NeuroTalk Support Groups - Alcohol Swipe Test

NeuroTalk Support Groups (https://www.neurotalk.org/)

- Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy (RSD and CRPS) (https://www.neurotalk.org/reflex-sympathetic-dystrophy-rsd-and-crps-/)

- - Alcohol Swipe Test (https://www.neurotalk.org/reflex-sympathetic-dystrophy-rsd-and-crps-/55626-alcohol-swipe-test.html)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Summertime (Post 383382)

Abasaki.....how did you react? I felt it to be cold but then again my legs were freezing from being in the "pretty" gown and waitng about 45 minutes for the doctor to come in the room.

The below is my description of how I react to alcohol touching my skin....

When alcohol touches my skin, It feels like an extremely cold burning sensation.

It actually turns my skin very purple and drops the skin temperature in the area that it touches.

I can't handle alcohol being on my skin more than a few seconds... it is very painful for me!!!!

I have to get it off of me very quick.... never had this problem before RSD.

Abbie

I did this alcohol thing soon after I got rsd and it didn't bother me at all. Over the last almost 6 years I've put alcohol on my skin many times and still have no reaction whatsoever to it. I guess like with everything else and rsd what bothers one does not bother another person at all!

One thing though, Abbie....have you had touch sensitivity from the start and also is your skin normally cold or warm/hot to the touch? I should have said 2 things! LOLOL I noticed where you say it "drops the skin temp in that area". It occured to me that if your skin is already feeling ice cold, then you wouldn't notice any drop in skin temp. For me, I only had sensitivity to air until about 2 yrs or 2 1/2 yrs ago and my skin has always felt freezing cold to touch.

Now I'm wondering if people with "hot/warm" rsd react this way too, and only them or do some of us with "cold" rsd have a reaction to alcohol as well. Anyone else have any experiences, pertaining to skin temp vs the alcohol thing??

There was only 1 thing that I reacted very badly to, that didn't bother me at all before rsd. That is Nair. Yup, the easiest way to shave ever and that stuff, with in seconds of me putting it on my legs, started my skin burning so bad I swear I expected to look down and see flames coming off my legs!!!!! Hubby scrubbed my legs to get it off as fast as he could and I still felt it. It took almost 24 hours for it to calm down again. Needless to say I never repeated that again! LOL How about anyone else? Any bad reactions to Nair or other stuff like that?

Hugs,

Karen

Hi
I find alcohol is just like touching cold metal.. cant tell if it's hot or cold it just burns.
Also nair reacts the same way on me now, but I had no problem with it before RSD.

It is true everyone reacts different to the tests they try on us.
Some doctors believe in one more than the other. When I saw the doctor he felt the heat more on one side than the other.
RSD is a tough to understand.
Thanks for helping me to try and understand it.:)

Quote:

Seriously you think they'd make those gowns a little warmer and cover a bit more.

A question I always wondered about......why does the doctor leave the room when you undress? He is going to see us naked anyways. :D

I never had the alcohol test, but I have noticed that a drop of water effects me just like the alcohol does. Just one cold drop of water and I have to quickly get it off me.

It burns like a little drop of fire!

I was watering the lawn by hand the other day, and the wind caught the water spray and lightly blew onto my legs. Man it made me jump, and brought on the burn so fast!!! :eek:

Have you noticed that when you rest the rsd limb on anything cold, like a metal or wood chair, the limb starts to ache real bad?