DermographismDilemma

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Title
What antihistamine treatment will make inflammation of the skin go down the quickest?

**Broad Question** What antihistamine will make the inflammation go away the quickest?

Specific Question
What is the affect of antihistamine lotion on the inflammation of skin?

Hypothesis
** Hypothesis ** : It is hypothesized that the anti-itch will make time for the welt to rise and go back down will be less than normal.


 * Rational ****:** I think that the anti-itch cream will quicken the time it takes for the welt to go down. I think this because it has the same amount of antihistamines in it as Benadryl lotion, making me believe that it would work the best.

Variables That Need To Be Controlled:

 * The antihistamine treatments used in each trial.
 * The size of the boxes on the arms.
 * The way that the treatments were applied.
 * The way the skin was scratched.
 * Where the experiment took place.
 * What was used to take video of the experiment.
 * What was used to wash off the antihistamines.
 * What units the time was measured in.
 * Where the data was written down.
 * The arms used
 * The person who was experimented on

**Vocabulary List That Needs Explanation**


 * Dermographism**: a skin condition in which the skin creates a welt when scratched.


 * Antihistamines**: A drug that has histamines in it to help allergies.


 * Inflammation**: When the skin is risen.

Safety Or Environmental Concerns
Safety concerns that would go along with this experiment could be that the body does not react well with one of the antihistamines and it has a dangerous reaction.

Experimental Design
(add the correct headings from the experimental design page before beginning)

Resources and Budget Table

 * Item || Number needed || Where I will get this || Cost ||
 * Anti-Itch cream || 1 || Hanaford || $ 6.00 ||
 * Cortisone cream || 1 || Hanaford || $ 6.00 ||
 * Caladryl || 1 || Hanaford || $ 7.00 ||

Detailed Procedure
** Procedure **


 * 1. Buy the cortisone, caladryl and anti itch lotions **
 * 2. Bring the antihistamines to the science room **
 * 3. Draw rectangles 5 cm length by 4 cm width on the inside of the forearms between the wrist and the elbow (separating where the antihistamines will be smeared), labeled with what kind of antihistamine will smeared on it. **
 * 4. Smear the cortisone in one rectangle and the caladryl in another and the anti itch lotion in another and leave another one blank. smear a drop of the antihistamines and spread with a q-tip. **
 * 5. Use a round toothpick to scratch a line in each one of the rectangles, corner to corner (diagonally). **
 * 6. Wait for the skin to rise. **
 * 7.Keep track in minutes and seconds of long it takes for a risen welt to form on the epidermis of the skin (or if nothing come up), and go down **
 * 8. Write down the seconds it takes for the welt to form on a piece of paper **
 * 9. As the experiment goes on pictures will be taken, along with a video. **
 * 10. Wash off the antihistamines from the skin with soap and water **
 * 11.A couple of days later the experiment will be conducted again, switching where the lotions will be smeared. **
 * 12. Repeat the procedure 4 times skipping a couple days until it is conducted again. **

Results
The average time it took for the welt to go down was 20 minutes and 9 seconds for the cortisone cream. The average was 17 minutes 6 seconds for the anti-itch cream. The average time it took for the Caladryl was 23 minutes 1 second, and the average time it took for the control to go down was 35 minutes 9 seconds.

Conclusion
The experiment was designed to find out what antihistamine would make the inflammation of skin go down the quickest. The results show that the anti-itch cream made the inflammation go down the quickest with an average of 17 minutes 6 seconds. The control took the longest as predicted, with an average of 35 minutes 9 seconds.

Discussion
The experiment was designed to find out which antihistamine would make the inflammation of skin go down the quickest. Yes, the results concluded that the anti-itch cream made the inflammation of skin go the quickest with an average of 17 minutes 6 seconds. It had hypothesized that the anti-itch cream would make the inflammation go down the quickest. I had hypothesized that the anti-itch would go down the quickest, the data showed that it took the quickest to go down. The experiment did give me the answer to the question, the anti-itch cream took the quickest time to make the welt go down. The average time it took for the welt to go down was 20 minutes and 9 seconds for the cortisone cream. The average was 17 minutes 6 seconds for the anti-itch cream. The average time it took for the Caladryl was 23 minutes 1 second, and the average time it took for the control to go down was 35 minutes 9 seconds. there was some data found that didn't fit in with the rest of the data, like in trial two of the control (Nothing was applied to the skin) it took 18 minutes 13 seconds and all of the other trials were around 40-50 minutes and so that threw off the total average. The results were what they were because of the amount of antihistamines in all of the creams. If this experiment were to be done again it would be best to have a controlled pressure it would be helpful to know about dermographism while doing the experiment. This experiment led to questions such as, will different objects affect the welt

Benefit to Community and/or Science
Could benefit people with dermographism.

Background Research

 * Someone took Ranitidine HCI tablets (300mg) and Razene (10mg) found a difference the next day with the welts, then it wore off in another week. another person took zyrtec and it helped a lot. **
 * [] **


 * What is a histamine? **
 * Histamine is an organic nitrogen compound involved in local [|immune responses] as well as regulating physiological function in the gut. [|]] Histamine triggers the [|inflammatory response] . As part of an immune response to foreign [|pathogens], histamine is produced by [|basophils] and by <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #0b0080; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline;">[|mast cells] found in nearby connective tissues. Histamine increases the permeability of the capillaries to white blood cells and some proteins, to allow them to engage pathogens in the infected tissues. <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #0b0080; font-family: Arial; font-size: 8px; vertical-align: super;">[|[3]] **


 * <span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5; vertical-align: baseline;">[|http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Histamine#Disorders] **


 * Dermatographic urticaria (also known as dermographism, dermatographism or "skin writing") is a skin disorder seen in 4–5% of the population and is one of the most common types of <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #0b0080; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline;">[|urticaria], <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #0b0080; font-family: Arial; font-size: 8px; vertical-align: super;">[|[1]] in which the skin becomes raised and inflamed when stroked, scratched, rubbed, and sometimes even slapped. <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #0b0080; font-family: Arial; font-size: 8px; vertical-align: super;">[|[2]] It is most common in young adults, ages 20-30. [ <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #0b0080; font-family: Arial; font-size: 8px; vertical-align: super;">[|citation needed] ] **
 * The symptoms are thought to be caused by <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #0b0080; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline;">[|mast cells] in the surface of the <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #0b0080; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline;">[|skin] releasing <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #0b0080; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline;">[|histamines] without the presence of <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #0b0080; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline;">[|antigens], due to the presence of a weak membrane surrounding the mast cells. The histamines released cause the skin to swell in the affected areas. **
 * This weak membrane easily and rapidly breaks down under physical pressure causing an allergic-like reaction, in general a red [|wheal] (welt) to appear on the skin. It can often be confused with an allergic reaction to the object causing a scratch, when in fact it is the act of being scratched that causes a wheal to appear. These wheals are a subset of [|urticaria] (hives) that appear within minutes, in some cases accompanied with itching. The first outbreak of urticaria can lead to others on body parts not directly stimulated, scraped, or scratched. In a normal case, the swelling will reduce itself with no treatment within 15–30 minutes, but, in extreme cases, itchy red welts may last anywhere from a few hours to days. **


 * <span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5; vertical-align: baseline;">[] **

Abstract
<span style="background-color: transparent; display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;"> <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">This experiment was conducted to find out what kind of antihistamine treatment would make the inflammation of skin go down the quickest. The experiment was run by applying different antihistamines to the skin, and then scratching the surface of the skin with a toothpick. Dermographism caused the skin to puff up when scratched. The data was collected by timing how long it took the skin to puff up and go back down. It was hypothesized that the anti-itch cream would be the quickest. The hypothesis was supported. Anti-itch cream had an average 17:06 minutes compared to cortisone cream, with an average of 20:09.