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The last two weeks have been busy, balancing work, family, making new gear, dehydrating food and a final thru-hike shakedown on the Superior Hiking Trail with an amazing group of women.
I plan to post on our trip prep soon, but am starting with an update on my previous post about Hiker’s rash. It’s neck and neck with Make your Own Ultralight Backpack for most popular spot on the WP Blog as of today. As odd as it may be to write about your rash on the internet…by putting it out there, I’ve realized that this is a condition that affects a lot of people, without much medical info on treatment or prevention. Sharing has been encouraging and has also dispelled my fears about it.
As I mentioned on my previous post: I AM NOT A DOCTOR and ANYTHING that I share here is only based on my personal experience and you should consult your physician for ANY medical issue….NOT this blog.
Just to be safe, I did have some official testing done by my primary care doc to rule out any underlying health issues during a regular visit. All tests came back negative…so, thankfully, it’s not anything more serious.
HIVE MIND
I posted a question on a couple of Facebook groups I’m in, looking for anyone who had Hikers rash and had successfully dealt with it for consecutive days hiking or backpacking on the trail. Typically, I take a day to recover whenever I have had it, so I was a little worried about it showing up on a long trip.
I received close to 200 responses ranging from “oh, that’s what that is”, to switching to drinking only ionized water and changing my socks or laundry soap. A health reporter from The Duluth Tribune interviewed me for a story and published this helpful article with more information on ‘exercise induced vasculitis ‘ from a local nurse practitioner from the area. Hope it helps shed some more light on this annoying medical condition!
The most encouraging advice was from a couple of Thru-hikers who had this condition and told me that their rash resolved itself on the trail over time and with regular leg soaks and antihistamines. Whew! I was starting to get a little concerned that this would affect my comparatively short 2-3 week hike. That’s what I needed to hear.
In addition to the remedies in my original post, here are some of the suggestions I’ve tried since or will be filing away for future reference:
- Soak legs in cold water ASAP and frequently during hiking breaks.
- Elevate elevate elevate. I now try to to get my legs up after a long hot hike, or during breaks.
- Don’t stand around, keep moving or elevate!
- Apply Aloe Vera Gel. This may or may not work, cold water is better
- I think compression socks help, just make sure they are not SUPER tight and that they breathe.
So, today, I’m not on the trail, camp or in my cubicle. I’m babysitting another dehydrator full of food and taking this opportunity to slow down a little and be exactly where I know I’m supposed to be.
Enjoy this last month of Summer and keep those boots (or shoes) dirty!
~WP
Sounds like you got some good responses… cold water soaks, antihistamines, and aloe vera sounds good to me. How long do you expect to be on SHT thru-hike?
Thanks Mike. Not sure yet…but it should be a little over 2 weeks if we hike fast! 🙂
It’s always a good idea to try out aloe vera in advance, as it makes some people itch and possibly get a rash. Like me 🙂 Oh man, does it make me itch!
Oh no! Yes, always good to try those things first. 🙂
Thanks so much for posting about this condition. I’ve had it for years and no doctor I’ve seen has ever even heard of it. I have to tell them what it is after finally figuring it out myself by reading posts like yours. Mine usually flares with playing tennis in the heat, although it will also flare with any heat exposure if I’m on my feet, walking or standing. Compression has so far been curative for me, with prevention being key. Once a flare commences, it takes days or even weeks to calm down completely. I wear compression sleeves any time I’ll be exercising in temps above 80 degrees and standard compression hosiery for going about daily activities when temps are predicted to be much above 90 degrees, which is most every summer day where I live. The full athletic compression socks were a non-starter: too tight in the toe box, too too thin, too slippery. I need my activity-specific cushioned Thorlo socks inside my shoes for hiking or tennis, although if I’m wearing street clothes and just going about daily activities, good quality standard compression hosiery is fine inside regular sandals or shoes.
I never thought of cold soaks or antihistamines! I’ll add those to my arsenal.
Happy Trails to you!
Glad to hear it helped some!
Thanks for this post ,I’m a 64 yr old male long distance hiker, troubled with hikers rash .some good ideas in your post to try. Cold ,wet hike in tke smokies yesterday, liner sock, darn tough and gaiters and RASH ,!
Bummer! Sorry to hear that! I have found that its all trial and error but elevating on breaks and trying to get the legs in cold water helps. Maybe try a compression sock instead of gaiters and see how they feel? Happy hiking and good luck to you in the smokies!
Thanks for posting about your rash. It’s so helpful to hear from other hikers dealing with it. I developed this irritating hiking limitation a couple years ago seemingly out of the blue and also had my primary care and dermatologist rule out anything serious but not be able to do much for me other than suggest I take a double dose of Zyrtec before hiking. That hasn’t seemed to do much to prevent it for me and makes me drowsy. I just finished a 4 day trip in Hell’s Canyon and was super disappointed to feel it starting to come on at the end of day 1. I had tried to plan my trip when it would still be cool and not exceed 14 miles per day (seems to be my limit) however a heat wave hit for my trip and on the ground mileage was just hitting my limit each day. The rash is irritating and painful when you’re hiking through a lot of brush that touches the inflamed skin but I figured its not the worst thing that could happen to me on a difficult trail and I was able to cool off in streams occasionally. The problem for me was that by the end of day 3 my lower legs, ankles, and feet started to swell and got a lot worse on the last day as I had to climb 5000 feet out of the canyon in the blazing sun. So that would be my caution of ignoring the rash. For me it seems to advance into swelling that takes many more days to go away. Most of my trips, the rash hasn’t occurred until my last day hiking out. Only one other time has it occurred during a multi-day trip and I got swelling then too but didn’t have much farther to go so the swelling wasn’t as bad then.
I’ve tried hiking in compression socks and got a particularly bad rash I think because it made my legs hotter so have been scared to try again but maybe I’ll try to find a cooler pair. I’ve been using a homemade arnica and lavender oil balm with a coconut oil base as a soothing relief at the end of the day. (I skip this if in grizzly country.) What is annoying me the most about the rash is that I have increased my fitness and could easily hike farther and more challenging trails without being sore but this is limiting my factor. I suppose on the bright side it has motivated me to do more off season hikes and train more in the hopes that maybe I can adapt my legs to not overheat one day. Like you, this isn’t going to make me stop hiking. 🙂
Az, thank you for sharing your experience. It sounds miserable but Im glad you’re still trucking along! I tend to avoid hiking in the heat as much as I can…always looking for good suggestions to try too. Hang in there and happy hiking!!! -wp
I have been blessed with this on occasion in the catering industry where you are not always conscious of the condition of your legs. I have discovered if I am run down and short on sleep – I am bound to be affected. Unexpectedly last week when the highs were below zero- I never expected too overheat in an event for 400 people. I am usually affected in the summer months – but I was working with very little sleep. Note: As I am usually afflicted in the summer, I will prep with using underarm deodorant clear gel on my lower legs. No aluminum. This usually does work for me. I am dealing with a stress fracture in one foot – and was wearing one compression sock. The leg not having one on remained clear. As it is in the middle of winter, I had not thought of using the deodorant. Hope this helps.
Correction – the leg with compression sock remained clear.
Hi Elisa, thanks for stopping by. Bummer about your foot and that you have this rash thing too… but I’m glad you found something that helped. The deodorant idea is interesting… I wonder how that works. I love my compression sleeves and typically try to elevate asap if I’m stopping for a while. I find compression helpful for preventing leg fatigue and for a quicker recovery after long hikes too. Happy trails!
As a senior who has hiked, run long distance, etc. for most of my life, I was shocked to see a fiery rash on my ankles after a long, hot run. It has now happened 3 more times even after just a hot walk. It seems mostly in the area of my Thorlo ankle socks. I have worn the same type sock for over 30 years without this rash. Your remarks and the follow-up comments have been helpful. Aloe Vera and elevation seems to help, and I am going to try compression socks and antihistamine for the future. I am going to check in with my doctor, but have wondered if the fact that I started high blood pressure meds fairly recently has anything to do with this. Has anyone else noticed a similar timing?
Oh bummer. Good plan to check in with the doc, hopefully they can help with your question. Thankfully, cooler weather is on the way!
I get what looks and sounds like the same thing. Flair ups come on with a vengeance. Don’t really like taking it but Prednisone is the only thing that gets completely rid of a flair up and my skin returns to normal while taking it. It’s well worth the comfort to me.
Glad to hear you found something that works for you! Happy hiking!
I’m not a hiker so I’m not sure how I stumbled upon your site. I’m miserable and in pain. I think this may be my answer. Is there any way for me to share pics? I’ve been dealing with this for months. I don’t know what to do.
Hi Carrie-Im not qualified to give any medical advice on this topic, and a visit to your physician is the best bet. Hope you feel better and get some answers soon.