Just off NOS - With Hives

[Kim225]

We have just returned from an excellent cruise on board the Navigator (4/1 - 4/8). There was a group of 10 of us in 4 different rooms. We had a great time, but on Thursday, I broke out in hives on my arms and legs. On Friday night, my sister broke out in a rash on her legs and today my nephew (who was in a different cabin) has hives all over his arms, legs and back. We do not have any food allergies that we are aware of and I am just wondering if anyone else has experienced this and might know the cause. I saw the ship's doctor on Thursday and he indicated that I had an allergic reaction to something, but there was no way to know what caused it. It seems funny that 3 of us out of 10 have had this problem and we were all in different cabins. Anyone have any ideas?

 

Other than this problem, we had a great cruise. I would highly recommend the NOS.

[medic123]

Just wondering..Did you go to Cozumel before the outbreak. Alot of people have had sea lice problems from the beach there.

[emdia43]

Just a thought- did you all use a suntan lotion or some new soap/lotion etc?

[Kim225]

We did go to Cozumel right before I had my reaction. We spent the day at a hotel beach. I did not go in the water, but my sister and nephew did. Others in our group were also there and went in the water, but have not had a problem. Do you know what the symptoms of sea lice are and what to do for the rash? Do you get this from the sand or in the water?

 

We did not use any new lotion or soaps. I was wondering about if it could be from a detergent that they washed the bedding in maybe.

 

Any advice or thoughts are greatly appreciated.

[QuitMyDayJob]

Any chance you did the Blackbeard's Cay Snorkel with the Stingrays excursion in Nassau? We were on the NOS last December, there were 12 of us that went on the excursion and about half of us came down with welt/hive like itchy bumps from the sandflies/fleas.

[QuitMyDayJob]

Our problem seemed to be on the beach itself (in Nassau). It was odd that we all went but only some of us got the welts. I, unfortunately, was one of them that did. I took Benedryl and used Calamine lotion, both of which made some difference. I'm afraid though that it took several weeks to go away and in the meantime the itching was nearly unbearable at times.

 

I will never go to the beach again without bug spray/wipes.

[Carlyle]

I had an extremely bad hives outbreak after exposure to a pesticide used in our apartment. Perhaps they treated the rooms with something.

[medic123]

We did go to Cozumel right before I had my reaction. We spent the day at a hotel beach. I did not go in the water, but my sister and nephew did. Others in our group were also there and went in the water, but have not had a problem. Do you know what the symptoms of sea lice are and what to do for the rash? Do you get this from the sand or in the water?

 

We did not use any new lotion or soaps. I was wondering about if it could be from a detergent that they washed the bedding in maybe.

 

Any advice or thoughts are greatly appreciated.

 

The symptoms are a bumpy, itchy rash. I think you can get them in both sand and water. Benedryl or cortisone creme for the itch. It will go away on it's own, it will just take some time. I have the same type of reaction and my DH does not, I guess it is just luck of the draw.:confused:

[FLCruiseGirl]

Is it possible that it's the bed bugs they have had on some of the other ships? Possibly transferred by one or more crew members changing ships?

Just a possibility.:eek:

[zantedeschia]

Lots of things can cause hives. Stress can cause hives. Allergic reaction to antibiotics can cause hives. Pollen can cause hives. Exposure to sunlight can cause hives. Excessive perspiration can cause hives.

 

You were in a new situation, would be very difficult to nail down what caused it.

 

FWIW, I've had hives caused by stress before. Legs, feet, hands. Can also swell up your face.

[Kim225]

The bumpy, itchy rash sounds very familiar as does the sometimes unbearable itch. Sounds like it may take sound time and benedyrl to get through this. I will try the bug spray/wipes next time before going to the beach.

 

My nephew has gotten so bad this evening that my sister is taking him to the emergency room. His has now spread to his face. I thought that my reaction was bad, but his is a lot more wide spread and seems to be getting worse. The ship doctor gave me a steroid shot and a shot of benedryl. That is probably what he needs as well to get his under control.

[JanMD]

Are you sure they are not bed bugs? I know that some of the ships have been having problems with those now.

J

[cooncat]

It's funny you should mention this, I developed shingles right after the first night on the Grandeur. It was the wierdest thing. I know I wasn't stressed out, I was very excited to be on the ship. I got this sudden pain in my lower back, I first blamed the bed, but then I noticed this rash in a localized area of my body. I thought this was very strange. I just got off the ship on Saturday. I am now taking medicine to get rid of it. I didn't let it ruin my cruise, it was uncomfortable.

[Kykitty]

I have developed rash from No-Ad sunblock lotion (Wal-mart special). Apparently my skin does not like it. Just my two cents worth.

[TexasMom2]

I get hives if I eat too much processed wheat. Benadryl gel does the trick, but I got tired of buying it (expensive) and not knowing how much was too much, so I started taking 10 mg Zyrtec every day. Works like a charm and I can have all the pizza I want.

[jason976]

It's funny you should mention this, I developed shingles right after the first night on the Grandeur. It was the wierdest thing. I know I wasn't stressed out, I was very excited to be on the ship. I got this sudden pain in my lower back, I first blamed the bed, but then I noticed this rash in a localized area of my body. I thought this was very strange. I just got off the ship on Saturday. I am now taking medicine to get rid of it. I didn't let it ruin my cruise, it was uncomfortable.

 

Shingles...ouch!! But it is not something that you can catch. It is caused by the same virus that causes Chicken Pox. It is already in your body if you've every had chicken pox, it some people it comes back as shingles, in others in never comes back. Luck of the draw really. My mother and brother have both had it recently and it can be extremely painful, so I hope you get over it very soon. You can't catch shingles from another person, but you can get the Chicken Pox from it if you've never had them. Okay, enough of the rash talk. Get well soon. :rolleyes:

[cooncat]

Jason, thanks for the get well wishes. The doctor gave me some very good pain medication. I plan on taking the Mariner next April to the eastern caribbean.

[wrp96]

Jason, thanks for the get well wishes. The doctor gave me some very good pain medication. I plan on taking the Mariner next April to the eastern caribbean.

 

Did he also give you a prescription for the herpes medicine, I can't remember the name but it costs an arm and a leg and your first born child? I know when my mother got the Shingles we were laughing because they gave her the same medicine that is heavily advertised for treating herpes, but it really worked to clear it up.

[zantedeschia]

I know when my mother got the Shingles we were laughing because they gave her the same medicine that is heavily advertised for treating herpes, but it really worked to clear it up.

If I remember my viruses correctly, the virus that causes chickenpox and the virus that causes herpes are related, same family or somesuch. Maybe cousins. Niece and nephew. :p

[medic123]

Yes, they are all a type of herpes virus.

[wrp96]

If I remember my viruses correctly, the virus that causes chickenpox and the virus that causes herpes are related, same family or somesuch. Maybe cousins. Niece and nephew. :p

 

Oh, I know that. It was just funny because people would ask what medicine she was on and when she would tell them, they would get this funny look on their face because that was the "herpes medicine."

[SuiteCruiser]

After returning from a sun trip a few years ago, I broke out in hives all over too. My friend's husband also broke out and they were in a different villa. We both (also) used the No-Ad sunscreen. We compared notes and it was really the only significant thing that we both used.

 

Hives are much different than bed bug bites. Bed bugs will bite in a few places, this is raised bumps all over.

 

I'd be interested in hearing if you used the same brand of sunscreen...

[medic_cruiser]

I think that the medication is Valtrex.:eek:

 

Did he also give you a prescription for the herpes medicine, I can't remember the name but it costs an arm and a leg and your first born child? I know when my mother got the Shingles we were laughing because they gave her the same medicine that is heavily advertised for treating herpes, but it really worked to clear it up.

[raerae]

I have developed rash from No-Ad sunblock lotion (Wal-mart special). Apparently my skin does not like it. Just my two cents worth.

 

Same thing here. DH & I both broke out from the No-ad lotion and oil. I now only buy Hawaiin Tropic or Banana Boat.

Cindy ;)

[Kim225]

We were using a sunscreen that I purchased in Orlando the week before the cruise. It is called Absolutely Natural Suncare and is distributed by Suncare Central. I had purchased and used this same lotion last year, but maybe they changed the ingredients in the past year. It states that it does not use synthetic chemicals. It is quite expensive although I know that doesn't necessarily mean anything. Since I had used this type of lotion in the past I did not think that this was the cause of the problem, but now in thinking about it, these were new bottles of lotion, so they may be slightly different. I hope it was not the lotion because I stocked up on quite a few bottles since they do not sell the lotion where I live.