Hello everyone,

The last few nice, hot summery weekends that we have had here in the northeast I have spent outside in my yard. And where I have gotten sunburned I have also gotten a terrible itchy, bumpy rash - it's just awful. I also get it on my head (under my hair!), neck, stomach and back. I scratch it so much that I make myself bleed. The rash looks like hives.

I'm pretty sure I had a reaction right after my last block from my Lidocaine patches, so I switched to the other ones for a while (forget what they are called - brain *art). My neck, chest, stomach and back looked just like they do after I am in the sun - all red and blotchy with hives and it ITCHED like crazy.

I did find a good short term solution for the itch - a hair dryer. I aim the heat on high right where I itch for as long as I can stand it, and it draws all the itch out for a while. And then I put some Voltaren on. A hot shower helps too.

It wasn't even 80 degrees in RI and I broke out, which means that this summer could really be a nightmare for me. I currenty take an allergy pill every day with an antihistamine in it because our oak trees are dropping tons of pollen. I haven't tried to take Benadryl because I don't want to go to sleep, I want to work.

Does anyone have any ideas for how to deal with this?? Do the rest of you that have had RSD for a long time have issues with hives in the summertime? I love the beach. I really hope now that my RSD is full blown I'm not going to be able to enjoy it anymore.

Sandy