much time learning about it as we are.

I do not have a rash with my RSD.....just color changes, so I feel certain that someone else can help you with that specific question. I would be careful that the rash is not actually lesions or ulcers that can sometimes accompany RSD. There are several sites that have photos of RSD......probably on this forum for starters. Try an internet search on "RSD skin lesion photos" and see if pictures match your own. There are specific treatments for those (and they are notoriously hard to treat due to our poor healing) though sometimes they heal spontaneously.

I am so sorry your RSD is spreading so quickly. Believe me, I totally understand how scary it is. There is no "normal" for this disease. It does what it wants to do and goes where it wants to go. Please keep asking questions. We are like a family here and will help however we can. You can PM me any time as well if you want to talk to someone privately. Our RSD seems to have started in a very similar fashion.

Best wishes to you. Please keep us posted!! Hope to hear from you soon!!!