itch

In article <yQAQb.114855$nt4.457203@attbi_s51>,

Claire Petersky said:

Anyone had an experience like this? Speculations as to what it was I rolled through? Anyone else
who used the I-90 bike trail yesterday (Dane? I saw you, I think -- at least, there was someone
with a long ponytail and a look of grim determination at 9:15 AM working his way up the eastern
high-rise) have a similar experience?

I wouldn't be surprised if it was something in the rain itself.

Y'know how we sometimes get one of those big raindrops that homes right in on our eyeball, and it
really, /really/ stings -- much more than plain old rainwater should?

I guess rain is a good delivery system for introducing noxious auto emissions into the human body.

cheers, Tom

--
-- Powered by FreeBSD Above address is just a spam midden. I'm really at: tkeats [curlicue] vcn
[point] bc [point] ca

Quoted message said:

(curse of long legs), such that there was a band of exposed flesh near the ankles. At some point
during the ride I noticed that this band started to feel itchy. By the time I arrived at work, it
was terribly itchy, and red.

I've noticed this kind of thing. My guess is that a small exposed patch (usually my wrists) is doing
all the sweating for the rest of the body.

--
mac the naïf

Claire Petersky said:

Anyone had an experience like this? Speculations as to what it was I rolled through? Anyone else
who used the I-90 bike trail yesterday (Dane? I saw you, I think -- at least, there was someone
with a long ponytail and a look of grim determination at 9:15 AM working his way up the eastern high-
rise) have a similar experience?

Do you wear the tights on a regular basis? Anything unique about the tights or the socks? I ask
because I seem to have an allergy to certain combinations of plastic fabric/stretch band material.
Certain liner socks that I wear hiking give an itch/rash right above the top band, and it gets
really obvious if I am hiking in wet grass or rain and the area gets wet.

Just a thought- maybe something in the material is getting washed out? Maybe it needs fresh air or
oxygen for its full effect? I didn't bother to figure it out for myself- just tried other materials
and when I didn't have the same reaction I throw out the liner socks.

"Dan Daniel" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

On Sat, 24 Jan 2004 20:46:22 GMT, "Claire Petersky" <[email hidden]> wrote:

Quoted message said:

Do you wear the tights on a regular basis? Anything unique about the tights or the socks?

I wear these tights and these socks on a regular basis through the winter. The detergent they were
washed in was the same I always use -- the plain All with no scents or colors as my daughter has
sensitve skin..

I also don't think it was just the cold -- I have never had this violent of an itch or that level of
swelling just from cold. I also don't think it was in the rain, because my face was fully exposed,
this being a soaker-style rain, and it did not suffer.

Possibilities: A. a snow several weeks ago meant that the City not only sanded, but used a de-
icer. (They do not use salt here.) Would the de-icer be a problem? B. A vehicle that was leaking
any number of noxious substances, such as an Orkin truck leaking pesticides. C. I pass by a
heating oil company on the way in -- if a truck had been leaking heating oil, would that be enough
to cause a problem?

Just speculating...

--
Warm Regards,

Claire Petersky
Please replace earthlink for mouse-potato and .net for .com

Home of the meditative cyclist:
home.earthlink.netWelcome.htmOpen ↗

Books just wanna be FREE! See what I mean at:
bookcrossing.comCpeterskyOpen ↗
My bookshelf: bookcrossing.comCpeterskyOpen ↗

"To forgive is to set the prisoner free and then discover the prisoner
was you."

In article <HHEQb.14676$U%5.95073@attbi_s03>,

Claire Petersky said:

I also don't think it was in the rain, because my face was fully exposed, this being a soaker-
style rain, and it did not suffer.

I thought about that too, but I reasoned that face skin might be more desensitized to the elements
than ankle skin.

Anyhow, for all we know, it coulda been from something you ate :-)

If it was from the de-icer, I'd be concerned about dogs, cats, birds, etc., and I'd be interested in
what the City has to say about the non-toxicity of the stuff.

cheers, Tom

--
-- Powered by FreeBSD Above address is just a spam midden. I'm really at: tkeats [curlicue] vcn
[point] bc [point] ca

It could have been some type of chemical, however, it might be just from the rainwater removing the
oils from your skin. A good lotion like Curel (non fragrant) may help. It does for me.

Ernie

Claire reter sky said:

Yesterday I was riding to work in a heavy mist -> rain. I was wearing a pair of tights and socks
that don't quite reach up to wear the tights begin (curse of long legs), such that there was a
band of exposed flesh near the ankles. At some point during the ride I noticed that this band
started to feel itchy. By the time I arrived at work, it was terribly itchy, and red. By the time
I had made it up to my office I couldn't stand wearing the tights any more, and raced to the
shower. When I got the tights off, I could see a visibly bright red, bulgingly swollen skin where
that exposed flesh was. I scrubbed and scrubbed this part of my legs (and also thoroughly soaped
my legs in general), and only after doing that and rinsing off did I feel any relief.

At the PM commute, after I put on my tights again, I could feel tremendous itchiness from the band
at the ankles of the tights and, to a lesser extent, on the socks. Despite the chill (it was now a
steady rain, and in the mid 40s) I rolled up my tights to my knees, rather like a pair of
knickers, which was fine. When I got home, I stripped off everything to be put into the laundry.

My thought is that I must have ridden through some sort of Bad Something, which got sprayed up on
to my lower leg. It sprayed on the bare flesh above the ankle, and probably on the lower leg of
the tights. The Bad Something soaked into the very bottom of the elastic band at the ankle and was
holding it against the flesh, again irritating it when I put the tights on again.

Anyone had an experience like this? Speculations as to what it was I rolled through? Anyone else
who used the I-90 bike trail yesterday (Dane? I saw you, I think -- at least, there was someone
with a long ponytail and a look of grim determination at 9:15 AM working his way up the eastern
high-rise) have a similar experience?

--
Warm Regards,

Claire Petersky Please replace earthlink for mouse-potato and .net for .com

Home of the meditative cyclist: home.earthlink.netWelcome.htmOpen ↗

Books just wanna be FREE! See what I mean at: bookcrossing.comCpeterskyOpen ↗ My
bookshelf: bookcrossing.comCpeterskyOpen ↗

"To forgive is to set the prisoner free and then discover the prisoner was you."

I have a very sensistive skin too, and have a lot of problems with this sort of thing.

My first advice: do _not_ overwash an area that has this problem. There are evil bacteria coursing
around the surface of our skin all the time, but our skin has a natural protective antibiotic
layer that keeps them out. Overwashing can strip off that layer, leaving you vulnerable to
bacterial attack.

In the winter, certain areas of the body like knees, ankles, elbows can get exceedingly dry. They
chafe, crack open, and the bacteria have their joy again. The main offender is an evil genius called
staphylococcus aureus, which can cover a whole body in plague-like red stains that last for months.

Another thing they love is heat and moisture, which of course will also promote chafing. I have a
permanent danger area under my [censored] where I strap on my heart monitor for training. Between the
sweat and the movement there is a rash chronically waiting to happen.

In your case, you had a wet, moving band around an area of your body that was already made
vulnerable by its exposure to alternating cold, moisture, dry heating and to winter conditions in
general. Perfect chafe conditions.

Use a very rich moisturizer on the dry areas of your arms and legs. Clinique makes a good body cream
for this. Also, see if you can get, at a pharmacy, an anti-bacterial cream. There is a great one
here in France called Cetavlon which I use in any case - chafing, mosquito bites, where my skin
surface is breached. In addition to being anti-bacterial it is also very moisturizing and it stops
the itching as soon as it goes on.

Claire Petersky said:

Anyone had an experience like this? Speculations as to what it was I rolled through?

"Claire Petersky" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:yQAQb.114855$nt4.457203@attbi_s51...

Quoted message said:

Yesterday I was riding to work in a heavy mist -> rain. I was

wearing a pair

Quoted message said:

of tights and socks that don't quite reach up to wear the tights

begin

Quoted message said:

(curse of long legs), such that there was a band of exposed

flesh near the

Quoted message said:

ankles. At some point during the ride I noticed that this band

started to

Quoted message said:

feel itchy. By the time I arrived at work, it was terribly

itchy, and red.

Quoted message said:

By the time I had made it up to my office I couldn't stand

wearing the

Quoted message said:

tights any more, and raced to the shower. When I got the tights

off, I could

Quoted message said:

see a visibly bright red, bulgingly swollen skin where that

exposed flesh

Quoted message said:

was. I scrubbed and scrubbed this part of my legs (and also

thoroughly

Quoted message said:

soaped my legs in general), and only after doing that and

rinsing off did I

Quoted message said:

feel any relief.

At the PM commute, after I put on my tights again, I could feel

tremendous

Quoted message said:

itchiness from the band at the ankles of the tights and, to a

lesser extent,

Quoted message said:

on the socks. Despite the chill (it was now a steady rain, and

in the mid

Quoted message said:

40s)

If it was mid 40s on the way home it was mid thirties on the way in?

With temperatures near freezing and just plain lycra tights I would expect to have areas of skin
react like that from the cold. It's just coming close to frostbite. Don't worry, you're not
there yet.

Doug For email, a sense of wonder.

David L. Johnson said:

Claire Petersky said:

Possibilities: A. a snow several weeks ago meant that the City not only sanded, but used a de-
icer. (They do not use salt here.) Would the de-icer be a problem?

If it is, they ought to re-consider not using salt. They avoid salt because of the damage it does
to cars and plants. Most alternatives are calcium salts; usually more benign.

The liquid de-icer might have been used in addition to salt; where I am, we had temperatures at
which salt was ineffective.
--
Rick Onanian

Rick Onanian <[email hidden]> wrote:
: The liquid de-icer might have been used in addition to salt; where I am, we had temperatures at
: which salt was ineffective.
: --
: Rick Onanian

they, uh, don't get down to 0F much in that part of washington state.
--
david reuteler [email hidden]

"David Reuteler" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Rick Onanian <[email hidden]> wrote:
: The liquid de-icer might have been used in addition to salt; where I am, we had temperatures at
: which salt was ineffective.
: --
: Rick Onanian

they, uh, don't get down to 0F much in that part of washington state.

Salt isn't much good below ~20F.

Pete

Pete <[email hidden]> wrote:
: "David Reuteler" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
: "]news:[email hidden]...
:> Rick Onanian <[email hidden]> wrote:
:> : The liquid de-icer might have been used in addition to salt; where I am, we had temperatures at
:> : which salt was ineffective.
:> : --
:> : Rick Onanian
:>
:> they, uh, don't get down to 0F much in that part of washington state.
:
: Salt isn't much good below ~20F.

brine freezes at 0F, a 20% salt solution freezes at 2F while a 10% solution at 20F. the page below
claims 15F for efficacy against ice on roads. so, ok. 15F in seattle?

according to accuweather the all time lowest temperature in january in seattle was 20F. so anyway
.. never in seattle's history has it been too cold to use salt (by the 15F standard, by 20F it
has once).

my god that's neat.

howstuffworks.comquestion58.htmOpen ↗
--
david reuteler [email hidden]

"David Reuteler" <[email hidden]> wrote

Quoted message said:

brine freezes at 0F, a 20% salt solution freezes at 2F while a 10%

solution

Quoted message said:

at 20F. the page below claims 15F for efficacy against ice on roads. so, ok. 15F in seattle?

according to accuweather the all time lowest temperature in january in

seattle

Quoted message said:

was 20F. so anyway .. never in seattle's history has it been too cold to use salt (by the 15F
standard, by 20F it has once).

my god that's neat.

howstuffworks.comquestion58.htmOpen ↗

That was the same page I looked at. 15-20 F. And our news guy came up with the same numbers this
afternoon. 20F.

Still, not 0F.

Pete

Pete <[email hidden]> wrote:
: Still, not 0F.

yep, not 0F. i had been thinking of brine.

don't advertise that low january temperature too much. or emphasize the rain. still i think denver
must have the best kept secret when it comes to january weather, tho (at least when the sun is out).
i had no idea.
--
david reuteler [email hidden]

In article <[email hidden]>, [email hidden] says...

Quoted message said:

Pete <[email hidden]> wrote:
: "David Reuteler" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
: "]news:[email hidden]...
:> Rick Onanian <[email hidden]> wrote:
:> : The liquid de-icer might have been used in addition to salt; where I am, we had temperatures
:> : at which salt was ineffective.
:> : --
:> : Rick Onanian
:>
:> they, uh, don't get down to 0F much in that part of washington state.
:
: Salt isn't much good below ~20F.

brine freezes at 0F, a 20% salt solution freezes at 2F while a 10% solution at 20F. the page below
claims 15F for efficacy against ice on roads. so, ok. 15F in seattle?

according to accuweather the all time lowest temperature in january in seattle was 20F. so anyway
.. never in seattle's history has it been too cold to use salt (by the 15F standard, by 20F it
has once).

But in RI, it's only been *over* 20F a few times in the last couple of weeks.

--
Dave Kerber Fight spam: remove the ns_ from the return address before replying!

REAL programmers write self-modifying code.

David Kerber <ns_dkerber@ns_ids.net> wrote:
: But in RI, it's only been *over* 20F a few times in the last couple of weeks.

i'm from minnesota. we can commiserate if it'll help, but it'll have to be from memory as i'm on-
location in beautiful temperate boise, idaho. but don't worry ... those memories die hard.
--
david reuteler [email hidden]

In article <[email hidden]>, [email hidden] says...

Quoted message said:

David Kerber <ns_dkerber@ns_ids.net> wrote:
: But in RI, it's only been *over* 20F a few times in the last couple of weeks.

i'm from minnesota. we can commiserate if it'll help, but it'll have to be from memory as i'm on-
location in beautiful temperate boise, idaho. but don't worry ... those memories die hard.

Yeah, like mine of growing up in IA. My senior year in HS, we went about 35 days where the
temperature *never* got above freezing, and a stretch of 4 or 5 days (the record was recorded in
hours) where the temp never got above zero. I know some of you Canadians (Calgary, Ottawa?) can beat
these records, but for most of the US, that's pretty cold.

--
Dave Kerber Fight spam: remove the ns_ from the return address before replying!

REAL programmers write self-modifying code.

David Kerber <ns_dkerber@ns_ids.net> wrote:
: Yeah, like mine of growing up in IA. My senior year in HS, we went about 35 days where the
: temperature *never* got above freezing, and a stretch of 4 or 5 days (the record was recorded in
: hours) where the temp never got above zero. I know some of you Canadians (Calgary, Ottawa?) can
: beat these records, but for most of the US, that's pretty cold.

winnipeg. *shiver* .. **BRRRRRR** good god. not i. not for any money.

minneapolis, btw has on average 156 days below freezing with an average january temperature of 11.8F
(20.7/2.8F). on average all of january, 27 of 28 days of february and 30 of 31 days of december are
spent below freezing.

washingtonpost.comminneapolis st paul minn.htmOpen ↗
--
david reuteler [email hidden]

Claire Petersky said:

Anyone had an experience like this? Speculations as to what it was I rolled through? Anyone else
who used the I-90 bike trail yesterday (Dane? I saw you, I think -- at least, there was someone
with a long ponytail and a look of grim determination at 9:15 AM working his way up the eastern
high-rise) have a similar experience?

It was probably I. I haven't noticed anything particularly caustic on the way to work. Then again, I
don't have a gap about my ankles either so I don't know how useful that is too you.

--
Dane Jackson - z u v e m b i @ u n i x b i g o t s . o r g Your only obligation in any lifetime is
to be true to yourself. Being true to anyone else or anything else is not only impossible, but the
mark of a fake messiah. The simplest questions are the most profound. Where were you born? Where is
your home? Where are you going? What are you doing? Think about these once in awhile and watch your
answers change. -- Messiah's Handbook : Reminders for the Advanced Soul