I never realized that ringworm can look kind of bull's-eye-ish.
My stupid PCP spent so much time telling me that he didn't believe in Lyme (though he gave me a scrip for doxycycline without my asking for it), he never bothered to scrape or biopsy the rash.
I am starting to HATE doctors.....
Posted by JamesNYC (Member # 15793) on :
Hi Taximom,
Welcome to Lymenet!
I clicked on your link but it didn't go to the slide show. (I did find the picture link when I scrolled down the page).
I've had ring worm and it's usually pretty distinctive. The typical rash has a raised ring that looks like it could have a worm inside it (it doesn't of course). Sometimes it's scaly. It is a fungus on top of the skin. It tends to be small and confined to one area at a time. Sometimes it itches.
The lyme EM rash tends to move out and spread. Sometimes disappearing and then reappearing elsewhere. Most distinctive from ringworm, it's smooth to the touch. It's in the skin, not on top.
Also, where is the rash and what kind of exposure to ticks or a ringworm carrier have you had? Does it itch?
I was rebitten by 2 ticks a few weeks ago. I never got a rash, however there were very distinctive round bite marks that are still there. If I didn't know it was from a tick, I might have thought it was a deer fly bite (even though there are no deer flies this time of year) or a flea bite.
You Dr doesn't believe in Lyme? As in it doesn't exist as an infection at all? That the spirochetes that ticks carry aren't really there?
Or does he not believe in it as a chronic illness? (typical)
If it's the former, I would report him to the state licensing board for negligence. Even the CDC and IDSA acknowledge lyme AS an infection. There is NO dispute about the science of the existance of lyme.
If you want to get a better opinion why don't you take a picture and post it?
I hope that helps a little.
James
Posted by Taximom (Member # 23176) on :
Thanks, James, good idea. I do have pictures on my cell phone--just have to figure out how to upload them.
Mine IS raised, and periodically very itchy. It's on the inside of my leg, near the knee. The raised part looks pustular, but a light, lacy-looking rash seems to be spreading a bit beyond the round borders (though the rest of it seems to be getting better).
Does the fact that it IS raised rule out Lyme? That would be nice!
I didn't see what bit me. In fact, I'm ASSUMING it's a bite, because the center part of it looks like a bite and itched like a bite before it got surrounded by the raised area (which had a lighter-colored sort of inner ring, which was what made me wonder about Lyme, as it looked bull's-eye-ish).
I have a large, very furry dog, and we've spent a good deal of time this fall at soccer games and cross country meets at various parks near various wooded areas in Southwestern PA.
My doctor only believes Lyme exists in Lyme, CT. He claims that he has treated every patient who came in with a rash suspicious for Lyme by giving doxycycline, but that they then tested negative 6 months later, so he believes that therefore they never did have Lyme--which makes me wonder what else he was expecting since HE TREATED THEM???? I mean, if he treated them correctly, shouldn't they have tested negative later? That's like saying that the patient came in with bacterial pneumonia, so you treated it with antibiotics, and then tested the person 6 months later, and hey presto! No pneumonia, gee, guess they never had pneumonia to begin with?????
I've been trying to play it safe, as I know several people who had long-undiagnosed Lyme, and I don't want to end up there.
Posted by JamesNYC (Member # 15793) on :
It does not sound like a lyme related EM rash to me. Lots of things can cause what you're describing.
If it's raised in a ring then I would think ringworm too.
Even my last 2 tick bites, including one that hurt a lot, were not raised. Maybe a little puffy, but small, like 1/2 inch in diameter. They did not spread out, did not get bigger, etc.
Pretty distinctive as a "bite". But not as an indication of lyme.
I don't want to even get STARTED on your Dr. GRRRRRR!
Posted by IckyTicky (Member # 21466) on :
It's very easy to tell if someone has ringworm. You go to a completely dark room and turn on a black light. If it is ringworm.. the rash will be a glowing greenish yellow.
That is how we checked cats for it when I worked at the Humane society. Ringworm is also scaly and patchy (and my whole family had it one.. that sucked.
I can see how someone might think it looked like a bulls eye... sort of. But all of the ringworm I've seen was more of an elongated oval.. and patchy with no center.
Posted by IckyTicky (Member # 21466) on :
And to be honest, what you are describing doesn't really seem like an EM rash to me. If not ringworm.. maybe a spider bite or something? Wish I had a picture to go by!
Posted by JamesNYC (Member # 15793) on :
Icky,
Wow, I never knew that about the UV light and ringworm! Thanks!
Also, I think there are basically no such things as "spider bites". I think that is a "catch-all" term for bites of an unknown source.
Very few spider species can bite (sting, really) at all. Those that do, like black widows, and brown recluse, are VERY distinctive and painful! You have to really provoke a spider, it's not like they go around biting people for food.
I have heard sooo many Drs declare "spider bites" with no knowledge to back them up.
I'll bet almost all those bites are some kind of tick bite.
Posted by Taximom (Member # 23176) on :
Still trying to figure out how to upload a photo--I have it in my email, but now what???? (Sorry, I'm good with researching PubMed, but no zilch about photo stuff!)
I got bit a couple of years ago by something that I was SURE was a tick. I saved it, and brought it to an entymologist--who said it did look like a tick, but it was actually a beetle, and closely related to a ladybug. I can't remember if what I thought were antennae were legs or vice versa.
Posted by lymephobic (Member # 17556) on :
pityriasis rosea...do a google search.
My daughters (she is 9) pediatrician saw her rash and said ringworm but possibly pityriasis rosea. Thought to be caused by a virus.
I did another search for it and added lyme to the search and a few things popped up but I havent been able to find any real links...just some possibilities.
Interesting though, in some cases this rash which usually resolves on its own is sometimes accompanied by tiredness and aches.
Posted by n.northernlights (Member # 17934) on :
Posting pictures: You can upload it to picasaweb, and that is easiest if you have downloaded picasa in the first place. In Picasa there is this upload button. You can choose if the album is to be public or not. Image size too. Most images on the web do not need to be huge. In picasaweb, you can probably use the embed link and post here, but somebody can give you a better explanation...but the link to the picasaweb image will do I think.