Developed Red Patches And Itching All Over Body Post Hysterectomy. What Could Be The Cause?

Posted on Thu, 21 Nov 2013

Medically reviewed by Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team

Thu, 21 Nov 2013 Answered on

Wed, 11 Dec 2013 Last reviewed on

Question : my mom, age 59, suddenly developed red patches and itch all over her body and face. she is recovering after hysterectomy done last month. she recently got off all pills and antibiotics 2 days back. she is taken levocetrizine and that has given some relief but the red and itchy patches are still there.

Answered by Dr. Geetika Paul (13 hours later)

Brief Answer: Generalized drug rash : Avoid all drugs Detailed Answer: Hi XXXX, I understand your concern regarding the skin problem and I hope I will be able to help you in the same. Now it looks like your mother developed an allergic drug rash. Since she just had a hysterectomy done, she was obviously on various drugs. The type of generalized rash that she developed can occur in patients on antibiotics and pain killers. She is now off all drugs since two days which is something good. In cases of generalized drug rash, we should ideally stop all the drugs . We need to give her antihistamines. She has already taken levocetrizine with some effect. She should it twice a day continuously for atleast four to five days. Sometimes antihistamines alone are sufficient but in cases when the rash still persists, oral steroids also have to be started according to the weight of the patient. Any drug which one takes tends to persist in the body for few days even if one stops taking it. So it might take a few days before complete clearance of the drug rash. But she should avoid all other drugs for the time being. Hope it helps, If you need any further clarifications, please ask. Dr Geetika Paul.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar