|
MY
STORY:
This
started out when I was 16. (I am now 31.) I've had red spots
for all this time, to differing degrees. Sometimes they
seem much worse then others.
My
symptoms sometimes include itching, but nothing at all severe.
Mostly I deal with slightly raised
red spots, almost like blisters. The blister will
eventually break it not picked at. Either way, it will scab
over. If picked at it will ooze a clear liquid and eventually
bleed if messed with enough. Some get quite large at maybe
1/2" diameter but most are 1/8" or so. Some seem
to look like track marks. Some last longer then others.
When
I first came down with it, in about 1986, I went to the
Doctor and was told I had scabies. I went through the series
of cleaning and lotions but nothing seemed to help.
Finally,
I was referred to a dermatologist who did a punch biopsy
of one of the spots on my torso. Her diagnosis was PLEVA,
also known as Mucha Habermann's Disease or Pityriasis lichenoides
et varioliformis acuta, a little known about skin disorder.
She was almost excited to see this and told me how they
learn about this sort of disease and are told they will
probably never encounter it. It also means that little or
no research is done about it.
I
was given an antibiotic to take and sent on my merry way.
Unfortunately the anitbiotic didn't help. I was told that
using special light therepy might help but never pursued
this. I had tried tanning rooms before and after this and
did notice improvement. However, it didn't seem wise to
take such chances with skin cancer, not to mention the photo-aging
I would be subjecting myself to.
About
a month later was a some sort of Dermatology Conference
at UC Irvine's Medical Center in Anaheim. My dermatologist
requested I attend so that other doctors might see the disorder.
I went and had several groups of doctors appear in shifts
at the doctor's office with their notebooks. I recall them
saying very little more then "very interesting"
and "hmmmm" sort of stuff.
Since
then, I've noticed the different looking hairs. Mostly found
on my torso, but also on forearms in areas, are white hairs
which are pulled out without any sort of pain at all. The
end that was in my skin seems thicker then the tip of the
hair. Some of the hairs seem to split on the end. I've pondered
if this is what some people have referred to as feathers
are feathery. I'm unsure myself. However, I do think they
are related.
When
viewing my red spots, in all the various stages, they don't
seem to have any sort of these hairs in them. I suspect
they are somehow related though.
No
one else in my family has come down with this. Although
both of my children have an allergy to Orange and Grapefruit
juice which makes a bright red rash flush across their cheeks
in minutes and this lasts at least a day. I doubt this has
any relation to my skin stuff.
Strangely,
these spots completely went away with both of my pregnancies.
Other then being prego, the main lifestyle change at the
time was stopping drinking Diet Coke and so much coffee.
(So much being about a pot a day.)
Here
are what my spots look like.
- PLEVA-
also known as Pityriasis Lichenoides
et Varioliformis Acuta or Mucha
Habermann's Disease.
- PLC
- Pityriasis Lichenoides Chronica
©
justagrrl 2001, 2002
All rights reserved.
|
