Originally Posted by Harmony
Thought maybe it was a skin allergy to the paraffin or the hand lotion, so I took Benadryl, which always turns me into a drugged zombie, and I got some Benadryl cream to put on my hands. Still itched like crazy on Friday, and on Saturday actually seemed to be a little worse.
Woke up Sunday morning, and I KNEW this was not a skin allergy--called the doctor and was able to get in this afternoon. She called it cellulitis--it's an infection under the skin. She gave me an antibiotic, told me to try not to use my hands much for a few days (yeah, right!), and said the itching and pain would be better in 3-4 days. SERIOUSLY??? I'm about ready to scratch all the skin off my hands! The only thing that seems to help is getting busy with something so that I'm distracted enough to not think about it (that would be quilting, mostly!)
Benadryl may be over-the-counter, but it can cause reactions to other meds as well as what it did to you, Harmony. I'm currently on hormone therapy (tamoxifen), and one of the things I've been warned to NOT take is Benadryl. For years, I've used it like you did, to take the itch out of itches. Never gave it a thought. Now, I have to check with my doctors about EVERYTHING including over-the-counter stuff. When I got a sore throat, I had to get an ok to take Theraflu, Sudafed etc. Royal pain-in-the-you-know-what, but it has made me very aware that we forget how powerful some of that stuff can be. Some of it isn't even controlled by the FDA. Who woulda thunk!
JoanneS