Feeling miserable!

Hello ~ ive been a lurker for the past couple of days but I thought i might as well join and share my story with you all and also get some advice/comfort.

Here goes:

In the beginning of October, I got a little red raised bump close to my underarm. It was itchy but i didnt think much of it since bug bites were pretty hard to avoid as I like to take my dog out into the backyard every morning. That same week, I developed a persistent dry cough (which lasted a little less than two weeks). Eventually, the mark grew and became more oval with a very noticeable ring. It got super itchy and raised. I thought it was ringworm so I started applying Lotrimin to it daily. A week later, it dried up and got flaky.

I then noticed some more itchy bumps on my neck and on my underarms. Two weeks into October, I started getting extremely itchy all over and noticed that hives appeared on places I scratched. Just in one night, I developed itchy rashes ALL OVER my body. My face got super bumpy and swollen (but no rash) as well as my neck.

Freaked out, I visited the urgent care center. They assumed poison ivy or maybe some other form of contact dermatitis and gave me some antihistamines and prednisone. After two days of trying everything including switching antihistamines, I was still covered in hives/rashes and was unable to sleep at night due to the itchiness. It got worse so I returned. They gave me a steroid injection saying it would help with symptoms. It did not.

After one week of misery, I decided to visit my PCP for a different opinion. He too assumed it was an allergic reaction to something like poison ivy and prescribe even more antihistamines. those did not help either. At this point, I was stressed and depressed.

After two weeks of severe hives/rashes, my family members got worried and suggested that I went to the ER so that at least they could at least refer me to an allergist or something. I decided to give it one last shot and consulted another doctor (this time online). After looking at pictures and asking me questions, he said there was a good chance I had PR. That day, I looked up pretty much every single scientific journal I could find that talked about PR and everything made sense.

It's now been about two weeks since the full body rashes appeared.

I will include some photos.

The skin on my neck, chest, underarms and shoulder blades are now super leathery, dry, and flaky. Despite moisturizing my body with Aquaphor Ointment every few hours, it's still flaky!!! I am afraid I'll have scars from all the scratching. It's truly unbearable and I wouldnt wish this on anybody including my worst enemy.

So tell me, what's the healing stage like for you guys? How many weeks/months did this whole thing last for you and is flaky skin a sign of healing?

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