Heating pad blotches now have a name -- erythema ab igne

Erythema ab igne. Do not ask me how to pronounce it, but typing it into google images will show you the all too common images ICers see on a daily basis on their inner thighs due to heating pad usage. However, the ones covering the entire leg likely was caused by something other than just a heating pad.

"A middle-aged man presented with intractable abdominal pain from chronic pancreatitis secondary to excessive alcohol use in the past. The pain was unrelieved by thoracoscopic splanchnicectomy and regular opioid analgesia, and he had been using a hot water bottle for years to obtain relief.
The reticular, nonblanching hyperpigmented discolouration of the skin is characteristic of erythema ab igne (Figure 1). This is a useful diagnostic sign in pancreatitis,1 but may also be encountered in patients with abdominal neoplasms such as gastric and hepatic tumours.2
It can occur at any site exposed repetitively to infrared radiation in the form of non-painful heat, such as the shins of old people who sit in front of fireplaces in temperate climates or the abdomen and thighs of kangri (a small portable earthen firepot) users in the Himalayas.3
Erythema ab igne is not always an innocuous cutaneous feature as the mitogenic effects of heat can lead to thermal keratoses and skin cancers; mainly squamous cell carcinomas." -- (http://journal.nzma.org.nz/journal/121-1276/3124/)

Evidently it can cause cancer. But, eh, not like we have much of a choice. This fellow had bad stomach pains. This is how you know your patient isn't faking it.

For science!

I broke my diet. Every once in awhile you need to try to see if your food tolerance has increased any. I ate just a little, so I'm not expecting anything awful. It was regular fried rice from an Asian fast food joint. Likely has MSG in it and onions.. and some spice I couldn't name but had properties of black pepper. If you don't hear from me in two days then things went well. If I reply, it'll be about blood coming out of places where blood shouldn't come from.

How to select a pet if you have IC?

There are things to consider when selecting a pet when you have IC. The first thing to consider before anything else is allergies. On the ICN we put our symptoms and meds, and one of the users outs "Fur Therapy" with a picture of her dog under the med section. Fur therapy is a pretty great thing, especially if your insurance will pay to get a dog trained as a helper. I was trying to train our German Shepard to bring towels to the washer so I wouldn't have to walk through the coldest part of the house, but he would just take it randomly drag it somewhere upfront. I guess if it was horseshoes it'd kinda count.

Living single, or with only a spouse would make dog ownership hard if you have particularly really bad flares. You'd have to judge on the regularity of them and how bad they are. Would you be able to let you dog outside every 3 to 4 hours? Having a dog outside on a chain is useless as a therapy animal, and when you want to bring him inside he'll surely need a bath first. My family includes 3 other people, and the dogs arne't really "mine" and stay upfront with my parents. They're also terrified of the bathroom for obvious reasons... b-a-t-h. So they are unhappy to keep me company in a bad flare.

What about a cat? My cat is a bathroom lurker, likely because the dogs won't go there. Problem is I'm allergic to cats. And she's extra hairy. And she sheds so much our hallways look like the old west with tumble weeds, except its cat fur. She was a foster we saved, and this was far before I had IC. Sadly nowdays I have to kick her out the bathroom or else she'll spend the whole time meowing and rubbing my legs and making me itchy on top of everything else.

What about reptiles? They have some friendly reptiles like bearded dragons, but they cost a lot to keep up with. They'd likely stay in the bathroom with you. Snakes wouldn't really do enough to keep you occupied, though they're real easy and cheap to take care of, and turtles are too skittish and need weekly water changes, but friendly lizards are always an options if you can pay and research on how often cage cleanings are needed.

What about rodents? Rats are the best pets I've ever had. They're mini-dogs. When mine escaped at night I'd wake up with them licking my face. Yes, rather than "act like a rodent and chew everything", rats would rather climb into bed with you. I didn't choose a rat this time because they need weekly cage cleanings.

Hamsters: Hamsters are evil. The commit mass suicide, will bite, and I've never heard a positive story.

Rabbits: They can be litter box trained, but generally still poop around the house. The poop a lot, so you need to clean their cage often if you keep them in one or play find the poop, but eventually I think they can be trained to poop in a litter box too. Rabbits don't like to snuggle though.

Chinchillas: They pee. A lot. You need to change their cage 3 times a weak.

Gerbils: This was my pick. You have to change their cage.. once a month! Get them a 10 gallon aquarium with carefesh bedding and its like watching an ant farm with how they tunnel. They are trainable to ride in your pocket, but take much more work to be friendly that a rat would, but are not evil like gerbils. Mine already knows to like the hand.


I had an awful flare last night. No amount of meds or hot baths would help. I stayed 5 hours in the bathroom with nothing to do so I asked my boyfriend to bring the gerbils in (I had already gerbil proofed it, just don't leave anything on the ground they can chew on). They kept my attention and watching them play made me feel happy. They also are curious about feet but generally take the time to just run laps around the room chasing each other.