My "Cruise Rash"...

This is an odd one...

Every single cruise I have taken, by day 5 or 6 at the latest I develop what looks like a heat rash....typically only on my chest. I used to think it was indeed a heat rash due to sun and sweat and/or excessive sunscreen, but on our Christmas cruise, the weather really wasn't that hot (there was definitely no excessive sweating etc) and yet - there was my day 5 rash - right on schedule.

Eliminating the heat factor, I'm left thinking that maybe I'm sensitive to the water on board. I assume it is heavily treated, so perhaps after a few days it begins to not agree with me. The other possibility is the soap, but I've never had any kind of reaction to other "hotel" soaps so I think it's probably less likely to be that. Has anyone else experienced this strange phenomenon? :o I'd love to be able to figure it out and avoid it but so far no dice. I usually use some cortizone cream when it "arrives" but it's rather pointless because it never goes away until a few days after I'm home.

That is interesting. My adult daughter gets the same thing.:confused:

A friend of ours developed a terrible rash all over her during her 1st and only cruise a number of months ago. After returning home it started to recur now and again sending her from doctor to doctor. Finally one discovered that she was allergic to fragrance. You can, at any time in your life, develop an allergy to just about anything. Never found out what on the ship started it all, but she's following doctor's orders now and all is well.

Of course if your symptoms only happen on repeated cruises and not ashore you seem to have a different problem. As for the water, it is distilled so should be pretty pure.

On my next cruise I'd bring my own toiletries and see how that works - as it turns out, my wife is allergic to fragrance and doesn't use any of those great freebies [i make up for her] and she's fine.

This is an odd one...

Every single cruise I have taken, by day 5 or 6 at the latest I develop what looks like a heat rash....typically only on my chest. I used to think it was indeed a heat rash due to sun and sweat and/or excessive sunscreen, but on our Christmas cruise, the weather really wasn't that hot (there was definitely no excessive sweating etc) and yet - there was my day 5 rash - right on schedule.

 

Eliminating the heat factor, I'm left thinking that maybe I'm sensitive to the water on board. I assume it is heavily treated, so perhaps after a few days it begins to not agree with me. The other possibility is the soap, but I've never had any kind of reaction to other "hotel" soaps so I think it's probably less likely to be that. Has anyone else experienced this strange phenomenon? :o I'd love to be able to figure it out and avoid it but so far no dice. I usually use some cortizone cream when it "arrives" but it's rather pointless because it never goes away until a few days after I'm home.

My friend and I both suffered from something very similar on a previous cruise after having been in the hot tub by the pool.

We were convinced that the hot tub caused the rash and have never used them again since. :(

My friend and I both suffered from something very similar on a previous cruise after having been in the hot tub by the pool.

 

We were convinced that the hot tub caused the rash and have never used them again since. :(

We haven't been in the hot tub, but I guess in your case that was possible!

I did get a horrible rash from our first cruise. It started around my ankles and slowly worked it's way up. I figured out that it was an allergy to a suntan oil that I used. By the time we got home, I looked like I had heat rash on every part of my body that was exposed to the sun. :eek:

I also had the same type of rash after our 2010 Pacific Princess 21 day cruise, on my chest only. I didn't go in the hot tub or in the pool. Had no idea where it came from but thought maybe it was from sun exposure?????

I get a rash from the sun. It usually starts a couple days into the cruise. It doesn't have to be that hot. I get it on my legs and arms. I don't sit out in direct sun as much as I used to and it helps. I always get a covered balcony to save me from getting too much sun.

I get a rash from the sun. It usually starts a couple days into the cruise. It doesn't have to be that hot. I get it on my legs and arms. I don't sit out in direct sun as much as I used to and it helps. I always get a covered balcony to save me from getting too much sun.

I guess it's possible...the most sun I ever get is when we cruise. I had dismissed that possibility during the Xmas cruise since we had a couple of crappy weather days and I had gotten very little sun before the infamous rash showed up.

I'm going to bring my own soap this summer and see if that helps (and it likely won't be terribly hot in the British Isles!). This is a 12 day cruise so i really don't want to be sporting the rash for the last week - it looks like a bad case of body acne!

 

I'm going to bring my own soap this summer and see if that helps (and it likely won't be terribly hot in the British Isles!). This is a 12 day cruise so i really don't want to be sporting the rash for the last week - it looks like a bad case of body acne!

you can say that again about the weather here. It's the start of the summer and the weather this weekend has been like a late autumn day. Cold, wet and windy Brrrr!!

Good luck with sorting the rash. DW suffers with prickly heat rash but never had anything like you describe while cruising.

Berwyn

It could be from fragrances in most anything around you. It could be additives in the detergent the ship use for the sheets and towels, to something in your sun screen, to your idea of something in the soap. If it's only on certain areas, and not others, that may rule out the soap.

Have you considered it may be an allergy to the sun? Is the rash only on places that have had sun exposure? Try Googling it and see what you think. Here is an excerpt from an article on sun allergy:

What happens is a change occurs in the sun affected skin which causes the immune system to think that the affected skin is a foreign component. Then the body reacts by fighting it like it would any other foreign matter.

I have the exact same thing. Remember, where the rash appears on your body can be unrelated to what causes it. After fighting this for years on Princess, I finally figured it out and this year had not one issue in 60 days of Princess cruises.

For me, it's the copper in the Purell canisters. It took a lot of detective work (sun? Princess detergent? Princess soap?), but when it got worse during a norovirus outbreak last year, I got suspicious. A headwaiter opened one of those dispensers for me, and looking at the ingredients list, I spotted copper. This year I avoided the Purell (much to the chagrin of one particular lady in the buffet who accused me of being the cause of all sorts of disease and suffering in the world) and had no problem.

I have the exact same thing. Remember, where the rash appears on your body can be unrelated to what causes it. After fighting this for years on Princess, I finally figured it out and this year had not one issue in 60 days of Princess cruises.

 

For me, it's the copper in the Purell canisters. It took a lot of detective work (sun? Princess detergent? Princess soap?), but when it got worse during a norovirus outbreak last year, I got suspicious. A headwaiter opened one of those dispensers for me, and looking at the ingredients list, I spotted copper. This year I avoided the Purell (much to the chagrin of one particular lady in the buffet who accused me of being the cause of all sorts of disease and suffering in the world) and had no problem.

That's interesting. A few years ago my wife came down with a rash on her hands a few hours after using the hand sanitizer in one of the dr's. We went to the ship's doctor and got some medication for it but never found out what it was. She is allergic to nickel, silver and obviously copper too ( at least that's what she tells me when shopping for "GOLD" jewerty )

That's interesting. A few years ago my wife came down with a rash on her hands a few hours after using the hand sanitizer in one of the dr's. We went to the ship's doctor and got some medication for it but never found out what it was. She is allergic to nickel, silver and obviously copper too ( at least that's what she tells me when shopping for "GOLD" jewerty )

I'll have to remember that allergy next time we go jewelry shopping! Too funny.

I don't get a rash but it is a bit of a family Joke now that a couple of days into a cruise my ankles/ legs etc... Seem to swell up ! Really bizarre !!

I have the same thing on every cruise and hadn't been able to figure out but assumed it was "just me". Weird that others are also having a problem.:confused:

I don't get a rash but it is a bit of a family Joke now that a couple of days into a cruise my ankles/ legs etc... Seem to swell up ! Really bizarre !!

This is very common with a lot of passengers. Flights to the cruise port, Salty foods, alcohol..............there are many reasons for it's cause. So, tell the family when they laugh at you, they are probably laughing at at least 1/4 of all of the passengers onboard. :)

This is very common with a lot of passengers. Flights to the cruise port, Salty foods, alcohol..............there are many reasons for it's cause. So, tell the family when they laugh at you, they are probably laughing at at least 1/4 of all of the passengers onboard. :)

Thanks Toto! I must confess I don't pack skirts anymore!!

I used to get a very bad rash that started at my ankles and would work its way up my legs. This usually happened when I slept in a hotel room or some place similar. I was diagnosed as being allergic to dust mites. They are every where and can not be gotten rid of. I was given some steriod cream and told not to walk on any carpet in my bare feet. I was advised to wear socks as much as possible to keep them at a minimum and to change them daily. So far so good. Have not had the problem since then in;ess I forget my rules which I do occasionally and suffer for it.

I too suffered the "mystery rash" usually the third or fourth day into a cruise. After some investigation, I realized that I was allergic to the PABA in the sunscreen and also realized that one of my medications could cause sun sensitivity. My doc gives me an alternative med for those days that I cruise and PABA free sunscreen can be purchased. I've also found that the hot tub does make the rash worse.

I have the exact same thing. Remember, where the rash appears on your body can be unrelated to what causes it. After fighting this for years on Princess, I finally figured it out and this year had not one issue in 60 days of Princess cruises.

 

For me, it's the copper in the Purell canisters. It took a lot of detective work (sun? Princess detergent? Princess soap?), but when it got worse during a norovirus outbreak last year, I got suspicious. A headwaiter opened one of those dispensers for me, and looking at the ingredients list, I spotted copper. This year I avoided the Purell (much to the chagrin of one particular lady in the buffet who accused me of being the cause of all sorts of disease and suffering in the world) and had no problem.

Was the rash on your chest as well? That's very interesting!!

Was the rash on your chest as well? That's very interesting!!

A couple of years it was on my shins, the last two years it was on my forearms, but when I talked with my allergist at home about it, he said that the allergy and where it appeared on my body could be totally unrelated. I was going nuts with it, and ended up at the medical center on board for a course of steroids two times. Finally, I started traveling with what I thought I might need, but I still wasn't happy about it. It looked really awful and itched like the dickens. I was just like you...I would be fine until Day 4 or 5, and then it would start. I knew when we started cruising almost all winter that I had to find the source of the issue, and I think I have.

Regarding sun allergy...at first I thought it might be that, especially as I have an autoimmune disorder, but I wear SPF 50+ on a cruise (most of the time), and I have never had the issue at home, where I'm in the sun all summer long, every day. Still, I invested in special SPF clothing last year...and still had the issue.

Have had this problem with our children in the past. Their pediatrician said it was likely caused a reaction by the type of detergents used to clean the linens and towels. He said it would quickly clear up after they returned home and it did.

This has been an interesting discussion because I have suffered with the itchy rash not only on cruises, but any time we vacation in a hot, humid area. The itchy rash is always where I get sun exposure and it's getting worse with every vacation. I switched to hypoallergenic sun screen because I thought it was from that.

Our last vacation was in Cancun and the rash was so bad I looked like I had a weird disease. I discovered that if I regularly swam in the ocean or cooled off in a pool, the rash would start to go away. I wasn't sure if it was from swimming in salt water or just from cooling off.

When we got home, I asked my dermatologist about it. He had a long name for it and said something about perspiring :eek: in humid climate and the pores getting clogged and it itches like crazy. He said try to avoid getting hot and sweaty and cool off often. What kind of vacation is that?

It's interesting that everyone has the same type of rash, but we're all coming up with different reasons. I wonder what the real story is.

What I've heard with various types of sun allergies is it can work like a one two punch when certain chemicals are paired in your system with the sun exposure. Certain medications you take, or a chemical in a product applied to the skin, trigger the reaction when coupled with the time in the sun. Exposure to either the chemical or the sun light alone is not sufficient to induce the rash, and it's not till on a cruise with more time outside in the sun that you have the reaction. Not saying this is what happened with you, but something to consider. The rash can even develop in an area that isn't exposed to sun.

There are probably numerous things that could be causing the rash. Best to talk with the doctor. This is just something I have been made aware of.