What disease/condition could I have gotten while traveling in Italy?

Question

Oh, telling me to move to another country does not answer my question. (I mean, really, I had no idea that certain other countries have such good health care!)

Answer 1

Unfortunately, diagnosing a rash with out seeing it is virtually impossible (which is why I wouldn't recommend going to a doc now either).  But it sounds a bit like urticaria (which is an allergic reaction, you are correct--you could google that & see if it looks like what you  had).  The fact it got better & went away is basically what we aim for anyway, even we don't always know the exact cause of all rashes. And an allergic reaction could be just to about anything--detergent, fabric softener, perfume, tomatos, strawberries, carpet cleaner--you name it.  You probably came into contact with a lot of stuff before you broke out.

As for the scarf--can it be washed several times?  It may have a dye in it that is irritating or something.  Take Benadry (50 mg) every 6 hours until rash is gone or it gets worse.  This will make you sleepy; so zyrtec will work while awake. A hydrocortisone cream will help as well but you really need the oral pills.  Good luck!!!

Answer 2

move to canada where there's fantastic health care.