This Monday night I noticed a rash on both of my inner forearms, consisting of small red bumps, extending for an area about 5 inches long and 2 inches wide. It was itching but not to a great degree. Tuesday morning it was still there, and throughout the day Tuesday the degree of itching would increase then decrease. But by the end of the work day the entire area was red and inflamed, the bumps had increased in size, and it was itching badly. When I got home from work I immediately applied some Clobetasol Propionate cream (topical corticosteroid). In a short while the itching had subsided. Wednesday morning there was no itching, the red bumps and inflammation had greatly subsided, and the bumps had decreased in size. Throughout the day I had little or no itching at all. By Wednesday evening the red bumps had decreased in size even further to small red dots. Thursday morning the red bumps have all but disappeared, they are only faintly visible. The entire area is almost back to normal skin color. There is no itching at all. What was this rash? I'm a 44 year old male, I've never had any allergies in my life. A year ago I saw a dermataologist because of a very small area of (clear not red) itchy bumps on my fingers that would come and go. He told me that this was eczema, and prescibed the Clobetasol Propionate cream, which is why I had some on hand. I suppose my current rash could have been eczema as well, but the symptoms, and the size of the affected area, are different. My guess is that this was some form of contact dermatitis. Due to the location of the rash, I believe this may have been caused by exposure from a weight machine that I use at a Bally's gym where I work out. The exercise on this machine is done by placing both forearms against pads, and then pushing inwards toward your chest (Pec Flys). The rash corresponded to exactly where both my arms contact the pads. I work out on this machine Monday, Wednesday, and Friday every week, so prior to me noticing this rash on Monday night, the last time I was on that machine was that Monday evening, and the previous Friday evening. I also spend a short time in the hot tub and the pool at the gym each time I'm there. The weekend prior to the rash I also spent a good deal of time in chlorinated pools, spending the weekend at a water park. I'm curious whether a rash like this can come and go so quickly on it's own? Or was the one application of the Clobetasol a factor in the rash going away so quickly? Any insights on the nature of this rash would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

Any insights on the nature of this rash would be greatly appreciated. Thanks. As you suggested, it's most likely contact dermatitis from the pads on the machine. AFAICT your options are to stay away from the machines and stick to free weights, wear long sleeves to keep your skin from directly contacting the pads, or just keep doing what you've been doing and keep the steroid cream handy. HTH

consisting of small red bumps, extending for an area about 5 inches long and 2 inches wide. It was itching but not to a great degree. Tuesday morning it was still there, and throughout the day Tuesday the degree of itching would increase then decrease. But by the end of the work day the entire area was red and inflamed, the bumps had increased in size, and it was itching badly. When I got home from work I immediately applied some Clobetasol Propionate cream (topical corticosteroid). In a short while the itching had subsided. Wednesday morning there was no itching, the red bumps and inflammation had greatly subsided, and the bumps had decreased in size. Throughout the day I had little or no itching at all. By Wednesday evening the red bumps had decreased in size even further to small red dots. Thursday morning the red bumps have all but disappeared, they are only faintly visible. The entire area is almost back to normal skin color. There is no itching at all. What was this rash? I'm a 44 year old male, I've never had any allergies in my life. A year ago I saw a dermataologist because of a very small area of (clear not red) itchy bumps on my fingers that would come and go. He told me that this was eczema, and prescibed the Clobetasol Propionate cream, which is why I had some on hand. I suppose my current rash could have been eczema as well, but the symptoms, and the size of the affected area, are different. My guess is that this was some form of contact dermatitis. Due to the location of the rash, I believe this may have been caused by exposure from a weight machine that I use at a Bally's gym where I work out. The exercise on this machine is done by placing both forearms against pads, and then pushing inwards toward your chest (Pec Flys). The rash corresponded to exactly where both my arms contact the pads. I have this right now. The rash corresponds exactly to the lying leg curl machine with the handles underneath. I have the rash on my quads just below the line of my gym shorts and the inner part of the upper arms. It's insanely itchy so I had to get a pre_script_ion creme. This sucks! I hate wearing long sleeves and gym pants 'cause I get hot enough to friggin melt.

This Monday night I noticed a rash on both of my inner forearms, consisting of small red bumps, extending for an area about 5 inches long and 2 inches wide. It was itching but not to a great degree. Tuesday morning it was still there, and throughout the day Tuesday the degree of itching would increase then decrease. But by the end of the work day the entire area was red and inflamed, the bumps had increased in size, and it was itching badly. When I got home from work I immediately applied some Clobetasol Propionate cream (topical corticosteroid). In a short while the itching had subsided. Wednesday morning there was no itching, the red bumps and inflammation had greatly subsided, and the bumps had decreased in size. Throughout the day I had little or no itching at all. By Wednesday evening the red bumps had decreased in size even further to small red dots. Thursday morning the red bumps have all but disappeared, they are only faintly visible. The entire area is almost back to normal skin color. There is no itching at all. What was this rash? I'm a 44 year old male, I've never had any allergies in my life. A year ago I saw a dermataologist because of a very small area of (clear not red) itchy bumps on my fingers that would come and go. He told me that this was eczema, and prescibed the Clobetasol Propionate cream, which is why I had some on hand. I suppose my current rash could have been eczema as well, but the symptoms, and the size of the affected area, are different. My guess is that this was some form of contact dermatitis. Due to the location of the rash, I believe this may have been caused by exposure from a weight machine that I use at a Bally's gym where I work out. The exercise on this machine is done by placing both forearms against pads, and then pushing inwards toward your chest (Pec Flys). The rash corresponded to exactly where both my arms contact the pads. I have this right now. The rash corresponds exactly to the lying leg curl machine with the handles underneath. I have the rash on my quads just below the line of my gym shorts and the inner part of the upper arms. It's insanely itchy so I had to get a pre_script_ion creme. This sucks! I hate wearing long sleeves and gym pants 'cause I get hot enough to friggin melt. So do what I do - stay off the leg curl machine and do SLDLs and/or GMs instead.

I have this right now. The rash corresponds exactly to the lying leg curl machine with the handles underneath. I have the rash on my quads just below the line of my gym shorts and the inner part of the upper arms. It's insanely itchy so I had to get a pre_script_ion creme. This sucks! I hate wearing long sleeves and gym pants 'cause I get hot enough to friggin melt. Ask your gym why they arn't using your gym dues to pay people to go around and sanitize the pads every once in a while.

I have this right now. The rash corresponds exactly to the lying leg curl machine with the handles underneath. I have the rash on my quads just below the line of my gym shorts and the inner part of the upper arms. It's insanely itchy so I had to get a pre_script_ion creme. This sucks! I hate wearing long sleeves and gym pants 'cause I get hot enough to friggin melt. So do what I do - stay off the leg curl machine and do SLDLs and/or GMs instead. Yup, That's what I plan to do. But now I wonder about what other unpleasantness might be on the other things I use, like the flat & incline benches & dumbell seats.