Gen Z Lady Sees Rash on Arm After Swimming in Pool, Then Comes Diagnosis

A Gen Z girl returned from trip with extra than simply reminiscences—what she believed was a chlorine rash was one thing else fully

Reddit consumer u/survivorsavedmylife from New England got here again from Cape Cod, Massachusetts, with a rash on her left arm.

On August 17, she shared a images titled: “What was supposed to be a nice vacation turned into me developing a chlorine rash after swimming.”

“The rash started off as small and resembled hives:” she advised Newsweek. “We had just gone swimming before so I assumed it must’ve been from the chlorine since some people are sensitive.

“What I didn’t know was that chlorine rashes usually occur on both sides of the body, where it gets in between the bathing suit.”

The story submit went viral, incomes 9,800 upvotes and over 1,000 feedback on the time of writing. The 22-year-old defined that the rash clusters on her arm had been spreading for 3 days. While she first assumed it was from the pool, Reddit customers had been fast to recommend in any other case.

From Rash to Diagnosis

Less than 24 hours later, she posted an update: the rash was not brought on by chlorine however shingles.

According to her submit, her major care doctor initially suspected poison ivy or shingles and really helpful she take an antihistamine till her appointment the following day. However, after trying extra carefully on the images, he known as again with a extra sure reply.

“He rang back and was 90 percent sure it was shingles,” she wrote.

When she visited the workplace, the physician turned her case right into a stay instructing second. “I saw him this morning and he brought 3 of his PAs to see my arm as a ‘teaching moment’ she said. ‘They were shocked!'”

What Is Shingles?

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) explains that shingles, or herpes zoster, is brought on by the reactivation of the varicella-zoster virus, the identical virus that causes chickenpox.

The rash sometimes develops on one aspect of the physique or face and kinds blisters that scab over in 7–10 days, normally therapeutic inside two to 4 weeks.

While shingles is extra frequent in older adults, it may well trigger persistent nerve ache as a long-term complication. That stated, this complication is unusual in folks beneath 40.

Despite this, the poster added: “I have nerve pain but am still [OK] to go out and run errands.”

Is Shingles Contagious?

Shingles itself isn’t straight contagious. However, the varicella-zoster virus can unfold:

• You can’t catch shingles straight from somebody with shingles.
• If you’ve got by no means had chickenpox or the vaccine, you possibly can catch chickenpox from somebody with shingles, which might later result in shingles.
• The virus spreads primarily by way of direct contact with blister fluid or, much less generally, inhaling particles from the rash.
• People with chickenpox are extra contagious than these with shingles.

Reddit Reacts

The girl thanked Reddit customers who had suspected shingles earlier than her physician confirmed the prognosis. Others on the platform shared their very own tales of receiving medical recommendation from the net neighborhood.

One consumer commented: “I posted on a different subreddit last year if I should see my gp about this weird stomach pain I had and described it, and people told me to go to the ER cause it sounded like appendicitis. Turns out it was! I was very grateful for them.”

Another individual revealed the unique submit helped them acknowledge their very own case of shingles: “This is insane, I saw your post last night and saw all the comments, and the thing is I had a rash I’d been dealing with a couple days that I thought was just poison oak… but it was more painful and just… different. Because of your post I went to urgent care today and guess what? I got shingles too. Thank you for your post or I might have missed the window too. Insane that I just happened to see your post when I most needed it.”