Rash for 3 months - please help!

[adelemd]

AIBU to put this in AIBU for maximum exposure as I’m so fed up?! I’ve had a rash for 3 months. Started at the back of my neck, in my hairline, then spread to sides of neck. Then moved to arms and elbows, then thighs, then lower legs, and now is mostly on my back, with itchy outer thighs and a bit on my stomach and boob. It bruises really easily as well.

It changes form, but mostly lots of little bumps under the skin which bleed easily when scratched. It’s SO itchy and prickly ALL THE TIME! Have tried Aveeno, E45, tea tree cream, prescribed steroid cream, anti-fungal cream, scabies treatment (just in case), Sudocreme, etc. I’ve considered all products I use, and everything I eat, but really no change in any of that. Have seen 3 different doctors who have no idea but don’t really seem bothered.

I’m 46, on oestrogen patches and 100mg progesterone since October last year. Generally healthy and size 10-12. But this is really bringing me down as I’m so aware of it day and night because it’s so uncomfortable. Doesn’t feel like my own skin. Just want it to crawl away.

Any ideas/advice much appreciated. I can’t afford a dermatologist unfortunately.

Have you tried rubbing nizoral shampoo on it and leaving it for a few minute then wash off in the bath my partner had a strange rash it some one he worked with recommended the shampoo because it's medicated I think my partners may have been fungal possibly though as I wouldn't recommend it on broken skin

I have no idea but have you taken a picture of it and put it through an image search to see if anything comes up that might tell you what it is.

I'd be asking for allergen tests. Can you post a picture here as well on the off chance someone has seen similar or knows what it is.

Thank you. I have tried Nizoral as this has been helpful in the past when I’ve had slight neck rash. But it hasn’t helped this time unfortunately. It is very good stuff though.

Thank you, yeah I’ve Google’d and AI’d the hell out of it, to no avail. I can post some photos but it’s so non specific that it would really help. In places it’s just clusters of small bumps, other places a both more scaly, but not dry, and other places bigger bumps.
I mentioned allergy testing and skin swabs at the doctors, but they just prescribed different cream.
They have done blood tests though, which should some inflammation/infection, but I’ve had a stomach problem (norovirus/food poisoning?) for the last 10 days, and my bloods were taken in the middle stage of this upset stomach problem, when I felt a bit better, but clearly wasn’t.

Why haven't you been to the doctor? They will be able to tell you what it is most likely eczema or cutaneous vasculitis

The OP has been to 3. Literally in the first post.

I had a similar rash for around 8 months although mine started on my underarms and spread to my whole body - it’s so debilitating so I really sympathise.
I used a prescribed steroid cream and took a strong antihistamine (phenergan) at night, as well as liberally using Dermal anti itch cream (I tried lots of different products and this worked the best to soothe the itch).
I never found out what caused it, the dermatologist I saw thought it was an allergic reaction to something I ingested. I still cannot use deodorant (even natural deo causes a rash) or take any supplements (most recently I tried thiamine and got a rash within 3 days). I also have to be very careful with laundry detergent and use a non bio one for sensitive skin - very sparingly with an extra rinse cycle to make sure there’s no residue. I still keep a tube of steroid cream with me at all times to use at the slightest sign of a rash.
I hope you can find out what’s causing it and get some relief - it is awful.

Sorry came back to add - I’m also on HRT though wasn’t when I got the rash and have not had a reaction to any of the estrogen/progesterone or testosterone that I’m taking since I started HRT.

edited to remove comment about dermal after googling and seeing it is a uk brand

I'd be interested to see the rash OP, but this sounds so similar to what I've been suffering with for the last year. The itching was the main symptom for me, and I really sympathise because it's horrible!

After 3 different consultants (including a dermatologist) and a menopause specialist doctor, I'm finally seeing some relief. These are things I'd suggest you check:

• Bile acid levels. Will show up in a blood test. If you have gallstones or bile acid malabsorption (which could also explain your stomach issues?) then bile acids in the bloodstream can cause nerve irritation, which causes itching and rash.
• B12 levels. Low levels can also cause itching.
• Zinc levels. Low levels can also cause itching, so I now take a zinc with copper tablet daily.
• Does your HRT dose need increasing, or do you need to change the method of applying it? My skin wasn't absorbing estrogen enough from patches (maybe because I was applying so much cream to stop the rash/itching!) so we tried upping the dose and then switching to Lenzetto spray instead of patches. My estrogen levels are now where they should be, and the itching much reduced.

To be honest, I'm not sure which of these things has made the most difference, but after a year of suffering I'm just grateful to be only slightly itchy and that the rash has pretty much gone!

astrakan, so sorry to hear you suffered with this for 8 months, and hoping mine doesn't last as long, but it feel like it's here to stay for now.

When you said you saw 3 different consultants - was that through private healthcare or was your NHS doctor able to set these up? The 2 doctors and nurse practitioner I've seen have seemed disinterested.

I've seen quit a few people mentioning having their hormone levels checked - this has never been offered to me. Was this only available through the menopause specialist?

The bile, B12 and zinc suggestions are something I will definitely look into. Not sure if my recent blood tests included these.

Thank you so much for your input, and I'm glad you're (mostly!) better now (touch wood!)

Not an expert but I'd be looking at my diet. I'd eliminate diary for a few weeks to see if that helped and then gluten. Unexplained rashes are one of the symptoms of coeliac for example

Also forgot to say I've been taking Fexofenadine in the morning and Cetirizine Hydrochloride at night.

The Dermal anti-itch cream - seems to be an Australian product - seems there's similar here, but don't know if they would be as good, or I could buy it from eBay (though never sure about that for skin things!)

Sorry, have realised I completely mixed up your replies @astrakan astrakan and @BastardMagpies !

Both very helpful thank you. @BastardMagpies - please see my response to astrakan as some of it was for you!

Random and potentially unrelated but worth a go. I get a lot of sensitive skin related things like contact dermatitis, allergic rhinitis, skeeter syndrome. When I was pregnant I got bitten so much, on one arm there were 138 bites, I stopped counting the rest of my body. I tried absolutely everything, creams, anti histamines, everything. Nothing could stop the insane itching. Then I had a thought, we were in Spain and there were tons of aloe Vera plants in the garden, hundreds. I cut off a stem of it, put it in the fridge, and when was cool sliced it down the side and dragged it over my rash/the bites. It was heaven. It was the only thing that worked. It just stopped the itching and the reaction and calmed everything down. Could be worth a go for you. But aloe gel doesn’t cut it. The only thing that worked was the real plant. Probably nothing helpful but you never know what works! The other thing that could be worth a try is heat. I’ve recently found a post bite device that uses a ceramic plate to heat bits and then it completely cools the reaction and instantly stops the itching, it’s a miracle. It’s caller burer or something like that. While your rash isn’t bites, if you Google what the ceramic plate does it sort of neutralises your body’s response and deescalates the body’s reaction so could be worth a shot?? Good luck and let us know!

Thank you. Ah yes pure plant Aloe Vera can be so good. Definitely worth a try, thank you, hadn’t thought of that. 138 bites on one arm?! That must have been absolute hell! Poor you.

Will look up the ceramic plate thing now thank you.

Have they not tried you on steroids or antihistamines?

I've got a similar problem. Spreading rash for 3 is months. Tried to tackle it alone, and caved and went to the doc.

Tried steroids which do kind of work, but it comes back as soon as I stop taking them.

Allergic reaction to tattoos for me. Sadly.

I have the same thing! Thought it was just my skin being weird and hormonal. It started just before I started HRT, and at first it was just on my neck, and looked like shingles. Itched like mad then it scabs then disappears for a few weeks to just pop up somewhere else - but always at the same sites. Although now it’s gone from neck, to right elbow, to the left side of my back now and one spot on my left breast - it rotates areas but always in the exact same spots.
I went to a Chinese herbalist and was given a non steroid cream that worked brilliantly on an outbreak, but didn’t actually get rid of it for good sadly.

Im thinking I should check my blood levels too maybe.

Try a high percentage urea cream, check Amazon that should help

@Brokentoes85 I am taking Fexofenadine in the morning and Ceterizine Hydrochloride at night. I’ve had a couple of different types of steroid cream. They help a little but not enough.
So if yours is an allergic reaction to tattoos, has it just not settled since you had a tattoo 3 months ago?

@TofuTheCat Sorry to hear you’re suffering as well. Yes a good idea to get bloods done, need mine done again and hopefully tested for more possibilities.

I’ve now got the rash on my left breast as well - snap!

I got some Eurax Crotamiton cream yesterday, seems to be helping a bit (but not enough!)

Here’s some photos. It’s hard to work out in some ways as I am freckley and moley. They start as itchy little bumps under the skin, but when I scratch them (obviously I try not to), the skin either breaks easily and the bleed (like those in the photo on my outer thigh) or the area goes very red and bruises easily. The neck photo was how it started. Although started specifically at the back of my neck, in the hairline, on the little skull nodule bits.

Also to add - I’ve had diarrhoea for 12 days. Not knowingly been around anyone with a stomach bug and not aware of having had any dodgy food. Stool sample taken in to doctors Friday just gone. No idea if it’s related to the rash at all, but thought I’d mention it. I’m not prone to stomach problems at all.

I am prone to skin problems - have had Pityriasis Rosea, shingles (both when I was a teenager) and 3 years ago had what was diagnosed as leukocytoclastic vasculitis (horrible rash and swelling all over my legs). Oddly that was also in the spring, and following a bad sore throat/cold.

All thoughts welcome.

Could it be foliculitis? I've had similar on my chest and arms and it lasted for months. It only disappeared when I was given an antibiotic for an unrelated issue.

Take it from 1 coeliac to another it's dermatitis herpetiformis and gps are horrendous at recognising it. Dermatology confirm with skin biopsy your gp can refer you to them and check your coeliac antibodies. Don't cut out gluten until you've had your bloods done.
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Small intwnsly itchy red bumps are characteristic of DH. GPs usually misdiagnose it as scabies.your photos show excoriated skin from evident scratching so the true appearance of the rash isn't obvious . The GI symptoms are also highly suspicious- particularly if your diarrhoea is yellow (steatorrhoea) where intentestinal damage causes malasorbtion of dietry fats. Coeliac disease can be "switched on" at any time of life where an environmental trigger (often viruses) triggers the disease in genetically predisposed individuals.

@ByCosyGreyPoet I hadn’t considered coeliac disease as I generally have a very well behaved stomach. For all of the time I’ve had the rash my stomach has been fine, apart from in the last 2 weeks. The diarrhoea is very yellow though. Would I usually have had the stomach symptoms before the rash?