Random rash on my face?

[Askingmyselfwhyme]

Back in June I was diagnosed with herpes. I had a feeling I had it. All the symptoms I had matched up to what I seen on google. I was devastated but I finally started to move on. Now I’m freaking out because I got a random rash on my face but I was thinking it was just a heat rash. It was pretty itchy but it went away within a couple days. But now I’m itchy on the back of of my neck and a little down my back. So now I’m back on google freaking myself out that it might be HIV. I have no visible rash on my back or neck just itchiness from time to time. I just need to know if anyone experiences these types of symptoms too or should I be concerned???? Please somebody help. 

[LoveTheMountains]

Hi there, I wrote about this somewhere else on this forum in response to a similar question from someone dealing with rash. A few weeks or month or so after catching H I started getting random rashes pop up; first my skin would itch then bumps that would look like welts or mosquito bites would pop up. They'd usually go away a few hours and then pop up somewhere else. I was getting them on the backs of my legs, back, stomach, and neck/chin area. I was 16 at the time and this was a loooong time ago before internet so I was afraid to tell anyone I thought it was herpes. My mom did take me to the dr at one point when the rash popped up but of course it was gone when we got there. Over the years it occurred far less frequently, mostly it happened for about a month if I recall, then tapered to very rarely.  And I'm certain its related to herpes. Also it only pops up when I stressing out really badly, though even then that's rare, so its like an instant signal to calm down.  Don't get yourself worked up about HIV (get tested of course to rule it out if you haven't- you'll feel so much better!).  If you do a lot of medical reading you'll find so much overlap in symptoms of HIV and practically every other  disease. Think about it; the body reacts in a pretty typical way to foreign invaders and other sickness (allergies, HSV, HIV, flu, etc etc...) it typically reacts with inflammatory responses which include things like rashes, swollen lymph nodes, chills, etc.  My guess is in the first few months after contracting it your body is going through a host of battle responses to beat it back and build up immunity, and the rashes are likely part of that.   

I have a really bizarre "oh no I have HIV" example:  years ago I suddenly found I had brown spots on the top of my right hand between my thumb and first finger.  I started googling on medical sites; yup, I just knew it was HIV related cancer from everything I read. Then I randomly came across a forum where everyone had the same spots between thumb and index on one hand; almost all of them got it the same exact way; making margaritas beside their pool (wth ??????).  Turns out when you squeeze limes the juice tends to splatter out on to your hand between your thumb and index finger. It reacts with the sun creating temporary discoloration.  The previous day I had made fajitas for a party on my patio and was squeezing limes over the grilling meat...out in the sun.  LOL!  My point is don't panic. I truly wouldn't be surprised if your rash is herpes related.

[Askingmyselfwhyme]

On 8/9/2019 at 11:18 PM, LoveTheMountains said:

Hi there, I wrote about this somewhere else on this forum in response to a similar question from someone dealing with rash. A few weeks or month or so after catching H I started getting random rashes pop up; first my skin would itch then bumps that would look like welts or mosquito bites would pop up. They'd usually go away a few hours and then pop up somewhere else. I was getting them on the backs of my legs, back, stomach, and neck/chin area. I was 16 at the time and this was a loooong time ago before internet so I was afraid to tell anyone I thought it was herpes. My mom did take me to the dr at one point when the rash popped up but of course it was gone when we got there. Over the years it occurred far less frequently, mostly it happened for about a month if I recall, then tapered to very rarely.  And I'm certain its related to herpes. Also it only pops up when I stressing out really badly, though even then that's rare, so its like an instant signal to calm down.  Don't get yourself worked up about HIV (get tested of course to rule it out if you haven't- you'll feel so much better!).  If you do a lot of medical reading you'll find so much overlap in symptoms of HIV and practically every other  disease. Think about it; the body reacts in a pretty typical way to foreign invaders and other sickness (allergies, HSV, HIV, flu, etc etc...) it typically reacts with inflammatory responses which include things like rashes, swollen lymph nodes, chills, etc.  My guess is in the first few months after contracting it your body is going through a host of battle responses to beat it back and build up immunity, and the rashes are likely part of that.   

I have a really bizarre "oh no I have HIV" example:  years ago I suddenly found I had brown spots on the top of my right hand between my thumb and first finger.  I started googling on medical sites; yup, I just knew it was HIV related cancer from everything I read. Then I randomly came across a forum where everyone had the same spots between thumb and index on one hand; almost all of them got it the same exact way; making margaritas beside their pool (wth ??????).  Turns out when you squeeze limes the juice tends to splatter out on to your hand between your thumb and index finger. It reacts with the sun creating temporary discoloration.  The previous day I had made fajitas for a party on my patio and was squeezing limes over the grilling meat...out in the sun.  LOL!  My point is don't panic. I truly wouldn't be surprised if your rash is herpes related.

Whew! I really needed that. I was driving myself nuts. Thank you so much for responding! 

[LoveTheMountains]

Your welcome! I'm sure they'll diminish over time and as you get your stress levels down and also as your body builds immunity!