My daughter has angry red stretch marks about hip/waist area. They seem brighter even tho she has lost rather than gained weight.
I have read that purple marks are symptom of Bart.
She has a negative Bart test from Igenex, but I wonder...
Posted by lyme_suz (Member # 7628) on :
Mistake. Negative for Babesia recently thru Igenex. Negative for bart last yr.
Posted by Lisianthus (Member # 6631) on :
Both of my twin sons "had" the purple/red stretch marks due to Bartonella. Since they have been in treatment the stretch marks are almost gone.
By the way --- They both tested neg. for Bart. If there is one thing I have learned through this, is that tests are NOT reliable!
Hopefully your daughter's marks will disappear too.
Side note .... These marks have nothing to do with gaining or losing weight.
Lisi
Posted by ebrischoux (Member # 7281) on :
I had never heard stretch marks being related to co infections. This is very interesting. Altho my son is very heavy he has huge red stretch marks on his body. My mother even commented on them last year which I found odd because my father is heavy too. She said she had never seen stretch marks like this before. Where can I find more info on this as my son also tested negative for Bart. Thanks Eileen
Posted by Lisianthus (Member # 6631) on :
Here is a link where you see pictures of the stretch marks.
Just hit your down arrows until you get to the page about Bartonella.
You can have these marks on your hips/abdomen and under your arms.
Martin Fried, MD (Coinfections Associated with Abdominal Pain) Rtsp://ldarm.webcastcenter.com/lda/lda04_mfried.rm
Posted by HOPE4290 (Member # 7926) on :
Dr. Martin Fried, Pediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition Department of Pediatrics at the Jersey Shore University Medical Center in Neptune, NJ presented a session on Unique dermatologic manifestations of tick-borne diseases at the LDA conference on Friday, Oct. 28th in Philadelpia, PA.
Dr. Fried's talk mostly centered on the infection of Bartonella Henselae which is the most common form of Bartonella seen. It can be caused by a cat scratch, and thus is often called "cat scratch fever" but recently has become more and more common in conjuntion with Lyme Disease and infected by a Tick bite. (You can have Bartonella alone as well.)
Dr. Fried said that there are several common rashes that are seen in Bartonella.
1. maculopaplar or flat 2. hibes-urticarial 3. erythema nodosun- hard tender raised area often on the heals. 4. Ringworm- granuloma annulaire 5. Thrombocytic 6. Vascular
The one he concentrated most of his talk on is the vascular rash often mistaken as stretch marks. This Rash is caused by Interleuken 6 and is a a vasculitis with the result of a new blood vessel formation secondary to the inflammatory process. The marks are Deep reddish purple lillines that appear snake like. They look remarkably like stretch marks but Dr. Fried gave a few tips that the cause is infection and not stretch marks. You can suspect a Coinfection cause for the rash if:
1. Bartonella or Mycoplasma infection 2. No steroid use (which can cause rash) 3. No abrupt weight gain 4. Not obese, BMI over 30
Another tipoff to it being caused by an infection is where it is on the body:
1. Breast- circling the breast little red lines 2. Back- distribution important: looks like a Christmas tree going up back and distributed on both sides of the backbone. 3. Groin 4. Back of knee (atypical-may go straight up and down the leg pointing up or down the leg) 5. Periumbilical only (Belly button) May be just one line or many 6. Inner thigh 7. Buttocks 8. Shoulder (rare) -very rare to see in weight gain so seeing it on the shoulder is a Big tip off to infection.
Dr. Fried said it is more common for stretch marks to follow connective tissue planes where in an infection it can or it can follow other planes. Lines that are all horizontal are infections. This rash can come and go. If it goes away the patient may still be fatigued and have cognitive issues and if this is the case treatment needs to be continued.
Dr. Fried said that if you have blood drawn for titers to Bartonella it is rare to get a positive IgM titer, and IgG may only be >1:64. He also said that if the lymph nodes are greater than 1 cm. in diameter and not obese or on steroids this should alert you to an infection as the cause.
He also discussed Mycoplasma infections briefly.
1. Intracellular infection with no cell wall 2. Rarely found in the blood 3. Coinfection in patients with Lyme and Bartonella MAY PERSIST DESPITE TREATMENT May cause CFS.
Dr. Fried said that with Striae (rash) or Neovascularization:
1. May be a sign of ongoing infection 2. Consider all possible etiologies (Cushing Syndrome, Obesity, Rapid Weight Changes, Pregnancy, Steroid use) 3. Deserves evaluation of etiology of rash 4. Consider treatment for tic infection when accompanied by multiple organ system involvement
His Conclusions:
1. Consider multiple infections especially in complicated or non responsive cases 2. Evaluate for Multiple infections such as Lyme, Bartonella, Mycoplasma, EBV, Helicobactor 3. Use treatments that will cover multiple infections if suspected or proven.
Posted by lyme_suz (Member # 7628) on :
Thanks everyone!
My daughter starts picc end of this month, but given this bart info; we are going to lyme dr. on Monday to see about switching her oral antibiotics to treat Bart now.
I learn so much on this site. The drs. get a little surprised with the questions and ideas I have.
Keep fighting the good fight. Susan
Posted by ebrischoux (Member # 7281) on :
Thanks for the link to photo's of Bart Rash. My son's look exactly like these although he is quite heavy I was always stumped at the bright red stretch marks he has and have had comments made by family members who have stretch marks themselves and are heavy but they never looked like his.