Dear Bizi

A lassi is a rich, milk and yogurt-based Indian drink. It is flavored with fruit and spices.

waves

That sounds delicious!:)

Next time you go to an Indian restaurant, order one. Maybe ask what kinds they have first - there won't be just mango. And I think it's more yogurt than milk but I've never seen one made so I don't know. Just beware, they are *really* filling!

waves

Waves,

It is going to be hard to explain this to hubby but I have to.
He saw a few bumps that I recognize to be a lot like the poison ivy I got a few times when I was a kid.
Local mango season goes through the end of August and hubby has been buying the whole fruits and (recently) two quarts of mango juice.
*****

This is what the weird skin doc gave me.
Desonide Cream
http://www.drugs.com/pro/desonide-cream.html
(It has some odd and unfamiliar ingredients.)

I picked it up tonight but I did not use it. Instead I used my 2% Cortisone that the sane/ nice / usual dermatologist gave me last year for a rash.


Mari

desonide looks good to me
 

It's just a steroid, Mari. Don't fret over the chemical/structural formula. All compounds have one!

I found a Topical Steroid Potency chart.
http://www.psoriasis.org/about-psori.../potency-chart
It shows hydrocortisone 2% amongst the least potent, with desoide 0.5% being more potent - in the lower mid-strength range.

I personally would choose the stronger of the two for your rash. This isn't a mild skin inflammation - without treatment it is something that could take a couple of weeks. Even with the steroid it might. It definitely needs to prevented from worsening. Urushiol rashes can scar.

-------------------
FYI: I've experienced increased itching/burning upon application of steroid creams, particularly when used on very inflamed skin. The skin settles down soon afterwards, but it freaked me out so I asked my former doctor (who was good) about this. She said it was due to anti-inflammatory action. Beats me how, but she assured me it was perfectly ok.
===============

With hubby, take your time. Take care of yourself, right now. Reset, regroup, feel better. Explain when you are up to it. (Or hook him up to yahoo messenger sometime... and I'll try to explain it to him! ;))

:hug::hug::hug:

waves

Waves,

Thank you for reassuring me about using the "new to me" cream.
A few hours ago I tested it on a tiny patch of skin that was not part of the rash.
The patch looks o.k.
After reading your post, I applied the new stuff on the rash.
=======
Maybe I have to explain to him the science (after I learn it myself). He likes charts and diagrams and stinks about reading unless it is in tiny chunks.
http://www.google.com/search?q=flow+...=1491&bih=1025
Egads|!
=====
This is hard.
A look through youtube did not help enough.

Mari

Majo, :ROTFLMAO:

This is funny.
You would get tired (and ******) a lot at my house. :eek:

Mari

At this moment there is one fresh mango (left after a bought a pile a week ago) on a paper plate on the counter in the kitchen and a jar of mango juice in the fridge. Hubby is asleep and I will not get around to talking to him about this until the afternoon (Fri).


I wish stupid skin doc (who told me he is very allergic to mangos when he said he did not want to shake my hand on the way out) had given me a few words of advice.
M

Rashes and cream.
 

Actually, you did very well to test the cream on non-inflamed skin first. That made good sense. I am glad it worked out fine and that you went ahead to use it on the rash. :)

-- Questions:
Did the doc see the outbreak around your mouth? Are you applying the cream there too?

How are the rashes (mouth and hand/arm) now - better, worse, about the same?

Explaining things to hubby
 

We can distill the tiny chunks he needs to know. He does not need to know all the science behind allergic responses.

He needs to know:
-------------------------
-- This is not a fluke: you will react to further mango exposure.
-- You must be kept safe from further exposure.
-------------------------
-- The allergen in mango peel, called urushiol, rapidly contaminates materials it touches.
-- It is unsafe for you to have *any* exposure to mangos as well as surfaces, cloth, skin (his), that might have touched them even momentarily.
-------------------------
-- He can decontaminate exposed materials by immediately washing them with soap and water.
-- Skin is only decontaminated by 50%, at most.
-------------------------

That should be enough to put him on the right track.

Do you think he can "tolerate" that amount of text?

Next question, would he have a problem "believing" this stuff without viewing the references? If need be, we could give references but it's hard to find references that aren't text.

=============

I looked for diagrams but kept finding things on the allergic immune response; none covered progressive sensitization over time. One article expressed this concept with numerical data but within the text. Also, it was not a formal study and the number of people involved was small.

waves