Anyone know what causes a itchy rash on both arms and face with swollen eyes?
The rash started with tiny tac size itchy spots that covered my arms then my eyes started to swell shut. Took benadryl and used benadryl spray on my arms.
My arms are still covered with a red rash and eyes are still swollen and I just don't feel 100%

Any ideas? I just got here sunday night and haven't been in the water yet. I have no known food allergies. What could this be?

Sounds like an allergy to something, but difficult to diagnose like this, best you see a doctor in town.

That does not sound fun blueyz - I hope you figure it out soon. Have you had any shellfish or anything you haven't eaten before? Here's to a speedy recovery, if you figure out what it is, keep us posted.

Thanks for the well wishes!! I have had shell fish here on sunday but have never had an allergic reaction to it before.
I did eat rice beans and chicken an hour before this all started but I don't know of any food allergies.
Initially the rash started out like a million tiny mosquitto bite looking welts.

no see ems ?

It sounds like this isn't an allergy because it didn't go away with the benadryl. I'm baffled - I guess a doc is the best option and it sounds fairly inexpensive down there.

It is not uncommon to have an allergic reaction to a food that has previously been ono-allergic for you. Benadryl will not make it go away instantly. As long as the allergen is in your system (possibly a couple of days) your symptoms will manifest. If it gets worse, go to doctor immediately.

I wonder if you may be allergic to the recado they use in stewed chicken, just a thought...I hope you are feeling better.

I'm allergic to the poisonwood tree - used gumbo limbo sap and rubbed it all over the infected area............it's getting better right away. So amazing! Apparently the gumbo limbo tree grows right near the poisonwood tree as an anecdote.
People who cut down a poisonwood tree cut and run because it can poison you....they go back after 6 months to get it.

Gumbo limbo is my new favorite tree

99.9% are badly allergic to "poisonwood". Chechen tree. The gumbo Limbo is Chaca and can always be found near Chechen. Usually it looks like some kind of severe chemical burn and can be very very serious. Chaca is the only remedy I know of for Chechen. Chaca is used for many skin problems, notice how the bark looks like skin.

ANTI-dote. But that was funny. No pun intended.

How did you figure that out? I looked up pics of the poisonwood tree, where did you run into this bugger (so I can stay away from it LOL) Glad you are getting better! YAY for Gumbo Limbo

I was wondering if you had managed to get into the chechem already.

Listen to the doctor and get well soon.

Gumbo Limbo is also known as the 'tourist tree' because it resembles tourists who get sunburned and then peel. We have a number of them on our property. They are interesting trees. They grow incredibly quickly and it is easy to make live fences with their branches by just sticking them in the ground and training them. They produce a lot of berries, which attract huge numbers of birds. They are brilliant shade trees and apparently they have a wide range of medicinal purposes. The only downside is that they do moult every year. We're currently raking up the last of this years leaf fall.

Thank you all for your kind words - I feel all the wiser now all part of the tropical experience.

Still love ya poisonwood - didn't earn it's name for nothing!!

The wood makes beautiful furniture, cabinets etc. Very hard and very dark colored wood.

blueysz44, I received a PM from one of my message board friends to help you out but I see you figured it out. My wife had the same experience and she isn't the type to go walking through the bush. She went to the doctor (2 of them) and found no relief from Benadryl, prednisone and an anti-histamine. Only when we were told about the Gumo Limbo tree did she start to feel better.

I asked some locals to get it for me and they came back with a bag of bark and the sticks that they shaved the bark from. The sap from the sticks brought instant relief from the itching. You brew the bark into a tea like substance and she spooned that over the affected areas. It took about 5 days to go away completely. The locals said that if she had used it sooner it would not have been so bad.

I asked one of the guys to show me the poison wood tree so I could stay away from them and he took me right down the road and 15' into the bush. As I was looking at the tree he asked me not to step to the left. I looked and there was about a 6 foot boa right there looking at me. I made my retreat.

I've been told there are two types of poison wood. White (which is probably what you & my wife had) and black which will leave a black scabs like on you. Some people are very allergic to poison wood and some are not.

Mike, If I remember right it is also relatively light in weight so it is used in applications where weight is a consideration.

blue, how did you encounter poisonwood on your first day? Did I miss that somewhere in this thread?

One great example of this concept is the red peeling bark of the Gumbo-Limbo tree. Also called the "Sunburned Tourist Tree" parts of this tree are used to effectively treat poison wood exposure, sunburn, insect bites and most any other skin related problem.
http://consejo.bz/belize/bushmedicine.html


Medicinal Plant Walks
Traditional medicine and natural healing was once widely practiced throughout the Mayan communities of Belize. Using a combination of medicinal plants and prayer, shamans and healers treated both the physical and spiritual ailments of their communities. In the 20th century, western influences began to discourage the use of traditional medicine and fewer and fewer healers were trained.
http://www.cottontreelodge.com/belize-tours/plants-wildlife/medicinal-plants.html

Interesting addition tacogirl...thanks!!

Seashell - I arrived late sunday and had been exposed to several posionwood trees when I had lunch at a resort. There are a few on the property where I'm living. I was told by a local that the resort I had lunch at has alot of posoinwood trees.

I will stew the bark so I can get a larger quantity to help deal with this horrible rash. It's still there, has a burning sensation kind of like a sunburn but worse as my eyes are swollen too I knew once the benadryl wasn't working that something different was going on. I knew if I went to see the doctor he would put me on prednisone and I stay away from that stuff.
Hoping it clears in 5 days like some of the other people have reported. Also hoping that my body has built an immunity to this because I really liked hanging out where I had lunch!!

Lisa
Nurse by profession

You will not build immunity, stay away from Chechen. If you are under it you can get exposure to it as well, really about the worst thing we have. Spanish name for Chaca is Indio Desnudo. Naked Indian. Your tourist name is only a tourist name and have never heard it before.

For anyone who hasn't heard the common 'tourist tree' name used in Belize and also in the USA for the Gumbo Limbo, here are some links. Very cool tree.

"The Gumbo-limbo is often referred to as the Tourist Tree because the tree's bark is red and peeling, like the skin of sunburnt tourists, who are a common sight in the plant's range."
Bursera simaruba - Gumbo Limbo

"The gumbo limbo tree is known as the "Tourist Tree" by the locals in Southern Belize. Can you guess why? Note the red, peeling bark. Remember that day you forgot your sunscreen?" Lubaantun Belize

"During a tour of the Monkey River, our local guide noticed my "affliction", chopped a small peice of bark from a gumbo limbo tree (the "tourist tree" -- has peeling red bark) and told me to rub some of the sap on my legs. Being the Human Guinea Pig that I am, I rubbed the sap on only ONE leg. By that evening, the welts on the treated leg had noticeably faded, while the untreated leg remained, well, pretty much the same. Has anybody else heard of this remedy?"
ambergriscaye.com

You should also drink the gumbo limbo. If its really bad, another plant called John Charles works when GL doesn't for chechem. I get is bad and poisonwood is in the same plant family as cashew, mangoes and poison ivy.

I was given the same advice but rag-girl decided against that. But she was so pleased with the results that maybe she would reconsider next time.