An oatmeal bath

As you all know a week last Sunday I was diagnosed with Strep Throat and was put on antibiotics to cure my horrid horrid throat. Everything seemed to be going peachy and I was getting tonnes better. Then on Sunday I noticed small little red spots on my stomach which then appeared on the tops of my arms,  my chest and my face. At first I put them aside as merely being hives because I tend to get that a lot, yet the rash kept spreading and spreading till it covered the majority of my body [the only free parts being the front of my legs and my feet]. Because it appeared six days after starting my course we couldn't pin it down as being an allergic reaction, more of a side effect but I went back to the Drs to be on the safe side. I think my rash somewhat disturbed the Dr so another one was brought in and suggested a test for mono, they were both very surprised it hadn't been tested originally considering the test for strep throat was negative. So rather then having strep throat, I had mono [or I may have had both]. Either way, said rash is a huge side effect of giving amoxicilin to people with mono [the fact that it occurs in 95% of cases]. My antibiotics have been put aside to be replaced with steroids. 

The dreaded rash - pretty much what it is like all over. Ikky ikky.

This rash can get extremely itchy, while I've been taking antihistamines sometimes they just don't do anything, and the rubbing and mere wearing of clothes can make the itch worse. And when you know you can't itch, that just makes it unbearable. I can across the suggestion of having an oatmeal bath  to  temporary soothe a rash and the itch because it's a skin protector with anti inflammatory properties so I thought I'd give it a go. This method is considered an aid for people with eczema, hives, chicken pox and poison ivy rashes.

Crush up your oatmeal and pop it into your bath.

   
While you can buy versions from the store [Aveeno do a version] they aren't that cheap and all you need is the oatmeal you'd use for your breakfast just bash it up slightly with a rolling pin or the back of a spoon [or use a food processor if you have one] till it resembles small crumbly mixture [see photograph above]. Then sprinkle into your bath - I'd advise using warm or tepid water rather then hot because heat at aggravates rashes. While it won't create anything half as pretty as a Lush bath bomb it does turn the water a nice oaty colour.

Did it work? To a point yes it did, it definitely helped with the constant itch I feel on my back but I fear because my rash is so big it can't help everywhere. Nevertheless it has soothed the vividly wild red colour on my arms and has helped more then the cortisone cream I've been using. But it won't make the rash fade and it still itches when I have clothes rubbing against my skin, it's slowly slowly doing that by itself but I can see it kicking around for a while longer as I loose my sanity trying not to peel my skin off. 

Do you have any tips for itchy, rashy skin?