Anyone else get the "Disney Rash" on their legs?

[huffjoann]

I was the receipient of this rash 2 weeks ago when there,, it appeared on day 2 at which point I had not been in the pool,, my DH is in sports medicine so he immediately knew it was a heat rash and pretty much nothing I could do about it except elevate my legs at night and try to keep out of the sun but yeah right,,, mine was a bit itchy at times. It appears over the socks for 2 reasons,, one the exposure to the sun,, then the other the socks somewhat restrict things with the bands,, kinda like when pregnant and I took off socks to find the dreaded swelling line, LOL.
Anywho the rash cleared up about 2 days after returning home.

 

[famsen]

Just to give anyone a heads up on red, bumpy, itchy body rashes:
I had a rash that just appeared all over my body about three years ago. It was terribly itchy and I looked disfigured, like I had a leprosy or something. It went on for about a month. It was especially bad on my shins and back. I went to a dermatologist, general practitioner and allergist. I was told I had everything for psoriasis to allergies, to stress . I became depressed and miserable because no one could help me and nothing I was prescribed helped. I had to cover myself in Calamine lotion every day just tog get a tiny bit of relief.
It turned out I had to put the pieces of a puzzle together. A co-worker of mine kept getting recurring strep infections. I did research and found out about a scarlet fever rash and also other skin rashes related to strep. I had no strep symptoms; no sore throat or fever or even a cold. At my insistence the Dr. gave me a strep test and it came back positive! I never had strep before in my life. After a round of anti-biotics, the rash disappeared.
I am constantly on the lookout for any suspicious rashes now and will not hesitate to ask for a strep test if I ever get a rash that lasts for more than a couple of days. Just a little FYI.

 

[Pixiedust34]

I get this rash every time we go to WDW. My dermatologist agrees that it's sun/heat related. It's no fun. My ankles have some swelling, too.

I don't handle the heat well. I do my best to take breaks, wear sunscreen, and take it easy when possible. On our next trip, I'm leaning more heavily than usual with touring the parks in the evenings to give my skin a break from the sun.

 

[Queenofspoons]

Ive never gotten the disney rash (Im very lucky) but I have gotten a Disney Blister, it was quarter sized and very nasty.

 

[clomahony]

Wow, the things I learn from this board. I had it as well a little over a week ago for the first time ever even though it was my 7th trip in 5 years. I was so worried and it sounds like it was good to elevate my legs every evening. Now I know what to look for and how to help it.

I'm hoping to lose weight before my next trip so hopefully that will help.

 

[CathieArms]

YES! I got it the last time I was there for the first time EVER! It's like hives, but I couldn't decide if it iched more or hurt more.

I tried benadryl and cortisone cream, and I also tried a no-dye lotion. The best thing that worked was the no-dye lotion.

Someone on here pegged the name exactly, but I don't recall exactly what they called it. I think they called it golfers rash and I was able to google pictures of it.

The bottom line is that it has nothing to do with the chlorine or anything like that. It's directly related to the heat and sun and walking.

 

[LAS321]

Wow...I've gotten this every year and never had any clue what it was. The last few years I have brought cortisone cream with me and put it on as soon as I felt the rash starting. That has helped keep in under control for me. I feel bad for all the rashy people but also feel relieved that I'm not the only one that this happens to!

 

[InLikeSin]

On our trip last year I got the "Disney Rash". It didn't hurt or itch, just looked awful (exactly like the pic that was previously posted). We ended up at Celebration ER at 12am because I am diabetic and just couldn't risk something going on with my legs/feet. After 4 hours we were sent back to the hotel with a script for otc cream that I never used. It cleared up on its own within a few days of being home. We weren't too impressed with that hospital but the hotel staff at Pop Century gave us vouchers for a free cab ride to and from the ER which we thought was above and beyond.

 

[Disney_Luv]

I have gotten this the last few times we have been to Disney. That is the only place it seems to happen. It starts at my sock line...if I am wearing them not sandals, and moves halfway up my inner calf and spreads a little towards the front. It normally goes away within a couple of days after we leave.

Normally, I just use a cortisone cream, and that takes are of the itching.

BUT, I went to my doctor and explained what happens when I am there, and told them about Golfer's Vasculitits. She had no idea what it was. But, she looked up the symptoms and gave me a cream: Traimcinolone. She thought for sure it would help me.

Well, we get to Disney and about 3 days into our trip, the rash started, so I instantly put the cream on when we got back to the room. HUGE MISTAKE!!!! By the end of the next day, it was far worse that it had ever been. My legs were so inflamed and were a solid reddish, almost dark purple color. It was horrible. And, it burned so bad and itched, too. I just cried when we got back to the room. They were so inflamed that I wore jeans for the next 2 days, in 95+ temps.

So, I decided to try what I had read from others on this board. I sprayed Benadryl on my legs that night and the next 2 nights, and it started to go away. After 2 days, I switched back to shorts, and at night I used the Benadryl spray. Every morning I used Neutrogena Sensitive Skin Sunscreen SPF 30 on my lower legs, and the rash went completely away. So, for the last week we were there, I was completely rash free. It was so great! It was the first time in probably 5 years I haven't had the rash while I was there.

Apparently the sensitive skin sunscreen is better for those of use suffering from this. I would definitely recommend trying the Benadryl spray...the cream didn't seem to work as well, and that Neutrogena Sensitive Skin sunscreen. If it worked for me, it's bound to help someone else out there.

 

[crazycatlady]

Wow, I thought this only happened to me! Every year I would get the Disney rash while walking around the Wisconsin State Fair. I wouldn't get it at Six Flags or walking around Yellowstone, just the fair. I thought it had something to do with the heat, pavement and maybe hay or something else that I was allergic to. Last year I got it on our 4th trip to DW. It feels like a burn and the splotches are slightly raised. I'm glad I finally know what this condition is!

 

[dhdozier]

Another sufferer here!! The funny thing about it though is that I only get it at the Magic Kingdom when I wear shorts, not any of the other Disney Parks or from any other theme park I have visited. And, since I walk as much at them it always mystifies me why it is always after a Magic Kingdom visit....
Also, when I have visited in cooler months and wear jeans I do NOT get it. Just to add my 2 cents...

 

[Simba's Mom]

Wow, I thought this only happened to me! Every year I would get the Disney rash while walking around the Wisconsin State Fair. I wouldn't get it at Six Flags or walking around Yellowstone,

Wow-Yellowstone! Sorry to be OT for a second, but in the 3 summers we went to Yellowstone, we never encountered the type of weather for heat rash, only this (and yes, that's snow)-

I hope people don't mind me looking at their legs at WDW now. I'm wondering how many cases of Disney rash I'll see.

 

[A Mickeyfan]

ok...if it is the heat & the sun, from walking on the concrete, why do us Floridians not have it all the time then? Or are we immune to it because we do it all the time? Personally, I think it may be from bug bites? If you are out at night, there are a lot of mosqueto's and noseums...

 

[Simba's Mom]

ok...if it is the heat & the sun, from walking on the concrete, why do us Floridians not have it all the time then? Or are we immune to it because we do it all the time?

Yes, some doctors would say that's the reason. When we first moved here in South Texas, DS got a horrible rash all over. Turns out it was cotton harvesting season and his rash was an allergy to all the cotton particles in the air. Why don't South Texans get the rash? The doctor said exactly what you did-they're immune from all the time exposure. And after that first time, DS never got it again-constant exposure.

 

[phamton]

ok...if it is the heat & the sun, from walking on the concrete, why do us Floridians not have it all the time then? Or are we immune to it because we do it all the time? Personally, I think it may be from bug bites? If you are out at night, there are a lot of mosqueto's and noseums...

Well, this Floridian gets it and has for the last 7 years. If your legs swell, you are more prone to it. Floridians also don't usually go commando when they visit the parks. I have gotten it at Universal Studios also so that blows the "glass in the concrete" theory at Epcot. The time I got it at Downtown Disney was one very hot evening, my husband and I decided to run over to DDD. I wore jeans and it was very hot that night. I got the rash that night also. I once got it at Seaworld in San Antonio on a hot summer day.

Sometimes, when I'm on the Disney buses while park hopping, I look at the people in shorts and see lots of people who have it. In most cases they are middle aged women, fair skinned, and slightly overweight. They also seem to have a little bit of swollen ankles.

 

[gracelrm]

I've read about the Disney Rash for several years now - on the Dis and have seen others with it when I've been at Disney. I guess I've noticed more since I read about it here. This year was the first year I actually had the rash. Mine was no where near as bad as the one pictured here and I only had it on one ankle. I did put some ice on my ankle in the evening and elevated it. That seemed to help some and it did go away after leaving WDW. I will say that I'm heavier than I've been on prior trips and wondered if that made the difference. Next time, I'll use sunscreen on my legs. I'm very fair skinned, but I've never gotten a sunburn on my leg - so don't use it. I'll have to check out the benedryl spray as well.

 

[PatsMom]

I've seen people on the 3 Day 60 Mile breast cancer walk with what we called road rash. The name the medical people called it was capillaritis. They said to leave it alone and it would go away in a week or so. I've never had any problems myself either at Disney or on the 3 Day. And I hope it stays that way!

 

[goofy4tink]

I found this on the Internet this morning:

"Go to any multi-day walking event in the summer and you will see a red heat rash on the calves of many walkers. The heat rash often starts above the sock line and makes red patches and splotches up the calf. It usually doesn't itch and is believed to be heat-related, since these same walkers don't get it in cooler weather. What is it?
Golfer's Vasculitis

Ask most physicians about this common rash and they draw a blank. That is probably due to few people seeking medical help for it. The rash usually clears up in a couple of days, usually before they are able to get an doctor's appointment. At last, a paper in the Australasian Journal of Dermatology has described it and proposed naming it "golfer's vasculitis."

Causes of the Heat Leg Rash

Researchers interviewed several people with the rash and discovered that many underwent extensive allergy testing because they believed they must have been having a reaction to some chemical or plant. But it was simply an irritation of the blood vessels following prolonged exercise in the heat, such as walking for extended periods or playing 18 holes of golf.

The rash is more common in people over 50. Most walkers can't pinpoint anything new they have used that may be causing a reaction. And since so many walkers have it, they couldn't all have contacted the same irritant. The source is simply heat and age--your leg blood vessels getting irritated from the heat.
Prevention and Treatment of Golfer's Vasculitis

The research offered no treatment or prevention recommendations. It seems to occur in healthy, active people. The researchers suggest it should not be a health concern and recommend not getting allergy testing, etc.

In my non-medical experience at Breast Cancer 3-Day Walks and walking conventions, this rash appears on a vast range of walkers and commonly goes away by itself after a few days. Pampering yourself after a good long walk by taking a cool bath, sitting with your feet up, or applying cool wet towels to the rash may help relieve discomfort."

Maybe the Mrs. is sneaking out and getting in 18 holes of golf while I'm resting in the hotel!!??

Your rash is the same kind that I get and is called Golfer's Vasculitis. http://walking.about.com/od/medhot/a/legrash.htm You can even get it while wearing jeans and also at night if it is still extremely hot. I've gotten it several times from walking around in Downtown Disney at night while wearing full-length jeans on a hot night. The doctors say it mostly hits people who are 4-F (female, forty/fifty, fat, and fair-skinned). Support hose like the kind that diabetics wear or the kind you get after surgery can help but it's often too darn hot to wear it around the parks. Since moving to Florida, about 7 years ago, I've just learned to recognize the symptoms before it gets bad. I start feeling a burning/stinging under the skin when it first starts and so I try to get off my feet then. It also only tends to occur when my legs/ankles/ or feet start swelling. You need to stop the swelling before the small capillaries start to bleed under the skin. I still manage to get it about 2 or 3 times a year on the days when I can't get off my feet in the heat. But it's still better that when I was a tourist and was going commando style at the parks. I usually had it my whole trip.

I have suffered with this for years. No pain, other than an achy feeling and the horribly unsightly look of my lower legs. As soon as I returned home, got off my feet and cooled down...it went away.

My doctore kept diagnosing it as hives or psoriasis..but no itching, no bumpiness, other than a bit of swelling in the rashy area. Well....I also googled leg rashes and came up with the golfers rash as well. Fit my issues to a tee. When I printed out the info I had found about it and took it to my doctor. She looked at my file and discovered that that type issue is made worse by my b/p med!!! After asking her about this for 5 years, she finally made a connection. She changed my b/p meds and it's much better. We'll see what happens next month when I head to WDW. I do fit all the '4 F's' listed.

If this is the rash you have, there is little you can do for it...other than get off your feet, cool down, and rest your legs/feet. No cream, powder or spray will help it..it is all under the skin.

 

[GymnastHannah]

My mom gets this in Florida and sometimes at home. Hers is just caused by so much walking on the pavement.

 

[edk35]

Okay I just expect to get this next week. I had no idea this even existed but for some reason.....my gut tells me I WILL END UP WITH IT.