rash-coumadin?

[witzkeyman]

my cardio swears it's only a rash and not hives. the dermatologist told me it is caused by something on the outside of my body that I'm allergic to and gave me cream that doesn't work (the second one she prescribed). I have never had a rash my entire life, and now I have it behind my armpits, behind my knees, upper thighs, etc. The only thing that has changed is that I am now taking COumadin. It's driving me crazy. I've used Grandpa's Pine Tar soap etc. any suggestions? it's getting pretty bad.

 

[rwsp768]

Rash-Coumadin

Rash-Coumadin

Funny that you brought this up as I was just going to ask if anyone besides me is taking PepcidAC with their Coumadin. I too have been having trouble with rashes for sometime now. One of the side effects of PepcidAC is rash or hives. The only thing I have found that works is maximum strength Lanacane. Have tired everything from doctors prescription to oatmeal soap and Aveeno. Hope we can get some good answers here, as it is driving me nuts with the itching. I have been on Coumadin and PepcidAC for 2 and half years.

 

[lance]

This might help

This might help

Hello Wizkeyman,

I've dealt with an itchy rash all my life--eczema. These are some of things I avoid. In case your dermatologist didn't mention--do not use any product with fragrance. It's a good place to start.

I do not use anything with a fragrance that contacts my skin including dryer sheets, detergent, hand soap, deodorant, sunscreen. You get the idea. It's a hit and miss situation finding what your skin will tolerate. Make sure detergent/soap is thoroughly rinsed--my machine has a double rinse cycle--from clothing, bedding, towels, face cloths. It takes a bit of detective work to sort things out. Cortisone containing ointment is a great help, I've been using it for 30 years. Some antihistamines have helped over the years too.

Have you changed any products recently?

I have read that warfarin can cause an itchy rash. Hopefully that's not the cause of yours.

Believe me I understand what you are experiencing. Been there, done that. Hopefully the above will halp somewhat.

 

[Ross]

I have to ask. Why is it that everytime you develop something new, you suspect it to be the Coumadin? I highly doubt this is the case. Just wondering.

 

[Susan BAV]

You said it's driving you crazy--I guess it is itching you?

Years ago my husband, who is not an OHS patient, developed something that looked kind of like a rash that turned out to be some kind of internal fungus evidently caused from taking too many antibiotics following pneumonia and months of recurring bronchitis--but it didn't itch.

You haven't gotten into any poison ivy or anything, have you? Could it be a heat rash? Did you change your laundry soap? Trying giving your clothes an extra rinse cycle in the washing machine also and you could try a soap with a lower phospheric (sp?) amount.

 

[ALCapshaw2]

Funny that you brought this up as I was just going to ask if anyone besides me is taking PepcidAC with their Coumadin. I too have been having trouble with rashes for sometime now. One of the side effects of PepcidAC is rash or hives. The only thing I have found that works is maximum strength Lanacane. Have tired everything from doctors prescription to oatmeal soap and Aveeno. Hope we can get some good answers here, as it is driving me nuts with the itching. I have been on Coumadin and PepcidAC for 2 and half years.

What does your Doctor (PCP? GastroEnterologist?) say about your rashes and Pepcid AC?

Maybe it's time to switch to another type of control such as Prilosec (which now has a Generic equivalent) or Nexium ($$$)

'AL Capshaw'

 

[ALCapshaw2]

my cardio swears it's only a rash and not hives. the dermatologist told me it is caused by something on the outside of my body that I'm allergic to and gave me cream that doesn't work (the second one she prescribed). I have never had a rash my entire life, and now I have it behind my armpits, behind my knees, upper thighs, etc. The only thing that has changed is that I am now taking COumadin. It's driving me crazy. I've used Grandpa's Pine Tar soap etc. any suggestions? it's getting pretty bad.

What kind of Laundry Detergent do you use?

TIDE is known to be a skin irritant for some people.

 

[Nancy]

From your description, your rash is the worst where there are contact areas with clothing, underarms, behind the knees, upper thighs.

That makes it sound like a contact rash from something in your clothing, like a new detergent or new fabric softener. Or that you have developed a sensitivity to something you have been using for a while.

Why not first try washing with more water and a smaller load to get more even distribution of detergent and use a second rinsing cycle for your clothing, and switch fabric softeners, maybe going from dryer sheets to a liquid softener?

 

[Karlynn]

From your description, your rash is the worst where there are contact areas with clothing, underarms, behind the knees, upper thighs.

That makes it sound like a contact rash from something in your clothing, like a new detergent or new fabric softener. Or that you have developed a sensitivity to something you have been using for a while.

Why not first try washing with more water and a smaller load to get more even distribution of detergent and use a second rinsing cycle for your clothing, and switch fabric softeners, maybe going from dryer sheets to a liquid softener?

This was exactly what I thought. Contact dermatitis.

Rash caused by warfarin is very rare. I'd exhaust all other possibilities before assigning it to warfarin. It is a serious drug, but one that has few side affects.

 

[Lisa in Katy]

I agree with Nancy. It sounds like a contact rash because of where it's located.

However, someone else posted about her husband having a rash caused by use of antibiotics. That sounds like what I had earlier in my life. As a RF patient, I was put on preventive antibiotics. They were all penicillin based, but over time, as I would develop "immunity" to the current antibiotic and get strep, they would change it to stronger and stronger antibiotics. Eventually, I started getting yeast infections, not only in the obvious area, but also in my skin, which would show up as breakouts or rashes. They would treat the yeast infections with all the common methods and get it back in control. Finally, it was decided that RF patients didn't have to be on antibiotics anymore and the problem never reappeared. A combination of stress and antibiotics can cause things to get screwed up and this might be the cause of your rash.

However, I still agree with Nancy that it sounds more like a contact rash from clothing.

 

[cpt278]

Rash from warfarin

Rash from warfarin

Had AVR 2 1/2 years ago.
Began anticoag with warafin.
About 10 days later developed rash & hives
Not knowing any better my wife said dont worry doc will give you something else.
Little did we know the only somthing else is needles.
Dr switched me to coumadin
No problem since.
I would like to try warfarin again but I am worried that it might trigger something causing coumadin to give me a reaction

 

[Ross]

Had AVR 2 1/2 years ago.
Began anticoag with warafin.
About 10 days later developed rash & hives
Not knowing any better my wife said dont worry doc will give you something else.
Little did we know the only somthing else is needles.
Dr switched me to coumadin
No problem since.
I would like to try warfarin again but I am worried that it might trigger something causing coumadin to give me a reaction

See if you can do Jantoven. It may or may not be cheaper then Coumadin.

http://www.jantoven.com/home.html

 

[catwoman]

My dad has gone through this recently. He blames it on washing machine detergent (powder, with scent). He's started washing his clothes separately from my mom's and other household laundry and using an unscented detergent.
He's not on warfarin.

 

[Karlynn]

Had AVR 2 1/2 years ago.
Began anticoag with warafin.
About 10 days later developed rash & hives
Not knowing any better my wife said dont worry doc will give you something else.
Little did we know the only somthing else is needles.
Dr switched me to coumadin
No problem since.
I would like to try warfarin again but I am worried that it might trigger something causing coumadin to give me a reaction

Sounds like you may also have had a sensitivity to the dye color for a particular mg. size.

 

[Philip B]

Rash

Rash

I've never heard of a rash related to coumadin. I've had a couple of rash problems since my surgery. The first was related to my blood pressure medicine. My allergy to the meds was immediately observable; head to toe rash within an hour or so.

The second went beyond a rash as I developed shingles. This outbreak was related to a bunch of stress issues.

If memory serves me correctly, you've been on coumadin for a while. Is this the first rash problem you've had? If it is, chances are pretty good that coumadin is not the problem. I could see suspecting coumadin if the rash problem started when you began taking coumadin.

-Philip

 

[halleyg]

I have to ask. Why is it that everytime you develop something new, you suspect it to be the Coumadin? I highly doubt this is the case. Just wondering.

Why not suspect any recent changes? Seems natural to me. Different people have different responses to things. Could be, could not be.

It does sound like it could be a skin allergy, though, my daughter gets eczema behind her knees and inner elbows when the seasons change. We use a prescription cortizone cream for it, moisturize every night, and I've changed to no-dye laundry detergent.

 

[witzkeyman]

I have to ask. Why is it that everytime you develop something new, you suspect it to be the Coumadin? I highly doubt this is the case. Just wondering.

Ross, I have never had one rash during my entire life. I was thinking that it might have been the blood transfusion. I don't really know, but the only thing that has change is I am now taking Coumadin.

 

[witzkeyman]

What kind of Laundry Detergent do you use?

TIDE is known to be a skin irritant for some people.

it's Arm and Hammer FREE. FREE meaning free of perfumes.

 

[Guest]

Those are unusual place for a drug-caused rash to appear. They are almost always on the chest-stomach area.

 

[witzkeyman]

From your description, your rash is the worst where there are contact areas with clothing, underarms, behind the knees, upper thighs.

That makes it sound like a contact rash from something in your clothing, like a new detergent or new fabric softener. Or that you have developed a sensitivity to something you have been using for a while.

Why not first try washing with more water and a smaller load to get more even distribution of detergent and use a second rinsing cycle for your clothing, and switch fabric softeners, maybe going from dryer sheets to a liquid softener?

good idea. the rash is in places where one sweats.