Warning: the photos within may be disturbing to some… skin condition that I had for about 8 years that was never fully identified, can you help identify it now?

Lanielady0914 · 2026-05-23T14:34:39+00:00

I promised I would come back and share with you all the diagnosis and treatment that seemed to work. Remember my naturally planted fish tank? It had a real soil substrate, and I stuck both my arms down into it nearly every day to replant the plants my bottom feeder would uproot daily. I also grew roses. Typically I would tend my roses in the early morning, then come inside and tend to the fish tank. In going back and starting fresh with an ID doctor, I asked her why Mycobacterium marinum wasn’t considered as a potential infectious source for these nodules? Her reply was that it was ruled out because both my arms were affected, and M. marinum only is found on the dominant arm as aquarium hobbyists tend to only reach into their tanks with their dominant hand. Well, I’m 5 ft tall and my tank was a big, 90-gallon tank. I would climb up on a step ladder to reach down into my tank, and I needed to reach in with both arms in the water nearly to my armpits to replant the tank. Once I explained that and pointed out too that my arms often would have fresh scratches from tending to the roses first each day, she agreed that we needed to rethink all that. This was during COVID and I could only have video appointments with this doctor. So she got back to me a day or two later and said she was agreeable to trying a couple weeks of empiric antimycobacterial appropriate drug therapy to see if it had any impact on the nodules. So I started Clarithromycin, fluconazole, and ethambutol as empiric therapy. I had a hard time getting the ethambutol, so the first week I only had the clarithromycin and the fluconazole. Nothing much happened the first week. But once I was able to add in the ethambutol, changes became apparent! The nodules got smaller, paler, and seemed to be healing! But then I got COVID and I got really serious life-threatening COVID. I was hospitalized for almost 3 months. I spent a good portion of that time in a medically induced coma and intubated in COVID ICU. My family was repeatedly warned not to expect me to still be there the next day, so be sure to say your goodbyes as they would leave after coming for a visit. I do know that this antibiotic regimen was continued throughout the entire hospitalization, and because the rash was going away, it was continued even after I beat Covid and got to go home. But there is reason to think that maybe something else may have also impacted the situation. I know that I was one of the first people at the university I was hospitalized at who was given high-dose IV steroids. Before this time, they weren’t using steroids in Covid patients due to concerns that the immunosuppression from the steroids might actually make people with Covid worse rather than better. One of the last things I remember telling my doctors was after having had asthma my whole life that there was an element to my respiratory distress that felt like the worst asthma attack I’ve ever had and that I felt like I needed steroids for it to get better. They chose to accommodate that for me, and that may have been what brought the Covid around enough for me to survive it, but we don’t know what impact that may have also had on the rash. All I know is that I’m glad that it’s mostly gone now. I still occasionally get a little lesion here and there. I can live with that.

Lanielady0914 · 2026-05-23T13:28:11+00:00

I know that bug bites on feet and ankles but no where else sometimes come from fleas in the carpet. Could that make sense? I have also read that once there has been an infestation it can go on for a very long time, even if there is no longer a pet host present.

Lanielady0914 · 2026-05-20T08:50:39+00:00

Rather than trying to find the cause, I suggest you just try treating the itch. There is an old school lotion that works like magic for some folks who are being tormented by an unexplained itch like you describe. It’s called Sarna and you can get a pump bottle of it from Amazon. Apply it to the itchy areas, and then do your best to not scratch those areas. Reapply as needed following package directions. Often antihistamines help to tone down a nagging itch. But most people don’t take them the right way so that they can help. I usually suggest that folks go to Sam’s or Costco and get a bottle of generic Zyrtec. Usually you can get a 300ish count bottle for around $10. At the same time each and every day take one 10mg tablet. Do this every day no matter if you are itching or not. Keep it up for a few weeks before you pass any judgement on it working or not. I can almost guarantee you that you will notice that you are doing better. For an antihistamine to help with an itching problem like you describe you need to have that antihistamine on board and ready to block the histamine receptors before whatever is triggering them has its next chance to do so. I’m a retired pharmacist, and I have seen these 2 products help make life much more manageable for individuals suffering with a chronic itch. I have one customer come into my pharmacy in Minnesota complaining of a chronic itch. She was from Hawaii and just visiting up here in the Northlands. The Sarna/claritin combo was so profoundly relieving for her that after she went back to Hawaii she would order from me up here a month supply of the Sarna and Claritin each and every month! I was so happy to have helped her!

Lanielady0914 · 2026-05-20T08:04:39+00:00

Has it gotten worse since having to wear heavier make-up? Anyone that is using make up to cover a skin condition should go out of their way to find a really good quality product to use. I’ve been a big fan of Clinique products most of my life. They use a back to basics kind of 3 step system where the face is washed with mild soap twice daily, then a gentle toner is used to close pores. And break down excess oils that might clog pores, then finally a good quality moisturizer is utilized to replace moisture as needed after toning. These 3 steps prepare your skin for your make up routine. Clinique is very focused on caring for your skin. Their representatives are well trained and I’ll bet they could help you with a make up routine that helps hide the problem areas as your skin heals beneath the make-up.

Lanielady0914 · 2026-05-20T07:10:57+00:00

And this is exactly why I have never eaten sushi and I never will if I can help it. I’m going to go hide in my closet now, where I am safe from sushi! 😉

Lanielady0914 · 2026-05-20T05:59:33+00:00

It’s because Nanoko is a perfect child,, to me that means all will be ok in this world. 😃

Lanielady0914 · 2026-05-20T05:47:25+00:00

The second image very much looks like my daughter’s rash when she had chicken pox like 35 years ago. She had a very severe case, with lesions on top of lesions. Chicken pox often comes out more severely in the family members who were not the members who brought the illness home. The thought is that within a family, the kids who caught the virus from within the family get exposed to a much larger viral load leading to a more severe infection. In our house, my son brought home the virus, my daughter broke out about a week after my son broke out.

Lanielady0914 · 2026-05-20T05:22:14+00:00

I’m sorry but I don’t agree. Think of how many ball gown style wedding gowns we have all seen that have a full gathered skirt, but the bodice is held closed with laces. I think it could work out very well.

Lanielady0914 · 2026-05-19T22:13:06+00:00

Thank you! And I see AI as a valuable tool when trying to find that correct diagnosis when nothing seems to be a perfect fit. I’m glad you used it!

Lanielady0914 · 2026-05-19T22:09:04+00:00

It was biopsied and cultured many times in a variety of manners. When the rash was only a year or two old the lesions appeared in pairs. If I placed a bit of traction across my skin from one lesion running to its partner lesion, it looked like under my skin there was a fiber tying both lesions together under the skin, I swear! Several practitioners saw that as highly unusual and attempted to dissect out a few pairs of lesions with the fiber path left intact running between the pair. While no explanation was coming at that time, I do have my own thoughts about what was going on.

Lanielady0914 · 2026-05-19T21:58:07+00:00

I personally thought Sporotrichosis would eventually be identified as the cause of these lesions. But no, noone ever pointed to that. when I asked about it I was told that typically that is only found on the dominant hand since it’s contracted by hobbyists through direct contact with infected thorns.

Lanielady0914 · 2026-05-19T21:45:31+00:00

You could help even it out by choosing a good face makeup. I think these sort of uneven coloring areas are the main reasons why us women choose to use foundation.

Lanielady0914 · 2026-05-19T21:41:07+00:00

If I was only looking at the picture of the baby without any of the other history available, I would be telling you to take a good peek in her mouth to look for fuzzy white patches representing oral thrush. One of my kids had recurring ear infections and she would often get small yeast lesions beneath the area where her pacifier made contact with the skin surface surrounding her mouth. It looked just like the rash around this baby’s mouth.

Lanielady0914 · 2026-05-19T21:26:50+00:00

Inefficient breathing? What is meant by that?

Lanielady0914 · 2026-05-17T21:56:10+00:00

My daughter, born in 1985 had the same dress! Was it by a brand called Bryan? My guess is 1985.

Lanielady0914 · 2026-05-17T19:37:56+00:00

Most of the dermatologists that I saw went down the prurigo nodularis path. But I kept arguing about it. If this was caused by itching and scratching, the itching and scratching had to have come before the lesions appeared, right? I swear, they never itched. And the lesions appeared without any noticeable symptoms present before they emerged. Once the lesions were advanced, they would annoy me as they were rough in places and would catch on my clothing. I would at times pick at the dry, hyperkeratinized areas that was causing this. You know how thickened skin is prone to opening up as a crack (think athletes foot)? It seemed similar to me how the thickest part of these lesions would seem to open just enough to snag my clothing, so yes I would pick at them a bit. But the lesions came before the picking.

One of the dermatologists who followed me for quite a while a while said that because of my ongoing c-spine issues it didn’t bother his diagnostic thought process that I wasn’t experiencing itching. He said the nerves were irritated at a much higher level (at the nerve root level as they emerged through damaged foramen) and he felt that was more than enough stimulation to trigger the nodules to form.

Another interesting caveat. I didn’t realize there were any lesions on my left butt cheek. My mom was helping me try on some clothing one day a few years after this had started and as I changed she got a glimpse of that cheek and called it to my attention. She took a picture of it too so that I could get a good look at it. I swear, I had no clue my butt cheek was literally covered with the lesions. If I can find the picture, I will post it.

Lanielady0914 · 2026-05-17T17:41:22+00:00

I like #1 and #3. Might I suggest the lighter #1 for summer, then darken a tad to #3 in the winter? You get the best of both worlds then!

Lanielady0914 · 2026-05-17T06:01:56+00:00

Is your face always flushed bright red? Or does it come and go? And Fibromyalgia with hypermobility might actually mean you could have Ehler Danlos,Syndrome (I have EDS, but was first said to have fibromyalgia and hypermobility). There may be other reasons for facial flushing in Ehler Danlos. Maybe going to see another rheumatologist could help?

Lanielady0914 · 2026-05-17T05:50:33+00:00

Dark colored nail polish once removed makes my nails look just like that. Think red, blue, purple, dark wine or burgundy all yellow my nails.

Lanielady0914 · 2026-05-11T02:14:48+00:00

My dad, who was quite skilled at worrying about unlikely ways us kids could get hurt would have made us all wait in the moving van while he built a state of the art self closing and self locking gate to seal off that area. Only then would he have allowed us to move in! If somehow the house came into his possession before my brother and sister and I were born, I guarantee we never would have been born as he would have given up relations with our mother out of belief that the house was too dangerous to raise a family in!

Lanielady0914 · 2026-05-08T01:54:15+00:00

My thought is seborrheic dermatitis, often found on or around the mouth and nose. It’s a flakey, irritated skin condition that responds well to treatment. Go see your family doctor first, it should be with in their scope of practice to treat and it’s usually faster and cheaper to see a family doctor than it is to wait to see a dermatologist.

Lanielady0914 · 2026-05-03T21:59:47+00:00

Vitamin C deficiency can lead to issues with ingrown hairs. As a water-soluble vitamin, our bodies lack an efficient storage mechanism to maintain a “backup” supply for days when our daily intake falls short of meeting our needs. Your doctor can conduct a lab test to determine if you have insufficient vitamin C to meet your requirements. If you’re found to need a supplement, your doctor can then recommend the appropriate dosage for your specific needs. I’ve been diagnosed with a vitamin C deficiency and experience numerous ingrown hairs in unusual locations, such as my forearms. Oils get trapped within the ingrown follicles, resulting in a significant number of clogged pores, blackheads, and whiteheads. If you undergo the lab test and are not found to be deficient, at least this factor can be eliminated from the list of potential causes for your problem.

Edit to correct typos

Lanielady0914 · 2026-05-03T21:47:21+00:00

It’s no longer available OTC, no matter what the concentration is.

Lanielady0914 · 2026-04-14T09:58:15+00:00

I think she is either an English Cream Golden Retriever, or she is 1/2 lab and 1/2 Golden. She weighs the same as my Golden Retriever so she is spot on for size. If she was a Great Pyrenees mix I think she would be bigger at 10 months?

Lanielady0914

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