I too am EXTREMELY SENSITIVE to poison ivy and recently broke out in a similar rash after being careless while propagating my all time favorite plant, the philodendron micans. I also suspected that had to be it so I took a fresh cutting and dabbed the sap several times in my arm and didn't wash off for a few hours. Somewhere between 12 & 24 hours later, I started feeling that familiar itch and watched as my test patch gradually spread out the size of a dime and rose up with the little tiny bubble pattern I'm used to seeing with poison ivy rash. THIS SUCKS! I'm in the middle of battling it right now and in my research found this helpful article. I also read another helpful tip that said the sap from these plants can somehow penetrate through standard medical gloves so thicker gardening type gloves should be used when propagating and caution should also be taken when refreshing propagation water. I plant to purchase some thick, SOLID rubber gloves that can easily be thoroughly washed. NOT those gardening gloves that have a breathable section at the back of the hand and wrists! You should also clean the tools you use and the work area. Rubbing alcohol AT LEAST 70% grade is known to be effective for cleaning tools that have come in contact with poison ivy so I plan on implementing that. As well as never shortcutting again by taking rushed cuttings and not doing the basics like laying out a protective mat and immediately washing my hands afterwards. I lazily let my NUMEROUS cuttings drop to the floor (CARPET!) and I know I didn't wash my hands right away like I normally do. A couple hours later I laid on this floor in a tank top and got a mild rash a day later across my upper back and shoulder area as well as my ear lobes which I believe is from handling my earbuds right after propagating my favorite plant. PLEASE MAKE MY PAIN WORTH IT AND LET THIS BE A LESSON TO YOU... PUH-LEAZE!

You are probably experiencing a form of urticaria. I had this too (in the form of exercise urticaria) and it is seriously painful once the itching starts. I also experienced it in the spring and summer months, sometimes in the fall. Getting gluten and dairy out of my diet helped so much to quell the histamine release. It rarely, if ever happens to me anymore. I started to experience it in my late teens (20 years ago) up until the last two years when I eliminated these foods from my diet. There is a video called Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead - the producer had the same condition. It is on Netflix and maybe even youtube. It may be worth the watch for you. Good luck with the doctors because my "causes" were always dry skin, detergents or improper clothes while exercising. Wrong.

I was interested to read your post, because coincidentally, I have had the same symptoms over the past couple of days. I just purchased Charlies Soap maybe about a week ago - I just got a new HE front loader, and I've been washing away. Thus far, I've had nothing against Charlies soap, but now you got me thinking and I'll have to pay closer attention to my symptoms to see if they are possibly related to the soap. I have to make a few comments before I digress back to the main subject. First, I don't see the logic behind "washing your clothes a few times in Charlies Soap" in order to remedy a problem that didn't exist BEFORE you used Charlies Soap. There is NOTHING logical about that. Outside vs. inside fibers?? Um, not buying that either. In that respect, it would be like saying that Charlies Soap is causing us to be allergic to our old detergent, though we never had problems with those detergents before. Hmmmm...then maybe we shouldn't be using Charlies! I don't mean that literally, but come on...that sounds ridiculous. The fact is the FDA can't prevent a company from claiming that their product does something like get your clothes rid of residue by washing it three times, else they'd have pulled the Herbal Essences commercial years back when those girls seemed to have an ******** experience while washing their hair. By washing your clothes three times, it is just making you use more of their soap so then you have to buy more. Hmm..isn't that a convenient concept for CS? And now you are afraid to go back to your old detergent, because the residue is now on the "outside" and not the "inside" of the fibers. I can't keep myself from laughing at this, and I (so far) have nothing against Charlies Soap, but these claims seem a little silly to me and far-fetched. Now, this isn't to say that Charlies isn't removing residue, because I'm sure the more we wash our clothes without fabric softener, the less residue there will be on our clothes in the long run anyway, regardless of ANY detergent we use. The fact is, most manufacturers are moving towards the "ultra" concentrated products, claiming that they are "saving the environment" by using less plastic and smaller bottles, so now the average laundry detergent formula is 3X more concentrated, but have you noticed (at least the bottles I've seen) that while the bottles get smaller, the measuring caps don't? Sure, maybe those faint little measures on the inside of the clear cap that you can hardly see to begin with are labeled differently in accordance with the new formula, but my guess is that the larger portion of the population isn't going to notice or even care. This results in an increase in profits for the manufacturer. In other words, the average consumer is probably using the same amount of soap with a higher concentration, so it's no wonder people feel the difference when they switch to 1 measly tablespoon of Charlies Soap. And it's not exactly a perfect science when you are tipping a heavy bottle of liquid detergent to get just a small portion of a capful - most the time there is excess, and guess what, it goes in my washing machine, where else? My husband also made a good point that some people may look at a concentrated bottle that reads in big bold letters, "3x ultra" (it stands out from the rest of the label), and perceive that to mean that it's three times as good...not realizing they are using a concentrated product. It's good marketing in my opinion, especially that they are now competing with those who are selling detergents for HE washing machines. It's also comparable to using conditioner on my hair every day, and then switching to shampoo without a conditioner - of course my hair is going to feel different, but that doesn't mean the conditioner was ever a problem for my hair, or that I should have a reaction if all residue is not removed. So if the residue didn't bother us before, then what is the purpose of washing it three times before we wear something (other than to troubleshoot the residue on the outside vs. the inside of the fibers...LOL)?..... that's the point I'm getting at. Is Charlies a good soap? Yes, so far I like it. Does it clean my clothes, and leave them soft without perfumy scents and use of fabric softener? Absolutely, from what I've observed thus far. I digress... Like you, I have skin allergies, but I have controlled them by using only ALL free & clear detergent and Downy Free products - I've been doing this for years without any problems. I only switched recently due to my new HE front loader, otherwise, I was 110% happy with those products. For the past two days, I've been walking around and I'd swear that I got bit on my leg due to small welts. I'd itch, it would be a small welt, like you said, the size of a pea. Then today another part of my leg started itching again, and I had a small pea sized welt. Not ruling out other possibilities, but I will say that I'm going to pay closer attention after reading your post. Hmmm...could it be the in-laws? LOL I know you said you are now rash free - if your symptoms persist, please let us know. I'll give Charlies the benefit of the doubt for the interim (but I still reserve the right to laugh at some of their claims!). I suppose you can't blame them for using sales tactics.

I am 2 months into my bout with shingles. Had 3 days of malaise and intestinal distress. Then a small patch of painful red rash formed at 6 PM. By midnight it was dollar bill sized. Saw Doctor in a.m. and the rash was from mid back to front rib cage, however, I also had a sunburn-like redness that had spread in a 6" wide swath all around to my front centerline, and all the way down my buttocks and curved from the side down my left leg. I started on anti-viral for 7 days. The rash area just mentioned did blister, but the area that was just redness never blistered. My doctor felt that the redness area would have blistered without the anti-viral. Surface pain horrendous-could not wear anything with waistbands or "rough" fabric. Used very soft t-shirts under floaty dresses. Had severe leg weakness on left side. Had it internally too. Left side intestinal tract was cramping horribly and could not tolerate anything spicy. You could see my abdomen jumping around like I was pregnant! Lived on cottage cheese, bread, potatoes, and ice cream bars for over a month. Blisters dried and came off in two weeks, but pain was intense for a month, and is tolerable 2 months later. Don't think I would have survived without Gabapentin used for herpetic neuralgia. What's the good side to this? Well, now my doctor thinks my previously undiagnosed right side leg pain and weakness was from a bout of shingles four years ago that presented without rash, but with only skin redness over the nerve area on the right leg (just like the redness this time on my left keg.) That bout caused the corresponding muscle to Charlie-horse for 6 hours, causing muscle damage. I've had continuing pain since then and have to use a cane for balance and leg weakness. Raven, I know what you are going through!