Hyperhidrosis and Skin Rashes

In my previous post, I mentioned sweat-friendly footwear. Sometimes, though, regardless of how sweat-friendly I try to make my wardrobe and shoes, it doesn’t protect me from getting a rash. Last week, I was in Ithaca, NY for a week for a family friend’s graduation. It was awesome, but more about the actual trip later.

On the day of the Ithaca College Class of 2012 graduation, I specifically wore a skirt because the ceremony would be outside. I had a cute pair of teal-colored ballet flats that I wore with those socks that are cut to fit that shoe style. I did okay for the first part of the ceremony, but it got too hot for me so I ended up standing in the back under a tent for the majority of the ceremony. The section where I was sitting was in the grass, and once my feet started to sweat I noticed a few pieces of grass sticking to the tops of my feet like confetti. Yes, I have a knack for attracting particles on my feet. When I wear flip flops, I always wash my feet when I get home because they absorb the color of my flip flops, plus any dirt and debris that might get stuck on my feet. My heels also get extremely dry and cracked due to the amount of moisture that gets sucked out of my feet and into the soles of the flip flops. It’s never a win-win situation.

After we left the ceremony, I put my flip flops on to attend a BBQ on Cayuga Lake. Whenever I’m near water that I haven’t been to before, I always take a picture of myself standing in it. I love water. Probably because I don’t notice whether I’m sweating in it! It all blends together so nicely. I can actually feel at home in my own skin. Water has an incredibly soothing effect on me.

Standing in Cayuga Lake in Ithaca, NY

Anyway, I had to walk barefoot along the shore, over some rocks, sand, and dirt. I didn’t have a towel with me to dry off my feet, so I waded back into the water, rinsed them off, and then stepped directly back into my flip flops and soaked them. I’m not sure if it was my feet sweating so badly earlier in the day at the graduation ceremony, the grass, the water and there being something in it, or the rocks/sand/dirt I walked on, but the next day I could barely stand myself and my feet! I had little red bumps on the tops of my feet that itched like crazy. My feet also hurt from the inflammation.

I walked down the street in Ithaca Commons to a little corner market and paid $10 (!) for a tube of hydrocortisone cream to remedy the itching until I got back home. It’s a good thing I am also a Certified Pharmacy Technician (CPhT). I have a stockpile of prescription medication on hand, and I know what types of drugs to use to treat many types of conditions. I diligently applied nystatin and triamcinolone cream – aka Mycolog II if you prefer brand name (this is a combination antifungal and steroid that reduces inflammation – to my clean feet morning and evening and wore only white cotton socks. In the mornings, I would also apply a thin layer of baby powder on top of the cream for extra dryness and protection.

Thankfully, the rash is nearly gone. I was going to take a picture of my feet when they were completely inflamed for you, but quite honestly, they looked really gross, and I prefer that you keep coming back to my blog without fear of being subjected to “shock value” imagery. 🙂 I was grossing myself out when I had to apply the cream. Here’s a picture of my rash nearly healed. It’s the darker section in the middle of my foot, just above that tiny freckle.