hi all, this is a topic i have not found much information about but i feel is a relevant clue to my condition. i was diagnosed w/ lyme babs back in april 05. however i know i have had borrelia since at least 2000. going back that far i have had unexplained scratches on my body randomly when waking up at times. usually these occur every 2-3 weeks or so. usually on either my neck (usually the back or sides. once i got a deep one on the front of neck), my back, or my chest (usually on by belly button or on left/right rib cage). i have very pale skin so they always are very obvious when showering in the morning the next day. i notice them cause they "sting" when hot water hits them. funny thing is i always sleep on my back and i have the softest weakest nails that could never break the skin in the case i do it to myself when i sleep.
the scratches are usually 2-3 inches although one yesterday that showed up was 5.5 inches long on my ribcase. the ones on my neck tend to be deeper. many times there are two or 3 scratches perfectly in parallel with each other. they are always straight. they are also very fine. (like a cut from a razor). i have photographed many of them recently but dont have the pictures to upload at this time. they dont look like the rashes i have seen bartonella cause. these look like scratches if you accidentally had something very sharp and fine lightly break the skin.
i have wondered if these are exit wounds of bacteria acually exiting through the skin. anybody else have any ideas here? this has been going on for years and i know i am not scratching myself in my sleep. any others have similiar issues or clues?
lymes has got to be one of the craziest diseases
regards, electric
Posted by groovy2 (Member # 6304) on :
Hi Elet
Post some pictures if you can-- Rashs are super hard to discribe -Jay-
Posted by Blackstone (Member # 9453) on :
Are they painful just during the day, when you're not in the shower?
Before I was treated I used to get painless scratch-looking marks on my shoulders, that I assumed was from carrying a too-heavy laptop bag. However, this is a clear indication of Bartonella to many docs. Bartonella is even known as cat scratch fever! They have totally gone away... I don't remember at what point during treatment I noticed they were gone, but that's one thing I can say with some certainty is over. On the plus side, bartonella is one of the easier coinfections to wipe out. I'd advise running a few tests if you haven't all ready for Bartonella Henselae, Quintana, and maybe Elizabetha. Rifampin, is pretty good at knocking bartonella out by the way.
Its also possible its a really odd manifestation of babesia, but bartonella is more likely.
Posted by liz28 (Member # 4946) on :
Yeah, that was a bart symptom for me, too.
What finally worked was four months of rifampin and ketek or zith, and liver support.
![[loco]](graemlins/loco.gif)
![[bonk]](graemlins/bonk.gif)