I have had this rash for 8 years and just found out what it is via the internet last year.  I took the information to my doctor and he said oh yes this is very common.  Why could he not tell me this for the last 8 years, I will never know.

PolyMorphous Light Eruption...  have a look here http://dermnetnz.org/reactions/pmle.html

Your white blood cells think the sun is attacking them so they make these little postules filled with sticky liquid to protect the skin...  I know, it sounds crazy :)

You can try having small doses of the sun each day to build your skins strength but it will only help slightly.  The best thing to do is simply stay out of the sun, it's very hard to do though when you have no choice.

I have had allergy testing and have used every steroid cream available, polaramine helps to reduce the itching, burning, stinging & inflammation for about 6 hours but you end up overdosing your body on it and get very tired.    I have found the only thing to totally get rid of the symptoms is a steroid from your doctor, mine is called Panafcortelone.  I was first taking 50 mg a day but it had terrible side effects of nausea and a burning heat radiating from my legs, and I put on a lot of weight very quickly.  I got down to taking 10mg a day and this was still helping.  I got to the point where I could put up with the rash without the tablets and it is slowly going away.  It's been 4 weeks since I took the steroids and although it drives me crazy some-times, I am trying to stay away.

Mine goes away at the end of Autumn and Winter and comes back every year half way through Spring.  I am so glad to know what causes my rash but, sadly the knowledge doesn't stop it from happening...   I just don't feel so helpless for not knowing any-more.

 

I recently experienced a rash that appeared primarily on my inner forearms in each of the past two years, during spring and summer.  I narrowed it down to a reaction caused by skin exposure from garening and removing grass & sod around a cottage property I purchased two years ago and getting contacted by the soil/sand just under the grass and in garden areas.  The super-extreme itchiness felt like things crawling under my skin that I had to scrape out with something. I had never had prior rashes or medical issues of any kind, and have worked doing landscaping, gardening around my home in the city for over twenty years.   

 

I tried a number of simple remedies and then a dermatologist prescribed fluocinonide, all of which didn't work or reduce itching.  Finally I tried a seabuckthorne-based soap which is sold in Walmart (Face Doctor- ~$15/bar), which I lather up and leave on my skin to dry - and miraculously my itching subsides almost immediately and the disappears within a week or two. ( I also stop my gardening and now wear more protective clothing/gloves.) This soap is astringent so it does dry the skin somewhat, but the relief from itching and slow disappearance of the rash is well worth it. I also understand that the soap is quite effective for rosacea and some other skin rashes.

 

Hope this is of some help.

 

 

I have exactly the same thing.I Am a 46 yr.old white male from Michigan and it started about 5 years ago.It starts about July every summer and lasts until Sept./Oct.             First I get itchy skin on my upper forearms and or biceps.Usually it's on one arm but have had it on both.Then it develops little red bumps that eventually turn white and oozy.Last year I must have got infected as I developed an abscess the size of a quarter and a half inch deep(very painfull).Tried every concoction you can buy and several prescriptions;saw 3 doctors,NO HELP.What is this and what works to stop the itch?                     Goin'Mad, T.

i had these same symptoms accuring in the summer in spots circle size rashes on arems and shoulder I went to several dermatologist none of the creams worked, and my grandmother saw them told me it was a fungus that the sun would irritate it, and told me to eat plain yogurt and apply monistate for yeast infections topical kind and guess what it worked never had the come back again and now I use a lot of uv protection a home remedy people used when they worked out in the cotton fields they put yogurt on the arms as well but monistat is a yeast infection cure and fungus is kinda same thing works for everyone I have ever told

Olivia,

Wish I had an answer!  My sister and I both have this.  My doctor does not even listen when I bring it up.  Ice is the only thing I have found that helps also.  If you come up with a "cure" please let us know. 

 

Hey guys,

 

I don't have a solution to the problem, but I may have some more coping mechanisms to deal with the itch.

 

Icy Blue, the goo that you rub onto sore and tired muscles as an alternative to icing them, is heaven sent when it comes to itchy rashes. It cools the inflammation and may sting when applied (though in my experience, pain is preferred to the itching!) Watkins manufactures a great product.

 

Benadryl has also put out an itch relief spray with diphenhydramine hydrochloride, the same ingredient used in allergy medications. The spray coats the itchy area, leaving it cool and kind of waxy. The medication in the spray helps to calm the histamine reaction in the skin and protect it from worsening, and the waxiness is often enough incentive to not scratch. I bought it for $5 at a Canadian Shoppers Drug Mart store.

 

I spent a month up in Northern Saskatchewan and broke out in tremendous hive-like rashes, covering my thighs, inner arms, outer upper arms, and even some small bumps on my fingers and tops of my hands. I have not been able to determine whether it's a sun-related reaction or a skin sensitivity (like laundry detergent), but I do know that by avoiding both (the sun AND our new laundry detergent), my rash is slowly going away. Because I've dealt with both eczema and hypersensitivity to sunlight, it's tough to determine which is the factor here. Neither reaction has ever been this dramatic.

 

I hope this is helpful in some regard. Best of luck.

I found that colloidal oatmeal, first I used it in the bath tub, now I use it also several times a day, and the rash, just as you have described it, has been greatly relieved! Basically, it has disappeared! I found the stuff by accident at The dollar store: only $1 for 5 packets! I also bought oatmeal "soap" for my face, and it has made all my skin so smooth, and best of all, no itch! Now, I found that if I run out of the commercial product, regular uncooked oats, soaked in very hot water (allow to cool), works, too! It's worth a try: I was so miserable, and the dermatologist charged me $200! And the expensive corticostearoid didn't work! Good luck!