Rash on chest

6y/o male Medications: multivitamin, Singulair, Flovent, Flonase, zyrtec.
History of asthma & sleep apnea, allergies to something unknown. Pics of rash linked.
Woke him up for school and he asked for help getting dressed, stating he was itchy. I immediately noticed this rash & took him to an urgent care as the last time he had something like this it was a complication of covid (kawasaki disease) but he has no symptoms of covid.
He had a swollen watery eye on Friday, and then a mild runny nose over the weekend. I thought nothing more of it aside from seasonal allergies. On Monday he started with this rash on his forehead, and now it's all over his face, neck, back, chest, and arms. It looks like this and it feels like I'm touching a strawberry when I rub my hands over the affected areas.
He has had no new exposures to anything. Hasn't been exposed to heat. We had mangos last night, but hes had them before with no problems. He's also having nightmares, which is normal for him right before he spikes a fever.
I updated his doctor about this and she seemed floored and told us to come in first thing in the morning. She said the doctor at the urgent cares suggestion that it could be strep throat rash is wrong. They didn't say what is concerning, but they are concerned.
All allergy panels come back negative since age 2. High levels of IgE in blood tests though in 2023 at 393.
Seriously, this kid has hives or similar breakouts at least weekly since 2020. This one was just so widespread and quick and so itchy/painful for him.
Dr's appt with his pediatrician tomorrow am. Is there anything specific I should ask of her test wise?
Thanks

So, a month ago (April 5) I was diagnosed with shingles. On my right side. Chest, armpit, back of the arm and shoulder blade. It sucked, was painful, itchy, and got the anti vitals. It lasted about two weeks and then things seemed normal again. Then I got covid right after, that sucked too. Now not even two weeks after that I've broken out in a full body rash. It's literally everywhere, face, neck, arms, back, legs, the only place it doesn't seem to be is my stomach.
I went to emerge because my doctor couldn't see me in person and told me to go get checked. 3 different doctors couldn't diagnose what it was specifically. I thought maybe eczema but they didn't seem confident. I've been put on Prednisone for 3 days and Atarax for 30 days. Nothing is helping, the rash hadn't subsided at all, it's itchy, red and embarassing.
Did anyone else have some strange secondary stuff happen after the shingles ended?

So I'll try to keep this in chronological order. My birth mother was POS to the point where the judge gave my dad full custody and the option for child support (if he didn't take it, she wouldn't have rights to see me bc she wasn't supporting me) which he did indeed opt out of. (Prior to the judges decision this woman had taken baby me in the middle of the night from Anchorage AK to Savannah GA. When my dad and my uncle kidnapped me back {you know to the state I belonged in bc that's where the divorce was happening and I was an infant} he said I screamed for the first 2 hours on the road {they told my incubator's sister, so I guess my aunt, that they were just taking me to the park for a visit, and she handed me over} and when they finally stopped {bc trying to put some distance down between them than the crazy bitch that birthed me} dad said I had a diaper rash that was so bad I was bleeding in the entire diaper area. (Anyone who has kids knows it probably took much more neglect than a 2 hour car ride to get that bad.) So dad got undisputed custody of me when the judge made a decision with break neck speeds due to her actions. During her turn to try to speak for why she should have time with me, my then2 week old baby brother (we are like a year apart) began crying unconsolably out in the lobby, a different aunt poked her head in and told the incubator she need to feed the baby. (seems she was once set on breastfeeding) This bitch turned around and said that he could wait bc rn she was fighting for her daughter! The judge put the court in recess so she could feed him. He came back and had his decision made.
There was about a year more of dad and I living in AK (his family once lived out there, after my grandfather moved back to AR Dad went to work the pipeline {I was born in 87}) till the cost of childcare and the time need to take care of me and house hold chores and keep a full time job just got to be too much. At that point we moved down south in with my grandparents.
My dad's family is mostly men, I have one aunt and the rest of my grandparents children where male. So when my aunt had my cousin who was a male he was only doted on til I was born 4 yrs later. First female grandchild and boy did they make sure I knew it. Yeah I was a bit spoiled, but I was also kind and mostly respectful. My grandmother did most of my childcare and I remember in the evenings dad made sure she never had to wash the dishes, ever.
I feel icky typing this bit as I personally have a problem with age gaps, my dad and step mom are 10yrs apart. If they had met after she was 20 or so I would have no issues... But they met when she was like 16-17 and got married a month and 2 days after her 18 th birthday. I remember them discussing how they were gonna tell her father that they were already married!!
Which brings me to her family... You see her dad was abusive af, like picked her up by the ankles and shook the shit outta her bc she wanted the white shoes for school not the cheaper navy blue ones... This man thought that if one of his 14 kids pissed him off, it was totally acceptable to chuck things at them to include 15lb claw hammers. My step mom was his favorite child and she was the only one who took care of him in his later years, and yes the ankle shaking is the worst he ever go with her, but her siblings where not nearly as lucky.
She can't see that she holds a LOT of his negative qualities. When she was mad at my brothers and I as kids she would ball up her fist and hit us in the chest. There was once a time when she was so angry at me that she spanked me while in the corner... While the physical shit wasn't all that bad the psychological shit she did to me I am still working thru. Looking back now I was so far into what turns out to be a bipolar depression that I was beginning to question if I was developing a second personality. The self talks went like this " stop being so stupid, you know you can't kill yourself and you know you aren't wanted like her precious boys, but that doesn't matter. You know this is probably just how life is supposed to be, always feeling like shit and just putting on a happy face" Oh and precious boys indeed. My 3 younger brothers (that's she birthed) were allowed to have sleep overs and go out with friends. Hell they could even walk out to the car from the grocery store without an escort by the time they were 9... Meanwhile one of them was with me if ever I needed to go out. Until the day I left for the Army it was like this. (6, 10, & 19 yrs younger than me, not that I'm super fucked up about the little one, I was already grown when he came along) I on the other hand could only have friends over on Sunday, between church services, so long as the ppl coming over also attended our church. Outside of that I never left the house as teen other than school, which there was never skipping any school for me, the step mom is a school teacher. So "if I have to go to school, you have to go to school" At one point the grounding was so heavy that I was to be her "shadow" every where she went outside of school I had to be by her side. That meant I had to wait for her to use the restroom at church so I could too. She often told me that I was "too young" to even know what depression was. She is also sexist, taking out the trash is a mans job and she isn't going to do it. But she was totally fine with me doing it. She gave me my first bloody nose by backhanding me before school one morning. One of her darling boys was made to take the trash out the night before, all he did was set it on the back porch. Well they live out in the country so what are leash laws .. that's right all that trash is on the back porch by morning. I am sent to clean it up... I have already taken my morning shower and got dressed for the day.. meanwhile the brother who's fault it is doesn't have to clean it bc he's not dressed yet🙄 when I try to reason with her she backhanded me and told me to never back talk her again. (Even tho by this point my two younger brothers both openly tell her no and don't do the chores)
Flash forward some years and my son and I are on hard times so we move back in (23is at this point) she decided that even if she wasn't paying my phone bill I was not allowed to use it after 9pm, she undermined every single thing I said as a parent (at this point baby brother is an issue but more for my kid who's only 9mons younger than him) She forced me to go back to her damn church, and got in a fist fight (literally) with me when I told her I didn't believe the BS they tried to stuff in my head as a kid (still fukin hate organized religion.) The bitch caught me at a disadvantage and used my ankle length dress to shove me down. She has been my only mother figure, and she has been hell on the psyche. As for my incubator, well she is a compulsive liar and thinks she is a master manipulator. She only has a 9th grade education and uses big word out of context to make herself feel smarter. I did get back in contact with her as an adult... Worst decade of my life. And everything got soooo much better when I went NC with her. I have laid eyes on the incubator 5 whole times... She lies to my other siblings (bc ofc she went on to have more kids too) that she has met all of my 4 children. The truth is when she was telling my siblings she was with me, she was actually like 6 states away. She left my step dad high and dry, cleared the bank account (some of which was being saved to get baby sister graduation stuff and a prom dress, they live below the poverty line, so it was a very big deal) took the only working vehicle and ran off to be with an ex from before she met my dad. She had dropped baby sister off at school that day and even told her what all errands they were gonna run when incubator picked her back up, yeah she never came and my step dad works nights... My sister had to find her own way home after waiting so long pretty much everyone was gone from campus. So you can kinda see while I don't want to associate with her. My step mom thinks because she is a special ed teacher, bc she goes to church, and that it is difficult for her to lie she is better than my incubator. Truth be told, I have come to realize that yeah, step mom was a better mother, she never told any of her own kids they should have been aborted like the incubator did to baby sister, but that doesn't mean step mom was an amazing mother to me. I do not want to associate with her anymore but I know my dad isn't going to leave her (she makes his plate for him for crying out loud, who would wanna disrupt that after the age of 60) I want to expose my step mother to her whole community that she thinks she is a pillar of. I want this woman to be as distraught as the incubator was /is when/ bc I finally told her off. I strive to be a better mother to my kids. I don't want bad examples available to them if I can help it. The baby brother is 17 now and has dropped out of school and has moved out early. She acts like she doesn't know why... But it's bc step mom never stopped coddling my middle brother who is 26 and lives with my folks in a3 bedroom with his wife and kid. No plans to move out, my sil is a total cunt to baby brother and he has been a total dick to her right back... Stepmom did nothing to mitigate the situation. Ofc he moved out. All the boys have been cuddled, but the middle one the most so. I am also sure that going NC would cut me off from my nephew... (Not that he is being raised to respect anything or anybody) Should I just do it and deal with the fall out, or should I at least tell my dad all the torment she put me thru before I do it. (It will be a public shaming on her favorite media platform, fb, and then cutting off all contact forever.) TL;DR My birth mother is awful, my step mom was only slightly better which she thinks deserves an award, but in reality my childhood was a living hell. I wanna NC but I don't wanna hurt my dad.

Some people still swear up and down that ivermectin is actually effective against COVID-19. This is false. They also insist ivermectin has far fewer side-effecs than the Coronavirus vaccine. This is also false. I'm going to prove it to you, but whether you are capable of accepting evidence such as listed below is something I obviously have no control over. I can try, and you can keep an open mind.
First of all, ivermectin has many side-effects, ranging from innocuous to severe.^[1]
To wit:

General

Ivermectin is well tolerated compared to other microfilaricidal agents (i.e., thiabendazole, diethylcarbamazine). Adverse reactions (i.e., pruritus, fever, rash, myalgia, headache) occur commonly during the first 3 days after treatment and appear to be related to the extent of parasitic infection and systemic mobilization and killing of microfilariae. The majority of reactions can usually be treated with aspirin, acetaminophen and/or antihistamines. Adverse effects tend to occur with lesser frequency during periods of retreatment.

Ocular

Ocular side effects have included eyelid edema, anterior uveitis, blurred vision, conjunctivitis, limbitis, punctate opacity, keratitis, abnormal sensation in the eyes, and chorioretinitis/choroiditis; however, these effects are also associated with the disease onchocerciasis. Loss of vision has occurred rarely but usually resolved without corticosteroid treatment. Conjunctival hemorrhage has been reported during postmarketing experience in patients treated for onchocerciasis.

Other

Worsening of Mazzotti reactions, including arthralgia, synovitis, lymph node enlargement and tenderness, pruritus, skin involvement (including edema, papular and pustular or frank urticarial rash), and fever, has been reported during the first 4 days following treatment for onchocerciasis.

Nervous system

Nervous system side effects have included dizziness, headache, somnolence, vertigo, and tremor. Serious or fatal encephalopathy has been reported rarely in patients with onchocerciases, and heavily infected with Loa loa, either spontaneously or after treatment with ivermectin. Seizures have been reported during postmarketing experience.

Gastrointestinal

Gastrointestinal side effects have included anorexia, constipation, diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, and abdominal distention.

Other

Other side effects have included asthenia, fatigue, abdominal pain, chest discomfort, facial edema, and peripheral edema.

Hematologic

Hematologic side effects have included decreased leukocyte count (3%), eosinophilia (3%), and increased hemoglobin (1%). Hematomatous swellings associated with prolonged prothrombin times have been reported, but the clinical significance is unknown. Leukopenia and anemia have been reported in at least one patient.

Hepatic

Hepatic side effects have included elevated ALT and/or AST. Elevated liver enzymes, elevated bilirubin, and hepatitis have been reported during postmarketing experience.

Cardiovascular

Cardiovascular side effects have included tachycardia and orthostatic hypotension. EKG changes, including prolonged PR interval, flattened T waves and peaked T waves, have been reported in single cases. Hypotension (primarily orthostatic hypotension) has been reported during postmarketing experience.

Dermatologic

Dermatologic side effects have included pruritus, rash, and urticaria. Toxic epidermal necrolysis and Stevens-Johnson syndrome have been reported during postmarketing experience.

Respiratory

Respiratory side effects have included worsening bronchial asthma, laryngeal edema, and dyspnea.

Musculoskeletal

Musculoskeletal side effects have included myalgia.

Renal

Renal side effects have included rare transient proteinuria.
I tried to get incidence rates for these side-effects, but in some if not most instances, the answer given for these side-effects is either simply "unknown" or they're just not shown. Imagine telling this to anti-vaxers: if they have at least a consistent set of beliefs, this should deeply alarm them, shouldn't it?
Some people actually did take the horse dewormer version out of sheer desperation and got really sick, were hospitalized or worse: they died.

1. In New Mexico, two people died after taking a deworming drug for horses and other livestock to treat COVID-19.^[2]
2. The FDA received multiple reports of patients who required medical support and hospitalization after self-medicating with Ivermectin intended for horses.^[3]
3. There was a significant increase in calls to poison control centers due to misuse of Ivermectin. Texas saw a 550% spike in poison control calls due to people ingesting horse and cow dewormer.^[4]
4. People poisoned themselves with the horse-deworming version to thwart COVID-19, resulting in an uptick in calls to poison control centers.^[5]

Ivermectin was consistently found to be ineffective in treating COVID-19:

1. A systematic review and meta-analysis published in the Virology Journal evaluated the efficacy of Ivermectin for COVID-19 patients based on current peer-reviewed RCTs. The study concluded that Ivermectin did not have any significant effect on outcomes of COVID-19 patients.^[6]
2. A Cochrane meta-analysis of 11 eligible trials examining the efficacy of Ivermectin for the treatment of COVID-19 published through April 2022 concluded that Ivermectin has no beneficial effect for people with COVID-19.^[7]
3. An article published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) concluded that taking 400 mcg/kg Ivermectin for three days, when compared with a placebo, did not significantly improve the chances for a patient with mild to moderate symptoms of COVID-19 to avoid hospitalization.^[8]
4. A study published on News Medical concluded that in COVID-19 outpatients with mild or moderate illness, Ivermectin use for three days at a dose of 400 μg/kg showed no significant improvement in the time to sustained recovery compared to those who received placebos.^[9]

The unwarranted hype surrounding ivermectin can be traced back to its promotion on the Joe Rogan Experience.^[10]

Public interest in ivermectin ballooned following Joe Rogan’s podcasts. “On a national level Rogan’s podcast was a tipping point,” said Keenan Chen, an investigative researcher with First Draft News, an organization that tracks misinformation. (Rogan, who has previously expressed hesitancy to vaccines, announced in September he had contracted Covid-19. He claimed to be taking ivermectin among several other treatments.)

Joe Rogan took a cocktail of Big Pharma^tm meds which, with the exception of monoclonal antibodies, were not indicated for his situation. In fact, some of the medication he took could have made things worse.^[11] Rogan probably didn't get seriously ill because he's fit and without significant comorbidities. The one thing that would have actually been the most effective was the vaccine, which he refused to take.
Many others weren't as lucky as Joe was. I suggest you follow the footnotes and see for yourself. Especially the first one.^[12][13]
Other than ivermectin, coronavirus vaccines are also a subject both Joe Rogan and his guests have shamelessly lied about numerous times, which could have caused medical harm to people who bought into it, and probably did. The most prominent guest which comes to mind is RFK Jr.
RFK Jr.'s influence is so odious, I am comfortable saying he probably contributed to thousands of unnecessary deaths in total. One incident in which 83 people (mostly children) died is particularly disgusting:^[14]

In June 2019, Kennedy and his wife, the actress Cheryl Hines, visited Samoa, a trip Kennedy later wrote was arranged by Edwin Tamasese, a Samoan local anti-vaccine influencer.
Vaccine rates had plummeted after two children died in 2018 from a measles vaccine that a nurse had incorrectly mixed with a muscle relaxant. The government suspended the vaccine program for months. By the time Kennedy arrived, health authorities were trying to get back on track.
He was treated as a distinguished guest, traveling in a government vehicle, meeting with the prime minister and, according to Kennedy, many health officials and the health minister.
He also met with anti-vaccine activists, including Tamasese and another well-known influencer, Taylor Winterstein, who posted a photograph of herself and Kennedy on her Instagram.
“The past few days have been profoundly monumental for me, my family and for this movement to date,” she wrote, adding hashtags including #investigatebeforeyouvaccinate.
A few months later, a measles epidemic broke out in Samoa, killing 83 people, mostly infants and children in a population of about 200,000.
Public health officials said at the time that anti-vaccine misinformation had made the nation vulnerable.
The crisis of low vaccination rates and skepticism created an environment that was “ripe for the picking for someone like RFK to come in and in assist with the promotion of those views,” said Helen Petousis-Harris, a vaccinologist from New Zealand who worked on the effort to build back trust in the measles vaccine in Samoa.
Petousis-Harris recalled that local and regional anti-vaccine activists took their cues from Kennedy, whom she said “sits at the top of the food chain as a disinformation source.”
“They amplified the fear and mistrust, which resulted in the amplification of the epidemic and an increased number of children dying. Children were being brought for care too late,” she said.

The pandemic is over. Ivermectin wasn't effective. On the one hand we should move on, on the other hand, there should be some accountability for people who pushed this lie, especially those who benefited from it financially.^[10][15]
[1] Drugs.com - Ivermectin Side Effects
[2] USA Today - 'A serious issue': New Mexico health officials suspect two people dead from ivermectin poisoning
[3] Global News - FDA warns Americans to stop taking horse dewormer for COVID-19: ‘You are not a horse’ (Some anti-vaxers counter that the FDA lost a court battle about ivermectin, proving that it works - this is false)
[4] USA Today - Fact check: 590% jump in poison control calls about ivermectin seen in Texas
[5] Ars Technica - More people are poisoning themselves with horse-deworming drug to thwart COVID
[6] Virology Journal - Ivermectin under scrutiny: a systematic review and meta-analysis of efficacy and possible sources of controversies in COVID-19 patients
[7] JAMA Network - At a Higher Dose and Longer Duration, Ivermectin Still Not Effective Against COVID-19
[8] KU Medical Center - Ivermectin shown ineffective in treating COVID-19, according to multi-site study including KU Medical Center
[9] News Medical - Ivermectin is ineffective in non-severe COVID-19 patients according to new study
[10] The Guardian - Ivermectin frenzy: the advocates, anti-vaxxers and telehealth companies driving demand
[11] Doctor Mike - Here's Why Joe Rogan's COVID Treatment Is Problematic
[12] /JamiePullDatUp - "I made a terrible mistake" vs. "I'm still not a 100% sold on the inoculation" - videos of unvaccinated COVID-19 patients in the hospital
[13] /HermanCainAward
[14] AP - RFK Jr. spent years stoking fear and mistrust of vaccines. These people were hurt by his work
[15] Time - ‘What Price Was My Father’s Life Worth?’ Right-Wing Doctors Are Still Peddling Dubious COVID Drugs

Hi! ive been suffering from hirsutism since im 12. When i was 14 i got my facial and cheast hair removed and started taking birth control for the hormonal imbalance so that it doesnt grow back. in february i had pulmonary embolism and had to stop taking birth control and now many issues are back. for me the biggest problem is that the hair on my face and chest grew back. I can shave my face with barely any problems but when i shave or wax my chest i get a bad rash. Usually it wouldnt be much of a problem since i usually wear high cut shirts but i want to shave it when hooking up with someone because im very ashamed of my body hair.
sorry for the long pragraph haha but does anyone have tips on how to not get a rash?

Hi guys, after reading many posts on here and watching tons of youtube videos i started to give the carnivore diet a chance. Since a few years i Always get a rash after doing sport and it only got worse so i wanted to try out the carnivore diet to see If it helps. The first days were pretty hard but more because of low energy. After a few days it got better and right now i'm on day 8 and mentally i am feeling very good actually. But since last night i have a random pain in the middle of my chest which accurs for a quick point and goes away instantly. It's as if lightning is striking my heart. I had that pain two times in bed last night and thought it would just go. 20 minutes ago i was doing sports and suddendly it happened again very hard and i had to immediatly stop.
I'm concerned that this diet is actually very bad for my heart right now but i read so many Info that this is not actually true. I'm 28 years old and pretty fit so it's really concerning me ..
Did something like this happen to someone else before?

I've struggled with bulimia for a few years, but it started getting consistently bad last year. I've lost a lot of weight so, of course, I've noticed some of the more common side effects. Acne, hair thinning or falling out, teeth changes, etc. But I've noticed I'm getting rashes in random places. I have eczema on my knuckles, what looks like psoriasis on my eyelids and around my eyes, my neck, and chest. Some random splotches on my arms and torso.
I never really paid attention to them possibly being related to my ed, but I'm in a pretty bad relapse spell right now and every rash I have is flaring up. I've never heard someone talk about skin conditions being linked to their ed, and I can't really find a definitive answer online. It feels like doctors will chock up any problem someone has to their ed if they know they have one so I'm not certain my doctor would take me seriously about this.
Idk, it feels like my whole body is inflamed and I was wondering if anyone else has struggled with this??

i noticed as we flew through the sky, on our way to regroup with Lobelia's group, that in this dragon form drew in energy as i flew, maybe in a way to maintain the form, this was too new for me to know at this time. it didn't take long to reach the spot to regroup with Lobelia, but when we arrived, we didn't see anyone around the area. i decided to come in for a landing, since i figured we might have arrived a bit early and i didn't want to cause a panic in this form in case someone else came along. as i was landing, i suddenly felt a rumbling through the ground, questioning if this was a quake or something else. it didn't take long to get my answer since a mere moment later we saw a huge explosion off in the distance. i had an uneasy feeling about this, as i turned my head to look at Clint, Bruno, and Vince, whom all had the same feeling. with no words exchanged, i took back to the sky and headed in the direction of the explosion, hoping that this wouldn't be a repeat of my village. while we were still approaching the area, we saw a green light fired into the air roughly where we were heading. Clint yelled out to me, letting me know that was a distress flare the elf group used during their share travels following me to Dragonus. i started to pick up speed, as the group tighten their grips, to try to get to them sooner. when we arrived over head, we looked down on a field full of beasts, monsters, and demons. what once was an unknown future has finally come to a head and we had no other choice but to engage the enemies.
as we flew over the battlefield, i started to fire off different elemental dragon blasts to thin out the enemy groupings and help find where Lobelia's group was exactly located. they fired off another distress flare spell, allowing me to lock on to their location, at which time Clint's group heard me speak for the first time in this form. "do you trust me?", to which they each nodded, "then release your grip and follow me", to with they did. at this moment, i released the dragon form, sending us all into a free fall toward the ground. Vince started to cast every buff he could think of as we fell on the party, while Bruno, Clint, and i drew our weapons for battle. i focus energy into one of my hands and with a swing of my arm, i enveloped the group in wind barriers. just before we were about to make impact, i went into a drive-bomb stance, while charging as many elements as i could into my weapon. upon impact, my weapon blew apart, unleashing the elements and weapon fragments through the area, causing massive explosions, wiping out hundreds of enemies at once. Clint, Bruno, and Vince came in a mere moment later, causing shock waves around the area, sending enemies flying. i quickly pulled out two swords to duel-wield, has we started to fight our way through the hoards of enemies, making our way over to Lobelia's group. Clint's group went to fortify Lobelia's group, while i continued to thin the ranks in front of us, unleashing everything i learned during my training. Vince and a few of the elves cast various team buff abilities on me, as the others aided from behind, guessing worried that one of my new skills might catch them by accident. Lobelia took advantage of some strong winds approaching and caused the wind to form a few tornadoes on the battlefield with air magic. something inside told me what i should do, almost as if by memory, i combined together ground and fire elements and slammed the spell into the ground toward one of the tornadoes. followed by shooting off water and ice spells into another, then finishing by firing off a lightning dragon blast down the center of the field, taking out numerous enemies before hit another one of the tornadoes. the ground started to rumble as it split open and lava strayed out, heading toward the first tornadoes, opening a volcanic eruption underneath, forming a magma twister. the water and ice struck the next one, forming high speed ice tornado. the lightning hit another one, whipping it around until it became a voltaic twister. these three ripped through the battlefield, wiping out hoards of enemies by the second, until all three smashed together causing a huge explosion over the entire battlefield. we all quickly took cover, as everything came raining down, wiping everything out. as the dust started to settle, we all regrouped, everyone absolutely stunned by what just happened. when we could finally see the field again, we saw that there was still someone standing out in the middle of the battlefield. the lone survivor yelled out at us "you'll have to do better then that to kill me", just then realizing, he seemed to be a high ranked demon.
the demon stood there, staring us down, waiting for one of us to make a move. we debilitated if we should spread the group back out some, so that we wouldn't be seen as a single target for the demon. i told the group that i would go in for the attack to hold his attention and they should provide back up and support when they saw an opening. i stepped forward out of the group and started to walk toward the demon, as it started to smirk back at me. after i got enough distance between me and the group, i did a quick flap of my wings to shoot myself forward at the demon and start the battle. the demon readied for contact, as a mere moment later we made first contact of battle. in a flash the battle begin with us blasting around the battlefield, firing off attacks and spells nearly faster then the eye can see. everyone else took any small opportunity they saw to try and aid with buffs, spells, and attacks. the demon seemed annoyed by the interference to our battle and start to fire off attacks back at the others any chance he got. this battle continued as a stalemate for half a day, which the demon took any opportunity when we locked in a clash to taunt me. it would says things each time such as "this world is already going to be destroyed", "you all don't stand a chance", "you really think you can save them", and more of the like. it wouldn't be long before the demon started to put it's words into action, as a few of the elves shot off infused arrows at it when they saw an opening, just for the demon to catch them mid flight and redirect the arrows back at them, sending the arrows straight through their skulls and killing half the elves in Lobelia's group. this threw the groups into a panic, which caused them to act rashly in an attempt to take out the demon. Lobelia and Vince stayed back casting buffs and heals on the remaining people, while the remaining few elves, Clint and Bruno jumped into the battle in an attempt to end this. before i could stop them, they charged in for the attack and i needed to try my best to stop the demon from getting them as well. the battle intensified as we attacked from all sides in an attempt to overwhelm the demon and hopefully turn the fight in our favor. it seemed to be working as we seemed to be slowly damaging it, that is until i realized my attacks were the only few that actually doing damage. the demon suddenly smirked again and i quickly yelled out for them to get back, but by this point it was too late. as Clint went in for a swift strike, the demon caught his sword arm, ripping it out at the shoulder socket, and plunging his sword through his head. the few elves followed shortly after when the demon ripped one in half while skewering two more with it's tail, before smashing another's head in with a headbutt and the last one being sent flying with a kick to the chest and splattering on the ground upon impact. i had already moved in to try and stop him, but kept getting knocked back, as it's focus was on the other people here. Bruno went in for an attack as the demon was dealing with me and managed to chop off one of it's wings before it turned around and grabbed Bruno by the neck. before i could stop it, the demon plunged it's other hand straight through Bruno's armor and chest, ripping his heart out. before tossing Bruno's body aside, the demon took the sword from Bruno's hands and threw it in a spinning motion toward Vince, slicing him in two. before it could do anything to Lobelia, i fired off a full elemental dragon breath, blasting a giant hole through the demon. as i stood over the demon, readying to kill him, i asked if he had anything to say before i ended him. the ground started to rumble and quack as he said to us, "you fools, it's already too late, i was but a distraction. your world falls now!". i chopped off it's head as we hear explosions in the distance and the ground starts in split open and crumble. after all that had happened, everything we went through, and losing all but me and Lobelia, was this truly the end for us?

and had a horrible regression in symptoms? I already take a bunch of stuff for mito/EBV etc. related stuff. Thought I'd be fine with the schisandra/knotweed/arginine combo without skullcap. Anyway, my head feels like it's in a press, my joints ache again, soles of my feet feel like they're on fire and this irritating thumping tingling sensation, a chest rash, the pressure on the back of my skull is back as well. As well as feeling extremely irritated on the constant. I felt almost normal with my herb combo for a while and now I feel like my brain has been fried again. Its frustrating to operate from a possibility standpoint without clear answers. I ordered more skullcap with cats claw as well, hoping it'll fix the situation but for now I feel like I'm just holding on (again) and waiting for my order to arrive. Is there anything else I should consider? Houttuynia I've seen people talk about a lot, but I'm not sure how to proceed :).

So I am a type 1 diabetic recently diagnosed Celiac. About 6 months ago I discovered a few lumps in my neck which I thought were swollen tonsils or swollen lymph nodes. I gave them some time to come down but in the mean while I have experiencing drenching nightsweats, muscle/bone pain, intense fatigue like i am iron deficient (as I have been before) but my iron levels are perfect, hair loss, itchy head, and a rash that appears randomly on my chest and neck. i had had my neck ultrasound which doctors have said was fine. I have also recently had a CT scan of my chest as I was in hospital for chest pains (outcome was inflammation around the heart), which had been clear. I have had countless bloods done for autoimmune disorders and infections which doctors have said all normal. These symptoms are still occurring every day and night for the past 4-6 months and i feel like i still have swollen lymph nodes in my neck. I have had a look at my results and have taken note of the numbers out of range if anyone can understand this.
Leucocytes tested in urine: 41 H (reference interval is <10) Urate: 0.13 L Ferritin: 201 H (reference interval 15-200) MCV: 79L (reference interval 80-100) CRP: 9.4 H (reference interval 0.0-5.0)
Would anyone possibly know what might going on and what I should get tested for?

Last week in a post-deleted by the OP, there was discussion about how there is no point in stockpiling antibiotics and any attemps for lay people to practice any form of health care in a widespread grid down disaster was a waste of time
Myself and some colleagues wrote: Survival and Austere Medicine
Edit. New link. in a post below.
We are slowing working on a 4th edition with some new material and minor corrections - but it is taking longer than we thought!
But I thought given the above post, I would take the opportunity to post the introduction - which address the "why bother" question for a major long-term grid down situation. Apologies for the formatting and length
"There is a sense, when considering the issues around survival medicine practice, that everything is overwhelming, that it is impossible for lay people to provide a high level of medical care and maintain a high level of population health.
We don’t think this is the case at all. We believe that intelligent lay people with some basic medical knowledge, skills, and equipment can deliver high quality health care. While it is obviously impossible for lay people to safely and competently deal with every medical problem, and there remain many complicated diagnoses requiring equally complicated or technologically advanced treatments, for 80- 90% of the health problems afflicting humanity, simple things done well are all that is required to preserve life and limb and help alleviate suffering.
Consider the following:
1. Remote Medicine Practice:
Below are the results of one of our author’s experience in the provision of health care in various remote and austere locations (some third world, some first world) to nearly four thousand people over a cumulative 30-month period (spread over 18 years) – with more data there are few minor changes from the 2005 2nd edition, but the list is essentially the same – which is interesting. The record keeping was a bit unreliable at times, but the following summary is reasonably accurate.
Top 20 presentations (representing > 95% of consultations):
1. Minor musculoskeletal injuries - ankle sprains most common, included many minor fractures which didn’t require more than diagnosis and simple care
2. Upper respiratory tract infections
3. Allergic reactions/Hay feveAnaphylactic reactions/Rashes
4. Minor open wounds – included a mix of lacerations needing closure, many needing
cleaning and advice only, and some infected wounds
5. Gastroenteritis/Vomiting/Diarrhoea
6. Mental health problems
7. Sexual health/Contraceptive problems
8. Skin infections/Cellulitis
9. Dental problems
10. Abdominal pain - 4 confirmed acute appendix (2 treated with IV antibiotics and
subsequent delayed appendix removal / 2 required evacuation) + 1 gangrenous gall bladder. Many were "no cause found". Of the remainder with a clear diagnosis the most common were renal or biliary colic)
11. Fever /Viral illness
12. Chest infections
13. Major musculoskeletal injuries (fractures/dislocations)
14. Asthma
15. Ear infections
16. Urinary tract infections
17. Burns – mostly partial thickness within the realms of management in the environment the
patient was in. Several required evacuations. Several required rehabilitation due to location and sub-optimal initial treatment.
18. Chest pain
19. Syncope/Collapse/Faints
20. Early pregnancy problems
Major trauma was uncommon but was seen including several fractured femurs and a dozen cases of multi-system severe trauma resulting in a mix of in-country surgery and evacuations
Top 12 prescribed drugs (representing >90% of medications prescribed):
1. Paracetamol (Acetaminophen)
2. Loratadine (and other assorted antihistamines)
3. Diclofenac (and other assorted antiinflammatories)
4. Combined oral contraceptive
5. Flucloxacillin
6. Throat lozenges
7. Augmentin (Amoxycillin + clavulanic acid)
8. Loperamide
9. Nystatin (and other antifungals)
10. Hydrocortisonecream
11. Ventolininhalers(Salbutamol/Albuterol)
12. Morphine
What is of note here is that the clear majority of problems dealt with are simple and straight forward – there is still potential for serious consequences but there is scope for a well-informed lay person with a basic knowledge and access to a reasonable collection of reference books to provide reasonable care. Equally the vast majority of medication prescribed are from a very narrow well defined list – despite the fact 1000’s of drugs are on the market – the list of core lifesaving or comfort preserving ones is relatively brief.
2. Why children die
The World Health Organization (WHO) has identified the following conditions as having contributed to >75% of worldwide deaths in the under 5-year age group (in no particular order):
Pneumonia Pneumonia is an infection of lungs. Prevention of this condition is somewhat limited – although good nutrition, clean and warm housing, and a reduction in the exposure to respiratory irritants (smoke) all can help. However, the most common bacteria which cause pneumonia are frequently sensitive to penicillin – which is discussed later in the book and can be produced in a low-tech environment.
Diarrhea Death from diarrhea (dehydration) is almost 100% preventable with appropriate use of oral rehydration therapy. Dirty water or poor food handling causes much diarrhea – this can be virtually eliminated by proper hygiene practices and care with drinking water.


Pre-term delivery While we are limited in the direct interventions available in an austere environment to mitigate this problem contributing factors to early labor are young age, malnutrition, smoking, poor maternal health, so there is scope for indirect intervention based on optimizing mum’s health and environment. For babies who are born prematurely the necessities of life are warmth and breast milk. With attention to detail for both things, it is possible for infants as young as 33-34 weeks to survive without high-tech intervention.
Malaria. Prevention is better than a cure, knowledge about clearing stagnant water, mosquito nets and long sleeved clothes can significantly reduce the risk. Equally quinine is derived from the bark of the Chincona tree and the Chinese have been using the herb, Artemisinin, effectively for the treatment of Malaria for years. So, while not as easy to treat or prevent as diarrhea, there is still scope for significant reduction in death rates in low-tech ways.
Blood infection Blood infection or septicemia is rapidly fatal. The ability to intervene depends on the cause of the infection and antibiotics available. Broadly, infections causing septicemia can originate from the skin, the lungs, the kidneys or bladder, and the abdominal contents. While specific treatments for these may be lacking in an austere environment – all have prevention strategies and basic low-tech treatments that can be lifesaving when applied appropriately.
Lack of oxygen at birth Of these problems, this is the one with probably the least scope for impact. Unfortunately, even if foetal distress is detected during labor (with heart beat monitoring or signs of distress like meconium), without the ability to deliver the baby quickly options are limited. That said, a caesarian section is not a massively complicated operation (and discussed in Chapter 10), and in parts of the third world is performed by trained lay people with safety and success.
Measles Again, there is limited scope to intervene directly with the disease. Measles is always around and while vaccination reduced the incidence of epidemics, sporadic cases still occur. In the absence of vaccinations epidemics of measles every few years will be inevitable. There is however some scope to minimize the spread during an epidemic with isolation and respiratory precautions during outbreaks. While some of the serious neurological complications are unavoidable in a
Prevention is better than a cure, knowledge about clearing stagnant water, mosquito nets and long sleeved clothes can significantly reduce the risk. Equally quinine is derived from the bark of the Chincona tree and the Chinese have been using the herb, Artemisinin, effectively for the treatment of Malaria for years. So, while not as easy to treat or prevent as diarrhea, there is still scope for significant reduction in death rates in low-tech ways. small number of patients, basic care such as maintaining hydration can also prevent complications such as dehydration.
Neonatal tetanus The prevention of neonatal tetanus is easy. You don’t let the site where the umbilical cord attaches to the baby get dirty. It is as simple as that.
HIV/AIDS Prevention of maternal infection is the key to prevention of infection of newborns. The steps required to prevent exposure to the HIV virus are widely known: abstinence (not undertaking sexual activity), monogamy (maintaining a single sex partner rather than multiple) and if neither is a palatable option, then safe sexual practices.
Most the conditions above have an element of either preventability or the ability to be treated to some degree in an austere environment and significant improvements in mortality and morbidity can be made.

3. The greatest advances in medicine
Several years ago the British Medical Journal ran a poll trying to identify top medical advances of the last 200 years. The following is the top 12 from that poll:
Sanitation 1st Antibiotics 2nd Anaesthesia 3rd Vaccines 4th DNA 5th Germ theory 6th = The oral contraceptive 6^th = Evidence based medicine 8th Imaging 9th Computers 10th Oral rehydration therapy 11th Smoking cessation 12th =
Just as with our discussion above about the causes of childhood deaths, this list is introduced to show just how much impact a very basic health care knowledge can have in terms of optimising health in a post-disaster or austere situation.
Of the biggest advances of medicine in the last 200 years, between 7 to 9 (depending on your knowledge and available resources) of the 12 can be applied to care in a austere situation. In particular, the knowledge of sanitation, germ theory, oral rehydration therapy, and simple manufactured antibiotics and anaesthetic agents all have the potential to be able to be continued to be applied in a post-disaster situation and to continue to contribute to a high quality of low-tech health care. In the same way that we can substantially reduce childhood death rates in a low tech post-disaster situation, we can still continue to have access to some of the biggest advances in medicine even at the end of the world.
4. Surgery in the third world
A non-specialist surgeon working at a isolated bush hospital in Papua New Guinea published his experience of Emergency Surgery over a 14 month period (similar articles have been published with similar data):
Emergency Surgery 243
Tendon repair 33 Open orthopaedics 32 Dilation and curettage 31 General surgery 29 Incision and drainage 26 Laceration repair 26 Obstetrics 23 Manipulation under anaesthesia 15 Urology 15 Gynaecology 9 Ear, nose and throat 2
Emergency anaesthesia 243
Ketamine – spontaneous breathing 166 Local anaesthesia 33 Ketamine – ventilated 16 Spinal anaesthesia 12 Propofol / thiopentone 10 Epidural 5 Epidural / GA 1
The point of this reference is to help illustrate what someone can achieve in primitive conditions with no formal surgical training and no dedicated anaesthetist. We are not suggesting that the average layperson can safely practice to this extent or breadth of surgery, but it does demonstrate that a non-surgeon can achieve much. It also shows that most anaesthetics for surgery in an austere situation can be done under local or ketamine anaesthetics.
Why this is relevant?
Each of these four references gives you insights, one way or another, into low-tech austere health care. First, it gives you an insight into the likely clinical problems that you may see in a survival situation, and how much can be dealt with in that sort of austere environment. Second, it demonstrates how medically speaking it is the small things and simple knowledge which save lives and some of the biggest killers can be mitigated with these relatively low level interventions or strategies.
In our opening summary – “Medicine at that end of the world”, we describe a pretty bleak medical reality post-SHTF. Will million’s really die from lack of access to modern heath care as we have alleged?
The short answer is yes – many will die much sooner than they otherwise would have, from disease and injury, which currently are not immediately fatal. But the answer is not nearly that simple nor bleak. The reality is that while cancer, diabetes, malnutrition or serious injury may claim many of its victim’s sooner than with today’s health care, most health problems can be treated or mitigated to a degree in a low- tech environment, with a narrow range of medications and interventions – including some cancers, non- insulin requiring diabetes and many major traumatic injuries.
Most medical problems are relatively mundane and not life threatening. Truly catastrophic problems in medicine are fortunately rare. You should focus on learning and preparing to deal with the common problems, and doing common procedures well, and you will save lives, and possibly also improve the quality of those lives.
There will be a significant change to health care but with knowledge and some preparation it isn’t quite as dire as many (including our own opening paragraph) predict. "

Hi everyone! I recently had to wear the BodyGuardian Mini. The cardiologist wanted me to wear it for 28 days, but my skin was terribly itchy and burning with it. We removed it after wearing it for a week due to the reaction and plan to try it again in a month. It’s officially been over a week since I’ve taken it off, but my skin still has an irritated imprint of the monitor. My wedding day is coming up and I’m scared that I’ll have this heart monitor shaped rash on my chest the day of. Has anyone else had this experience with the monitor? How long did it take for the imprint to go away?

Around 2 weeks ago, My mother and my sister got their first bite. They don't share beds or clothes at all. It was a single bite. Every night from that day, my mother would get bites. However the bites first appeared on her back, chest, neck (My mother does not sleep naked). Those bites would either appears as a single bites or 3 bites in a triangle or a line. Most of the bites turned into huge rashes. Sometimes they look like bruises. Bites on her arms and legs did show up but were are always single bites and they faded away. My sister on the other hand gets bitten every 2 to 3 days. She gets single bites on her arm but has 3 bites on her neck and a single bite behind her thigh. I was safe because I don't go anywhere near them but I recently got bitten 3 days ago and it was single bite on my shoulder. 2 days later, I find two bites near my arm pit ( I sleep almost naked and I don't know why I didn't get bitten on my chest or back). My sister and I don't itch at all. I decided to check everyone's bed and all I found was some ants but I don't know if Ants would bite like this.
Forgot to Mention: Bites on Arms or Legs are always single bites. Bites anywhere else are always in 2s or 3s.
Does this sound like bed begs to you?

I am a male
34 years old
Hey so I have had some serious skin problem for just over two months now and I was wondering if I could get some advice. It started just as dry itchy skin around my neck and some spots on my arm , I went to the doctor who said eczema and hoped that would be it . But it's just got worse and worse . I have badly dry skin on my neck and forehead, I have spots appearing all over my legs, and also on the back of my neck and lumps on the back of my head . I also have some cuts that just appeared on the back of my neck. I have a skin rash on my neck , chest shoulder back and stomach that is red and patchy and this burns and itches like crazy . I've been to the doctors multiple times but none have looked into it or listened much . I am an expat living in Hong-Kong so maybe the language barrier is preventing them looking into it more but they just keep saying allergy. I have changed everything in the last two months but it hasn't seemed to effected it , it has just got slowly worse and worse and the burning and itching is unbearable now so I was wondering if anyone here might have any advice?

Just had a dental cleaning today. All is good but I was very stressed during the cleaning. Just got home and my throat hurts so bad and I am getting a rash on my chest and throat. Could it be something they used? Any suggestions? I already take all the mast stabilizers and antihistamines I can.

23F I noticed 4 days ago that I developed a rash on the back of my left hand. It has spread up my arms to my chest and is tender and somewhat itchy. I originally thought it was from a mosquito bite, because I have one bite on that left hand, and one bite on my chest that has almost turned into a blister. I went to an urgent care and the doc there didn’t seemed alarmed at all and just told me to take Allegra, which I have been since I noticed the rash 4 days ago. I’ve tried Allegra and Benadryl daily, but It has only seemed to have gotten worse. I asked if blood work should be done and he claimed there was no need. I’m not allergic to any medication or anything that I know of.
Any idea what my next steps should be or what may have cause it? I haven’t touched or ate anything I don’t normally. The only other symptoms I have is a sore throat which started yesterday, and diarrhea. Just wondering how long is too long to have a rash that seemingly came out of nowhere. TYIA

18 y/o male, having red rashes randomly appear around my body, not really itchy but some are starting to peel. Did some "research" on Google and said could be HIV, but I'm a virgin so I'm not sure (missed health class in high school when COVID happened please bare with me)and am shipping to the military soon trying to find out what this is before I go, I was kicked out of my house for enlisting and let go from a job recently so I cannot go to the doctor. I have been usig hydrocortisone and I think it's working? Spots have appeared over stomach, upper chest, upper thighs and sides of both biceps

Hello, I need some guidance on our rescue's story. We recently took in a rescue cat from a friend. His name is Mr Popo. A friend caught him and didn't have any more space to take in another so she asked us to help. He was living outside on his own for a very long time. He was in pretty bad shape. Our friend had a vet check him up and from what we were told the only thing he ended up having was a case of Mange/Scabies, also some bad teeth. They said he was healthy and about 7yrs old. They gave him medication for the Mange and also neutered him. That's when we took him in. He did look a bit rough with scratches and rashes but seemed healthy, and still had his fur. We started feeding lil man 4 times a day and we gave him a cone to wear so that he could heal from the neuter process. Everything was going good, Baby was eating very well, he couldn't wait for feeding times. The only odd thing was he really wasn't using the litter box, specifically peeing. We attested it to him wearing the heavy cone and the litter box being too high to step into since he really was a smaller boy. After about 12 days he seemed to finally be healed from the neuter and we finally gave the baby a much needed bath. Poor baby was filthy. We also bought him a new litter box that had a lower opening so that he could walk directly into it. Another week went by and we found that he was starting to lose alot of hair. It was a bit strange he now had way less hair than when we first got him. His energy levels were still great and he was still eating very well tho, always licking his bowl clean. Popo was pooing in the litter box now but we noticed that he was still peeing on his bed or towel, and sometimes sleeping next to it which was odd. We started letting him sleep with us and he loved to cuddle with us. He would sleep on our chest or right next to us and seemed to be super affectionate. Days later I was with him and saw him get into the litter box to poo but noticed he was taking a very long time, he got out and there was nothing in the box. I inspected and I noticed he still had the poo coming out, still in the process of pooing hanging out of his lil butt. He finally tried again after a minute and he finally pushed it out. Seemed to be very dry. We thought maybe he was just a bit constipated. Shortly after that my girlfriend and I started to get rashes of our own, to which we deducted was ringworm, So lil man also had ringworm on top of the mange. At this point Mr. Popo was pretty bald now. He had lost a ton of hair. Poor guy seemed to be cold due to the hair loss. It was very much on my mind.The next day we went out to buy ringworm shampoo and gloves to hold him, That was when we came home and found him curled up in a tiny ball. When I walk thru the door he usually pops up and meows at me for food. This time he didn't really move. I put his food in his bowl and he finally moved slowly towards it.. He took a bite and then he fell over. I became very alarmed. I stood him up and made him walk towards me. He took a step and then again fell over. He couldn't stay up. I called my gf in and we both got him ready to go to an emergency hospital. During the short drive he was very lethargic and unresponsive. He was also cold to the touch. I kept having to physically move his head just to get him to keep his head up because I wanted to make sure he was still moving and alive. Once we got to the vet she told us that he didn't look good. Told us she thinks he was in the process of dying. That she didn't know how many days he had left or if he'd make thru the night. I couldn't believe it, how could this be true. In my head I was thinking that he was eating everyday just fine, and he had energy, he would physically climb me to be on my shoulders. I wanted to get more tests run to see what he had. She told us that he seemed to be really old. Maybe about 14 she said. We were in shock because we were told he was 7yrs old. At this point lil man was just laying on the examination table, Head plopped down on the cold table. He didn't look good. The Vet said he was all skin and bones but we only had him for about 3 weeks. I feel he needs more time to gain weight. She then brought up the quality of life talk. I wanted to give him fluids because maybe he was just dehydrated. Also since we had no confirmation of any serious disease. I wanted to run tests. My gf was in favor of letting him cross the rainbow bridge. After a very tough debate we decided to let him pass. But now I'm devastated and wondering whether we made the right choice. Could we have gotten a 2nd opinion. I really felt that maybe just an IV of fluids could've helped. It is true that he didn't look good at all in that moment while at the hospital, but every day beforehand he was eating all his food and would be active. Meowing at us to carry him. I just don't know and I feel horrible. I'm sorry for the lengthy read. I need some advice or wisdom if anyone has any to give. Thanks for reading.

EBF baby is now 5 months old and his poops have mucous and blood in them again for the past week. I cut out dairy and soy since he was 2 months old and saw improvement, but still sometimes mucous in poop and occasionally very small flecks of blood.
I have eliminated eggs for almost a week at the dr’s recommendation, so far his poops seem worse rather than better. This morning his poop was as bad as before i eliminated dairy and soy. He has also started getting a rash on his chest that he has started itching so much that he broke skin.
I am lucky because he is growing well and aside from occasional uncomfortable poop he seems pretty happy. I just feel so frustrated that I can’t figure out what is causing this sooner and make my poor sweetie feel better.
I recognize there isn’t really much I can do now other than wait, i just wanted to express how i am feeling to others who understand what i am going through.
Great job to all the moms out there trying their best. You are doing everything you can, hang in there. I have it so easy in comparison to a lot of you but even this feels so hard!