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A rash decision

When things turned passionate, I really did get my fella hot and bothered!


Published by: Fiona Ford
Published on: 14th January 2010

Like all brides, I was excited about my wedding day. Me and Darren, 48, had been together eight years. And one weekend away in Edinburgh, we'd decided to get hitched.
So for the past few months, I'd gone over every detail.
My two girls Laura, 25, and Louise, 23, along with Darren's two sons Danny, 23, and Liam, 18, helped with the preparations.
Everything was going well except for one problem - me and my intended were having a few hiccups in the bedroom department.
I know how it sounds, but every time we got a bit saucy between the sheets, Darren came up in a bright red rash. Wherever his body had touched mine came up red and pimply.
'What on earth's that?' I'd cried the first time I saw it.
'I dunno,' he'd shrugged. 'Just one of those things.'
But from then on, when we got intimate, Darren developed a rash on his arm or tummy.
By the third time, to say I was a bit upset was an understatement.
'Is it me?' I wept. 'Is it the stress of the wedding? You're not going to back out are you?'
'Of course not,' he promised. 'I'm probably allergic to the washing powder or something.'
I wasn't convinced.
This rash had been appearing ever since he'd been to Doncaster Royal Infirmary three months earlier.
He'd torn a ligament in his right foot and went to hospital for routine treatment.
I'd been at home when one of the hospital's nurses rang.
'Darren's suffered a reaction to a steroid injection,' she'd explained. 'He's gone into cardiac arrest.'
I came over faint as I took in the shock news.
Racing to the hospital, I'd begged doctors for answers.
'He's fine,' they'd said. 'His heart stopped beating twice, but he's
stable now.'
Thankfully, he'd made a swift recovery and was allowed home two
days later.
Too weak to return to his job driving buses, he was signed off for three months.
Now he seemed fine apart from this bloomin' rash. He refused to go to the doctor, though.
I put it down to wedding nerves, and hoped a two-week honeymoon in Egypt would make this rash a thing of the past, something we'd look back on and laugh about - or wish we'd bought a cream for.
Lying on the beach the day after our wedding, Darren rubbed sun cream into my back, and I'd never been happier.
'Fancy going back to our room?' I whispered.
'Thought you'd never ask,' he grinned back.
Back in our love nest, we enjoyed a few hours alone. But afterwards, instead of lying back in a happy daze, I leaped out of bed in shock. 'Your whole body's gone bright red,'
I shrieked.
Darren was as horrified as I was.
'No more funny business until we get back,' he mumbled. 'I'm going to the doctor.'
Some honeymoon this was!
I spent the whole trip fretting.
What if Darren was allergic to me? I'd be living the life of a nun!
Our doctor was very sympathetic, and after months of tests, we had a diagnosis.
After the steroid jab, Darren had developed a rare allergy to a chemical called PEG which is used in nearly every cream and perfume, and especially sun cream!
'So it's not me?' I asked.
'Definitely not,' the doctor said.
Now we make sure we never use anything with PEG in, and Darren has remained rash free.
Although it now takes a bit longer to read all the labels on the bottles when we're out shopping, it's worth it. After all, I was itching to get our love life back on track!
Sue Young, 45, Doncaster, South Yorkshire