Anybody know what this rash could be? Trying to help solve a mystery.
It is not from a tick bite, or bug bite. I know they look like EM rashes too.
This is a picture of face skin and the rashes are about the size of a dime, and there are 3 of them. The centers are clear, with a raised border, itchy too. Does it look like ringworm? Any ideas?
Posted by Tracy9 (Member # 7521) on :
...yes, looks like ringworm. Have you checked ringworm images on the internet?
Posted by Nutmeg (Member # 7250) on :
Could it be an allergic or herx reaction to a drug or supplement? The face is not a common place for these, but it does happen, I think.
I had something very similar last spring when I started taking a natural herbal tincture. I googled images for it at the time in an online dermatology atlas and came up with erythema annulare centrifugum. Had probably 100 or more of the spots on my trunk area. They were itchy and scaly-looking on the outer ring, and white or yellowish in the center with no rash.
I stopped the tincture for a couple of days, then reduced my dosage and did things to assist with detox and they eventually faded and never returned. My doctor thought it was caused by not being able to detox fast enough.
Hope this helps. Nutmeg
Posted by cjnelson (Member # 12928) on :
looks like ring worm to me 2!!
Posted by shazdancer (Member # 1436) on :
Possible ringworm, but have a doc take a look. Ringworm (a fungal infection, not a worm, in case anyone wondered), doesn't expand like an EM usually does.
Posted by merrygirl (Member # 12041) on :
Looking like ringworm.....
Main Symptoms
Round pink patch.
Clearing of the center as the patch grows.
Raised, rough, scaly border.
Usually 1/2 to 1 inch in size.
Ring slowly increases in size/mildly itchy.
Cause
A fungus infection of the skin transmitted from puppies or kittens who have it, or from the soil.
[ 30. November 2007, 09:24 AM: Message edited by: merrygirl ]
Posted by Troup Brazelton (Member # 6297) on :
I once had bloches that looked simular. Turned out it was hair rinse. When I changed to washing and rinsing my hair and then bathing in the shower, the ichy red spots went way. It way a type of dermatitus caused by a reaction to the rinse.
Posted by tailz (Member # 10014) on :
My daughter had those on her when we first moved into this house. I didn't know at the time that we had high magnetic fields here from power lines, but I eventually measured them with a Trifield Meter (gaussmeter).
You can probably fix the symptom with either a prescription or herbal antifungal, but I lost 2 cats to heart attacks since moving into this house, and I'm learning magnetic fields do more than cause fungal infections.
Posted by ballet1 (Member # 13930) on :
hi, I have rashes when I have a leg seizure,--but their on my arms (mostly), and sometimes on my legs. They don't look like yours though,--mine are more raised and promoinent (wouldn't ya know it!) --itchy too!! Hang-in there! Sincerely, Ballet1
Posted by CaliforniaLyme (Member # 7136) on :
And ringworm is itchy!*)!! Sounds like it!!!
Posted by WildCondor (Member # 434) on :
It looks just like ringworm in the pictures, thanks everybody. Infected kittens will do it. Posted by wiserforit (Member # 9732) on :
Good picture!
I have exactly the same sort of rash -- except there were two the size of a baby kiss on each back hip.
Over time they disappeared, only to come back a little larger and itchier with each abx increase. Now the pink outline is still there, but the inside is fading and full of dry skin.
I went to a dermatologist who's reliable in the Lyme world. He said it was an immunological response to what was going on inside my body as it battled Lyme. It was not ringworm; it was not Lyme (bullseye); it was not ecsema. He said that my skin response was to break out in different ways. I also have a weird acne around my hairline and many new "age spots" and freckles.
It's always something...eh?
Best,
wiserforit
Posted by Geneal (Member # 10375) on :
I found a kitten that gave both my children and myself ringworm.
It was horrible!!!! The itching was very close to the itching I had
With my first case of poison ivy this past summer!
Are you ready? You can take diflucan to get rid of it....
Or lamasil (sp?) the medicine for toe nail fungus.
Probably sporonox as well, although I am not 100% sure of that.
Over the counter creams take weeks and weeks to work.
My son had gotten it in his hair. I hate to say it, but it looked like he had
Those Wheat crop circles on top of his head.
He was allergic to lamasil. Diflucan worked like a charm.
That was the Rx given to us by a dermatologist.
Hugs,
Geneal
Posted by ICEiam (Member # 7519) on :
Hate to say this but ringworm is usually dry and scaley...........that picture doesn't look like it is dry at all????? I may not be seeing it right. If it is, it is easy enough to get rid of unlike Lyme related problems. Hopefully it is ringworm.
I would make a quick trip to the Duck of your choice or your LLMD......LOL, ducks, ya gotta humor them!
Hugs,
Posted by Niels (Member # 13970) on :
Those rashes could be "Morgellons" which is Lyme-Related. Possibly a co-infection possibly parasitic, possibly fungal. Treatment is basically ILADS-guideline Lyme treatment, plus antiparasitics (ivermectin, fenbendazole, oxybendazole, moxidectin, praziquantel), plus antifungals (griseofulvin/terbinafine and/or fluconazole/itraconazole/etc).
In particular the picture above of the rash on the left, with the white-line across the top... if you stick a needle through the lesion, so that the "white line" is above the needle... and then pull the needle up so that it crosses under the line.. and that line ends up being a fiber that you pull up from the skin. Then it's morgellons and not erythema migrans.
For complete disinformation: http://morgellonswatch.com ( site appears to be related to quackwatch.org ) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morgellons (authors are quackwatch operatives or morgellonswatch operatives -- biased chronic lyme denialists and "all in the head" types.)
The latest paper on this topic (note the author is ILADS former president):
Morgellons disease: the mystery unfolds Virginia R Savely and Raphael B Stricker�
Morgellons disease is a mysterious skin disorder that was first described over 300 years ago. The disease is characterized by fiber-like strands extruding from the skin in association with dermatologic and neuropsychiatric signs and symptoms. Although Morgellons disease has been confused with delusional parasitosis, the occurrence of the disease in children, the lack of pre-existing psychopathology in most patients and the presence of subcutaneous fibers on skin biopsy indicate that the disease has a somatic origin. The association with Lyme disease and the apparent response to antibiotic therapy supports the concept that Morgellons disease may be triggered by an infectious process. Recent studies suggest that infection with Agrobacterium may play a role in the disease. Further clinical and molecular research is needed to unlock the mystery of Morgellons disease.
Expert Rev. Dermatol. 2(5), 585591 (2007)
[ 29. November 2007, 08:03 PM: Message edited by: Niels ]
Posted by prospector (Member # 13971) on :
WildCondor. Don't pay any attention to that DP guy telling you to self mutilate your face by digging out normal tissue. It appears to be ringworm. Buy some tinactin cream for the spots and see if it clears up after a while.
Posted by minimonkey (Member # 8693) on :
Ummm---Prospector --
You **do** realize that morgellons is a real illness, and NOT DoP, or self mutilation, etc., right????? Right???
BTW, my initial EM rash was diagnosed as ringworm, for what its worth.
Posted by beckyM (Member # 13944) on :
I looked at the pitcures for the linkes for the morgellans...they look different...AND I WOULD NEVER SUGGEST SOMEONE STICK A NEEDLE INTO ANYTHING INTO THEIR BODY ON THEIR OWN!!!!
It's hard to tell by the picture...but everyone seems to be on the right track...could possbily be ring worm...or, without the flakiness...it could possibly be a localized drug reaction causing welt like hives...I would def. get it checked out just incase!
Posted by WildCondor (Member # 434) on :
Thanks all, it was ringworm. It was from infected kittens adopted from a shelter. Many thanks for the replies.
Posted by Niels (Member # 13970) on :
That's good to hear it was ringworm. Morgellons is far harder to cure. However, I've seen ringworm and it looked nothing like that.
If it "heals" and them recurs, is it still ringworm? Should you trust a glorified cosmetologist (aka dermatologist) to diagnose or treat a systemic disease? (I'm assuming that if you're on this board, you have lyme, if your derm doesn't know lyme, you might as well get your medical advice from reading tea leaves or an outright quack... "dermalotolgy is a visual science" is what Dr. Charles Koo of UCSF told me back in 2001, misdiagnosing me with Folliculitis. I had Lyme disease, but I had to wait three years before even beginning treatment for that.. garnering bogus "Leprosy" and "terminal AIDS" misdiagnoses while trying to figure out what was wrong -- NB: HIV -, mycoplasma leprae - ).
IMHO, unless that line across the left-lesion is a former scar, that's not ringworm... it is the cause of the lesion, irritation to morgellons fiber growing underneath the skin. And antifungals applied topically seem to help w/ morgellons. Nystatin, for example seems to dissolve the hard structures/fibers. Others find econazole nitrate, miconazole, or terbinafine helpful. However, as these agents require "contact" with the fungus, it's going to be difficult w/o use of DMSO, to get enough antifungal to the area in question... and using DMSO is potentially dangerous if there's propylene glycol or other poisons in the topical).
The lesion might "heal" around the fiber, with scar tissue and hard-skin that will give the appearance of a raised line or a hardened circular "rim" around the lesion. The fiber will continue growing and the lesion will become harder. It will continue to re-erupt for years in the same spot, increasing scarring/thickening each time.
Also BeckyM wrote: >...AND I WOULD NEVER SUGGEST SOMEONE STICK A >NEEDLE INTO ANYTHING INTO THEIR BODY ON THEIR >OWN!!!!
So I guess you go to the emergency room to remove splinters or glass from your feet? In some cases it is certainly advisable to do this, but there's plenty of people that use a flame-sterilized sewing needle to remove a splinter. The same technique can be used to remove a morgellons fiber. And knowing you have this telltale sign of morgellons will save you countless years of suffering being humiliated by nonbelieving dermatologists sticking to their "dermatology is a visual science" cookbook. This is especially true if you have Lyme disease as the underlying cause of your skin condition.
So if you do think you have Morgellons, I suggest you see a LLMD, rather than a dermatologist. Unless of course you like being misdiagnosed and improperly medicated for your condition.
And if your LLMD doesn't know morgellons, s/he is clueless. ILADS has been reconizing Morgellons since 2004 and it has been discussed at it's conferences in the last few years as it has a high prevalence among lyme patients. Former president Dr. Stricker has authored two papers on Morgellons published in dermatology journals, and it's psychiatrist members have responded appropriately to the misdiagnosis of DOP for this disease: Dr. Harvey's Dermatology Journal Reply and likewise a similar response to dermatologists: Dr. Bransfield's Psychiatry Journal Reply
[ 29. November 2007, 08:11 PM: Message edited by: Niels ]
Posted by lymebytes (Member # 11830) on :
I didn't read any other answers, but my guess is ringworm, I know because I have had it.
After I post this - I will read some of the guesses.
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