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Student malady could be 'winter itch' Doctors say outbreak at Medford school likely not too serious By BILL KETTLER Mail Tribune A troublesome rash that surfaced last week among several dozen students at Medford's Abraham Lincoln Elementary School may be nothing more than the ailment old-time Oregonians know as "winter itch." "I have a feeling this is something that's going to blow over," said Dr. Douglas Naversen, who examined half a dozen Lincoln students Wednesday with his colleague, Dr. David Igelman. Five of the six students had skin changes that looked typical for the condition physicians call atopic eczema (or atopic dermatitis), a dry-skin rash and accompanying itch that often appears during cold and dry winters. Naversen said the children had skin changes "that didn't just happen last week." "When the body gets too dry, it gets very itchy," Naversen said. He suggested people troubled by dry skin in winter cut back on soap, bathe less often and stay away from fabrics such as wool that can irritate sensitive skin. Jackson County public health officials have been studying the outbreak this week, trying to locate any disease agent or chemical irritant that could be responsible for the itchy rash that has appeared on arms, necks, faces and legs. "The first thing you do is madly go out and gather as much data as you can," said Gary Stevens, the county's director of environmental health. Stevens said the rash appears to run its course without additional illness, and the itching responds to treatment with antihistamines. "I don't see any reason (for parents) to get alarmed," Stevens said. "We don't see these kids getting seriously ill." Stevens noted that clusters of skin rash have been reported in Philadelphia and New York schools, but there was not enough information available about any of the outbreaks to connect them. Lincoln Principal Bob Hartwig said about 33 second-grade students have come down with the itchy rash since it first appeared last week. An additional six fourth-graders reported skin redness Thursday. Hartwig closed teacher Real Brasseur's classroom Monday because the first batch of affected students all had been in Brasseur's room. He directed custodians to thoroughly clean the room and change the building's air filters. An environmental scientist took air samples and found no irritating agents. Hartwig has looked in unlikely places for anything that might have caused the rash. He collected and bagged the puppets that second-graders made last week with items brought from home, just in case the puppet materials contained some contaminant. "What I'm trying to do is control the little pieces I can," he said. Stevens said the rash's rather vague symptoms make it difficult to trace. "It's very challenging to investigate. There are so many hypotheses for something that's not easily diagnosed." Reach reporter Bill Kettler at 776-4492, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2002 Mail Tribune, Inc.