posted
i have these pimply bumps on my back(mostly upper and all accross now spreading down back) and upper
arms..they do not itch.. and seem to be more under the skin almost like little cysts/pimples that bleed when scratched.
they are also coming on my right side forehead. i noticed them in july/august when i first started getting severely sick.
they seemed to go away when i was on antibotics. then in dec. got a stomach bug and i noticed that week they came back and havent left.
i dont think they are shingles because they are not in blotchy patches. really look like pimples that form under the skin but i dont feel like they are.
anybody have any clues as to what this could be??? lyme?? coinfections??
-------------------- If Your Going Through Hell, Keep Going... Posts: 99 | From Shepherdstown, WV | Registered: Sep 2006
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Mine make a little red sore, then when they finally heal, a brown spot.
They're like pimples, but not. They don't itch, but they feel lumpy and they bother me. If I pick at them or scratch at them they get really inflammed.
It's like a rash, too, because it gets worse at night, then it's better in the morning.
I've had this for about two years. The skin on my arms is starting to look rough, too. Taking doxycycline for six months had no effect on it. Nothing I use topically helps, either.
Except--I've noticed that using lotion makes it worse, even though the skin on my upper arms looks dry. I don't know.
It makes me unhappy, because it's hot here in the summer, and I can't wear sleeveless clothes.
Posts: 353 | From Florida boonies | Registered: Nov 2005
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Jill E.
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 9121
posted
Do they look like goose bumps? If so, it can be Keratosis Pilaris.
I've had them for decades on my upper arms - long before my recent tick bite (it's possible I had an original Lyme exposure long ago).
I used to see dermatologists and it's very common. So I have no idea if it's Lyme related.
I've also seen this goosebump kind of rash on the back of arms discussed in women's magazines.
The recommendation is to exfoliate it using an exfoliating scrub or an alpha hydroxy product, a loofah, etc.
I've tried exfoliating it many times (I have sensitive skin so have to be careful) and it has not improved it at all. However, it has not gotten worse.
Mine have not responded to antibiotics, so I'm not sure if we are talking about the same thing or not.
I've also read that goosebump rashes can be a sign of yeast or essential fatty acid deficiency.
Yeah, I hate to go sleeveless, too, because of it.
Jill
-------------------- If laughter is the best medicine, why hasn't stand-up comedy cured me? Posts: 1773 | From San Diego | Registered: Apr 2006
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posted
I didn't have this until I'd been sick for years.
I don't think that keratosis pilaris leaves scars. I did have a doctor (an allergist, for what it was worth) tell me that's what mine was, but it was before it got so bad, and I thought he was wrong--my daughter has KP and it's not the same. It's the same location, but not the same condition.
Yeah--exfoliating makes it sore and worse.
Someone posted a while back that her Lyme practitioner told her it was "active spirochete infection" but I don't know exactly what that means??
I occasionally get small,white, hard lumps like these on my nose , or on the edge of my lips.
Posts: 353 | From Florida boonies | Registered: Nov 2005
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Areneli
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 6740
posted
Eosinophilic folliculitis?
Sometimes you get it in Lyme or in AIDS. See a dermatologist to confirm by biopsy. Responds great to sunlight or ultraviolet rays.
Also check if you have Bartonella.
Posts: 1538 | From Planet Earth | Registered: Jan 2005
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Fiance has had something very similar--small bumps that feel like they're embedded in the skin. Like Nebula's, worse in the morning, didn't respond to a bunch of abx, and start to create overall rough appearance to skin.
I don't know if this is the same thing that y'all have, but when he started on Rifampin, that was the very first thing that they responded to (after having taken Tetracycline, Biaxin w/Plaquenil, Clindamycin w/quinine...). BTW, his bart test had been negative, for what that's worth (and we know it's not worth much!).
He has also been adding the Buhner herbal protocol to his abx regime. Cat's Claw has had positive effects. He recently started Andrographis, and feels like it's "getting at them" too, in a slightly different way. He says that it feels like it's getting into the hair follicles, somehow...
Aviva
Posts: 532 | From southeast US | Registered: Oct 2005
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posted
I've had this for at least 20-25 years, and never once over the years has anyone given me a decent explanation as to what it is.
I've been down the exfoliating/lotion road too and it hasn't helped. However, I am really interested in what you posted Areneli, because the one and only thing that helps totally with this is *sunlight*.
I noticed that when I spent a good deal of time in the sun in the summer, they just go away and it is so marvellous because I have lived with these things practically my whole life and like someone else mentioned hate wearing short sleeves or tank tops.
But sunlight, getting a good solid tan, totally helped me get rid of the bumps almost completely.
I really feel that this is a total lyme symptom, as I believe I acquired my lyme congenitally.
BTW, antibiotics have done absolutley nothing for it. Not one iota of anything. Neither has taking viamins (they always told me it was a mineral or vitamin deficiency when I was growing up).
Cheers,
Alison
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The obscure we see eventually. The completely obvious, it seems, takes longer. --- Edward R. Murrow Posts: 923 | From California | Registered: Aug 2005
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P.P.S. I also have a historically high eosinophil count, which could be another link to possibly having Eosinophilic folliculitis.
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The obscure we see eventually. The completely obvious, it seems, takes longer. --- Edward R. Murrow Posts: 923 | From California | Registered: Aug 2005
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posted
thanks guys for replying. i really appreciate knowing that im not alone in this, and i too also noticed sunlight has helping in the past.
its just such a weird thing, that no one can really explain.
but thanks again..
-------------------- If Your Going Through Hell, Keep Going... Posts: 99 | From Shepherdstown, WV | Registered: Sep 2006
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hopeful123
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 3244
posted
i think it's a kind of eczema and it does respond to certain anti-biotics. cipro i think. i've got it and it is ugly. i was given eledel for it once which didn't do much.
-------------------- some days you're the bug, some days you're the windshield Posts: 1160 | From NY | Registered: Oct 2002
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posted
By the way Areneli -- thank you for answering what 30 years of doctors couldn't! I did some research on EF. It's fungal! Of course! That makes so much sense. Thank you thank you thank you Areneli!!!!
I am wondering if there is any topical antifungal treatment anyone thinks might work. Perhaps just Tinactin? Or possibly oil of oregano? Anyone have any ideas or thought on this?
I think I'm going to do some 'sperimenting on my own to see if anything works (will also talk to llmd next month), but like I said, I'm open to suggestions.
Alison
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The obscure we see eventually. The completely obvious, it seems, takes longer. --- Edward R. Murrow Posts: 923 | From California | Registered: Aug 2005
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posted
P.S. I found a list of treatments for it. They do recommend some antibiotics -- Mypirocin and Dicloxacillin, and also:
Accutane Fulvicin Ultraviolet both A and B Topical Tacrolimus Isotretinoin
A.
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The obscure we see eventually. The completely obvious, it seems, takes longer. --- Edward R. Murrow Posts: 923 | From California | Registered: Aug 2005
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Areneli
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 6740
posted
Glad I could help where all the doctors couldn't.
Accutane can be dangerous; use caution or do not use at all. It can on occasions permanently change gen expression with devastating results. Eosinophilic folliculitis is likely better than that.
Posts: 1538 | From Planet Earth | Registered: Jan 2005
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posted
Think I've had something similar happen a few times- silver sulfadiazine cream (RX) helped with the discomfort and seemed to help them go away faster.
Posts: 35 | From st. Louis | Registered: Feb 2007
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, or on the edge of my lips.
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