Topic: HSP (Henoch-Sch�nlein purpura) and Lyme disease should I worry
Softballmom
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posted
My 9 year old son has Lyme disease but has been asymptomatic since his diognosis in 2004. I took him to the ER tonight with a bad strange rash that did not itch and leg pain. I told the doc he had Lyme disease. He diognosed him with HSP but said it was no relation to Lyme. However after some research I see that it is also called Lyme carditis but has different symptoms.
Does anyone know anything about this? My son was sick with a virus that started Wed. night and that is what the Dr. said caused this.
-------------------- It's not the Lyme, I just can't spell! Posts: 1331 | From North Carolina | Registered: Sep 2004
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NP40
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Mom, I'd be careful with this. Bb can lay dormant for a long time and then resume at an opportune time. Leg pain and a rash are pretty common initial symptoms.
Posts: 1632 | From Northern Wisconsin | Registered: Jan 2005
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posted
That's so interesting that your child has Hoenoch Schonlein Purpera! My daughter had that 20 years ago at the age of 4. She was quite ill and we were very worried. (No lyme disease). I have heard no mention of this disease since then, but we will never forget such a wierd name and puzzling disease.
Posts: 48 | From Wisconsin | Registered: Sep 2006
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Softballmom
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thank you for your reply's. All of his symptoms match HSP to a T. He has some swelling and pain in his right testicle, arm and leg pain. The spots from the hemoraging vessels are starting to fade. It saiys this is caused by your immune system not being able to fight off the infection. The other name I found for HSP (Lyme cartitis) only speaks of a heart condition with no relation to the syptoms he is experiencing right now. It really is mind boggling. The doc said he hadn't seen this in a long time and research shows only 14 out of 100,000 children get this.
-------------------- It's not the Lyme, I just can't spell! Posts: 1331 | From North Carolina | Registered: Sep 2004
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Mathias
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Very interesting post. I had that around maybe 25 years ago. Now I am here. Don't know if it is related or not. You are correct, it is not a common condition to have.
-------------------- Mathias Posts: 1242 | From New Jersey | Registered: Feb 2004
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copy the name of his illness in there at the top left corner and do a search; it brought up a lot of info!
it wasn't listed in the normal A-Z illnesses! good luck! so sorry to read this.... thoughts and prayers headed your way
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lymie tony z
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Henoch-Schonlein purpura;
A form of allergic purpura with erythema, urticaria, effusions of serum into subcutaneous or submucous tissure or viscera, accompanied by gastrointestinal and joint symptoms. "Syndrome" is seen mostly in children.
Given that TBD's are the "Great Imitator" you may well have a child mimicking symptoms of Henoch-Schonlein purpura.
Something to consider......I also had right testicular pain about a year before full blown
lyme symptoms. Numbness on one side of my penis...right arm and leg and later bells palsey on right side....zman
-------------------- I am not a doctor...opinions expressed are from personal experiences only and should never be viewed as coming from a healthcare provider. zman Posts: 2527 | From safety harbor florida(origin Cleve., Ohio | Registered: Jan 2004
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Softballmom
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Thanks for the imput. I plan to call Dr. J after the holidays and get his imput on it. It really does concern me.
-------------------- It's not the Lyme, I just can't spell! Posts: 1331 | From North Carolina | Registered: Sep 2004
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posted
I had HSP a few years ago and it was no fun. At one point my feet were so swollen I had to wear my husband's shoes around the house.
A lot of doctors attribute it to nothing more than an allergic reaction and give you antihistamines for it. If they don't work then the next step usually is prednisone -- a BIG no-no for folks with Lyme. Two other more drastic means of treating it are with a gout drug (forget the name) and then a chemotherapy drug if all else fails.
I was beyond the prednisone part and was looking down the pike at having to go on that gout drug when my LLMD suggested seeking an alternative professional whom she knew and trusted. I followed up on that suggestion and the alternative professional diagnosed me with a digestive problem. My body was not digesting carbohydrates due to a lack of enzymes. This, in turn, was causing undigested food particles to float freely around my bloodstream causing the bruising. The condition the alternative professional diagnosed me with was called Leaky Gut Syndrome.
The alternative professional's suggestion was to take digestive enzymes and restrict my diet to meat, fruit, and vegetables only. No mand-made carbohydrates such as pasta, bread, ice cream, cakes, etc., were allowed. At this point I had nothing to lose because my next step was taking that gout drug, which had REALLY unpleasant side effects. Fortunately, this protocol worked and explained why the medical treatments didn't work right -- BECAUSE I wasn't eating right...LOL.
I can never leave well enough alone and was researching HSP all over the Net. My LLMD thought it was great that I was taking control of this. The dermatologist who diagnosed the HSP was not as thrilled but was still pretty nice about it.
In my research, I was not able to find a connection between LD and HSP but I did find that there is a connection between HSP and Bartonella. While I never tested positive for Bart via PCR my LLMD tried treating me as if I had Bart and the spots went away! But they returned once I stopped taking the drug. Again, remember that at this point I still wasn't eating right.
According to another article I found, HSP can be caused by an insect bite, though it wasn't very specific as to the type of insect.
-------------------- Linda Posts: 749 | From New Hope, PA | Registered: May 2002
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Softballmom
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Thank you for that info. It was very helpfull. i scheduled him an appt with Dr. J in NC but with the ammount we have to pay I am going to go ahead and look into him seeing the Pediatric Dr in Conneticut. Dr. J was probably going to refer us to him anyway.
My son is having alot of problems with pain however his spots have already faded. He now has swolen thumbs with pain and now a painfull place on the bottom of his foot that hurts him to walk on, he says it feels swollen but I can't tell. The joint pain is worse in his right knee and both elbows.
-------------------- It's not the Lyme, I just can't spell! Posts: 1331 | From North Carolina | Registered: Sep 2004
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Softballmom
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Thanks for all your help. i have him set up to see Dr. J in Conneticut in March.
-------------------- It's not the Lyme, I just can't spell! Posts: 1331 | From North Carolina | Registered: Sep 2004
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But they returned once I stopped taking the drug. Again, remember that at this point I still wasn't eating right.
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