Hi, look up pityriasis rosea. My son had it for a few months last winter. Took him to the dermatologist and was informed it was that. He however didn't have a herald patch as some people do.

Good luck!

First off, sorry your family is going thru this.

There are plenty of things that can cause allergic reactions, and while I agree with you that one would expect this to be more generalized I have heard of people who had very localized reactions, particularly if those are areas that get more sweaty than others.

It's also true that some allergic reactions may have started for a completely different reason, but get aggravated by something else: for example, I'm usually not allergic to dishwashing detergent, but once my skin gets a rash from say, cat allergies, the contact with dishwashing detergents will make it much worse -- that's my story and I'm sticking to it... ;-)

I am allergic to a variety of detergents, soaps, some medications and grooming products. With shampoo my itching always starts on my legs. I know this doesn't make sense but that is how it goes. For the medications it starts under the under arms and legs, weird I know. Sometimes something doesn't bother me and then I get sun exposure and bam I have a rash of biblical proportions.

He may not be allergic to one item alone but combine it wit say cologne or sunscreen and the combo sets his immune system off. Even high pollen can cause a body rash. Good luck and I feel for your son.

My detergent allergies have run the gamut from whole body rash that required a steroid shot to just weird places where the fabric rubs the most, like waistband, ankles (socks) and torso area.

Now I'm also allergic to cocamidopropyl betaine, which is in 99% of shampoos and bathing products. Like turning on a light switch, all of a sudden ... ta-daaa! Itch city

(I would have have given anything to pay a $75 copay at any doctor instead of our annual $6,000 deductible, which we often met. Medicare feels like a raise!)

If I wash my hands with Dial soap, I get eczema on my face. It can be very difficult to determine what you are allergic to. hmorton is right that you might only show signs of being allergic to something when it is combined with something else.

It is important to find out what is causing the rash, allergy or otherwise. My grown son has a lot of detergent allergies and recently went to the Dr. He was given steroids to control his symptoms. You still have to do the work of determining what you are allergic to or if it is something else.

Because of where his rash is showing up, I wonder if he could have a sun allergy. My sister used to get a terrible rash around her mouth which she eventually had diagnosed as an allergy to too much sun - not sunburn. She had to cover up a lot more. It is now years later and she doesn't seem to have this problem any more.

Thank you for the replies. A lot of what you guys are sounds so familiar. He was fine last night, this morning his eczema patches on his upper eyelids were red. I suggested to him that he start wearing a hat to keep the sun off his face.

My daughter would get very localized rashes -- for example, on the insides of her knees -- but it was definitely detergent caused.

My tobacco allergy presented as scaling, peeling skin with red and moist skin underneath -- this rash was around my eyes, nostrils and corners of my mouth. Took a while before I figured out what it was caused by -- the dermatologist never did.

I agree with a sun reaction due to the location. Does he wear a v-neck shirt?

I would ask him or whoever buys the products in your household, "did you recently buy something that's new to wash with?" I would start there. I would first suspect his shampoo and conditioner. Get him to wash his hair with his head down in front of him so to avoid getting the product down his chest and back. See if that helps, go to a known OK product also. Usually the laundry detergent starts where the clothing rubs you the most. At first guess, I'd say hair stuff. This is not so uncommon. Sally's sells a fragrance and dye free shampoo that we use.

My son is 17 and lives with me so I'm the one buying products and detergent. I do like to switch around detergents and I confess that I like ones that smell good. I think I'll just pick up one for sensitive skin and start with that. That is a good idea about having him wash and rinse his hair head down...I like to switch between shampoos and conditioners too so that doesn't help trying to pin point what could be irritating his skin. No, he doesn't wear V-necks but I'm thinking it may be sun related too.

I've read SLS's sodium lauryl sulfate can irritate skin so I've been looking for SLS free products...I've started with the toothepaste. We use colgate and switched to Sensodyne for him. The skin around his mouth was super dry, figured it couldn't hurt. Trying to find a shampoo and conditioner for him too.

Excuse me the, let's say, rude, question, but you mention he's 17, so who knows -- is he trying to impress "prospective" people by wearing things like Axe deodorant? Some deodorants like that tend to provoke allergies even in people who are not generally allergic to scents.

ALL has a sulfate free detergent.

I picked up the All sulfate free one Mama. but it does have scent. I'm starting with the All free and Clear, picked that up yesterday at Costco and have already done a couple loads. I used vinegar in the softener dispenser. I've never used NON scented detergent before and I was surprised even though there was NO scent, they smelled fresh out of the dryer. If that makes any sense.

I picked up Dr. Bonners baby unscented castile bar soap and Shea Moisture shampoo and conditioner.

ETA: He's been using the same deodorant for quite some time, no change there but not to say that would be irritating too. He does wear cologne and I've been tryin to convince him to stop till we figure out this skin issue.

Manufacturers of deodorant, soaps, perfume etc. do change their formulas occasionally without making note of it on the packaging. They may have switched to another supplier or began using a cheaper ingredient. So I don't think you can rule out products you have used for a long time. It is not easy doing the detective work!

Lifetime of allergies to chemicals - worst is smellies (perfume). Make sure that you use extra rinse & even run an extra rinse/spin cycle for large items like blankets. Smelly detergent is difficult to remove from fabric. An overnight soak with lots of vinegar can help. Truly clean clothes smell best, like warm cotton. Here's a great site to learn more http://thinkbeforeyoustink.com .

Always there is a unscented version also.

Did you know that some soaps/detergent carry a masking scent to cover the otherwise dirty smell of the product? Plain raw soap smells awful. They do still call them unscented.

I think free and clear detergents have something to cover chemical smells. I used to get a strange scent from Downy Free but P&G must have fixed that as the scent is gone.

I am allergic to a lot of scents, but not usually the masking fragrances, which are chemical. I think the scents I'm allergic to may be natural (or close analogs)--I'm allergic to pollen. When I have reactions to laundry products, it feels more like chemical burns. OTOH, even without an immediate reaction to scent, I hate it. I was surprised to find that so many here love it. Like Always1, My laundry comes out smelling fresh and clean, and like cotton or whatever fabric without any "fresh smell" perfumes.

There is a difference between "unscented" & fragrance free. Unscented still has fragrance and the associated chemical problems. The more of us that purchase fragrance free the more companies will produce them. I hope in the future that fragrance will be viewed in the same way as cigarette smoke - UCK.

I had a little bit of an "ah-ha" moment...The rash on my sons chest and back started right after he started working at the Ralph Lauren outlet. He has to wear their polo shirt. I'm wondering if it's the fabric. He normally wears t-shirts which are cotton. He's off till Saturday so we'll see if there is any difference between this past Sunday and Saturday. I'll check to see if they have any all cotton polos.

To throw more wood on the fire, I am one of those that can't tolerate strong fragrances either. They make me want to gag, eyes water, choke, cough, etc. Consequently, I don't wear cologne, aftershave, or scented deodorants. Being in an elevator with someone who has perfume on..is awful.

I don't usually consider that the same as allergies, but they did come on about the same time for me (some thirty years ago). And a lot of personal care products break me out too. I first noticed when I was a youngster and mother slathered me with some kind of sunscreen. My face was burning like acid in just a few minutes...and being oily and in the middle of the lake, couldn't get it off.

In laundry products unscented means its devoid of fragrance whether synthetic or natural...so I suppose its fragrance free.

Nope, unscented means that the scent is supposed to be undetected by the average person. The chemicals are still there and for those of us with reactions to them the ability to discern their presence is vitally important.