Mystery condition: please help

Posted , 2 users are following.

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Can anyone please identify this condition? I've treated with permethrin four times to no avail - and I've been extremely thorough with all the environmental procedures for sterilisation.

The condition is briefly deleted by the application of permethrin to my entire body, including head and face. But within a week, it returns, starting on my head, then pinpoint face-tickles, then spreading down from there.

Despite the obvious evidence against, the (non-specialist) doctor says this is scabies. It obviously isn't - I haven't seen these markings in any of the online posts about scabies, and I don't have the characteristic marks between fingers or toes.

1 like, 8 replies

8 Replies

  • Posted

    Paul...I can see why you are being diagnosed with scabies as the lesions are in a line. The scabies mite burrows into the skin and travels through leaving this type of lesion.

    How long have you had this ?

    Do you live with other people? If so scabies can affect everyone in a household and usually everyone should be treated to eradicate the mites.

    • Posted

      Dear Marina,

      Thanks for your reply. I live alone and am aware of all possible routes of contamination. It's been going on now for five months.

      But, like I said - I've treated with permethrin four times with no effect.

      If it were indeed thought to be scabies, though, why wouldn't my doctor just prescribe ivermectin?

      Paul

    • Posted

      Most doctors would prefer at first to use a medication that is not taken orally, to avoid all the side effects, and Permethrin is the normal treatment for scabies.

      However you have used this medication and had no success so you should now ask your doctor about ivermectin. You may need to see a dermatologist for a conclusive diagnosis.

    • Posted

      Ok, thanks for your advice. As I understand it, ivermectin is an unusually safe drug.

      Suppose we weren't convinced it's scabies - as it's not responding to the treatment for that - then what might it be? Any suggestions about what else to investigate? There must be other mites that on first glance are similar but actually aren't, and are readily dealt with once you know what they are. Any ideas along this route please?

    • Posted

      It may not be any sort of mite at all. Lichen striatus looks a bit like this but is normally confined to children . Have you had Covid recently or had a Covid vaccination?

      A dermatologist is really the person you should be seeing, someone who has specialised in all skin conditions.

    • Posted

      Oh, that's very interesting - I hadn't thought about anything like lichen. I don't mind getting children's diseases. Thank you for the idea.

      I haven't had any sort of systemic illness or upset recently, aside from the itches. If it's even possible, I maybe had Covid two years ago when I had a dry chest, like a cavern, for a month or two but no other symptoms. But the test to find out if one's already had it seems to have disappeared into the wind like all my hopes... I've certainly not had one of the evil poison shots, no.

      Thankfully, I've managed to arrange an appointment with a dermatologist on the 6th of April. However, I don't have a great deal of hope for allopathic doctors any longer. I seem to have an increasing list of maladies, and doctors don't seem to ever fix them. If anything of note comes of it, I'll be sure to update here.

    • Posted

      The dermatologist confirmed it's definitely not scabies, as it didn't respond to the treatments. He said the reason I stopped itching for a week or two after the treatments was because those creams are doing more in your skin than just being insecticides.

      However, he has no explanation of the markings. Indeed, he didn't even try to explain them, stating they are scratches, presumably from my nails whilst I'm asleep. This is blatant nonsense, and I said so, but he dismissed my reasoning without further thought - very poor behaviour.

      Quite apart from the fact that I have well-kept nails that couldn't do any such scratching, it's not like these markings appear as a scratch-line originally and then turn into the dots. They appear as the dots. Also I wear long-sleeved, skin-tight pyjamas which would prevent this. And his silly idea completely ignores the fact that the markings always - and only - appear the day after I take an ivermectin pill. Also, several different such markings in the same area all in different directions, as in the photograph, further rules out the idiotic 'mindless scratching' theory.

      Blood tests ordered all came back normal.

      However, I have a theory, and it seems to be borne out by my current condition: in December, I started taking NAC, a supplement which enhances the immune system, especially when taken with vitamin E. I had somehow managed to forget this - I think because I started CoQ10 capsules at the same time - and so I didn't test not taking it when I later became itchy. I tested the Q10 capsules by stopping them for two weeks and noticed I remained itchy, so I must have forgotten I started the NAC at the same time. About a week ago, I stopped taking the NAC and within three days I had significantly less itching, and now almost none.

      Further tests are going to be ordered, however, and I'm going to go through with them to check I don't have compounding conditions, most especially because of the mystery of the markings.

  • Posted

    UPDATE:

    The dermatologist confirmed it's definitely not scabies, as it didn't respond to the treatments. He said the reason I stopped itching for a week or two after the treatments was because those creams are doing more in your skin than just being insecticides.

    However, he has no explanation of the markings. Indeed, he didn't even try to explain them, stating they are scratches, presumably from my nails whilst I'm asleep. This is blatant nonsense, and I said so, but he dismissed my reasoning without further thought - very poor behaviour.

    Quite apart from the fact that I have well-kept nails that couldn't do any such scratching, it's not like these markings appear as a scratch-line originally and then turn into the dots. They appear as the dots. Also I wear long-sleeved, skin-tight pyjamas which would prevent this. And his silly idea completely ignores the fact that the markings always - and only - appear the day after I take an ivermectin pill. Also, several different such markings in the same area all in different directions, as in the photograph, further rules out the idiotic 'mindless scratching' theory.

    Blood tests ordered all came back normal.

    However, I have a theory, and it seems to be borne out by my current condition: in December, I started taking NAC, a supplement which enhances the immune system, especially when taken with vitamin E. I had somehow managed to forget this - I think because I started CoQ10 capsules at the same time - and so I didn't test not taking it when I later became itchy. I tested the Q10 capsules by stopping them for two weeks and noticed I remained itchy, so I must have forgotten I started the NAC at the same time. About a week ago, I stopped taking the NAC and within three days I had significantly less itching, and now almost none.

    Further tests are going to be ordered, however, and I'm going to go through with them to check I don't have compounding conditions, most especially because of the mystery of the markings.

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