Do I have it

Hi,

When I was young I had some sort of allergies when I am around cats and slowly that allergy became worse when I grew up to the point that I cannot breath if I am around cats. I moved to San Francisco when I was 17 and at that age I noticed that I have a sever hay fever. If it hits me you would think that I have the flu or something but quickly the next day it is gone. Later on in Life I moved to a different country in the Arabian Gulf (United Arab Emirates) and that country had great weather from December to April but in the summer it was so humid that it used to hit 150% relative humidity. My hay fever was back and I suffered for 4 years really bad. During my last year something happened that was really strange. I had chickenpox at the age of 30 and I remember that I took a very strong medicine to shorten the length of the chickenpox cycle. It worked and after a week things were ok. After that I noticed something happening on my testicles and later on my penis. The skin was dry and it was a bit scratchy the scratchy spots and broken skin areas were changing on a daily basis and rarely it gets so bad that I might hurt myself and bleed because of the scratching that I do. I did not think much of it then but I did go to a doctor and he told me that I have fungi. Well, he was wrong and when I went to a second doctor he said that I have Eczema. The problem is that I have read a lot about Eczema cases and saw some pictures but my case is really minor compared to a typical eczema case and I started wondering if I do not have Eczema. I also noticed the following: If I go to a country with low humidity the whole thing disappear within a week but if I live in a humid weather it start again. My last move was to Canada and I noticed that during December, January and Middle of February it was gone but it started again a month ago. What do I have??

One more thing. Does the medicine that I took for my chiken pox had anything to do with my case. I remember the medicine name was something like Vamfer.

[Alan Rockoff, MD]

Gus:

The medicine you took was probably Famvir, and I'm sure it had no long-lasting effects.  It sounds like you do indeed have mild eczema-the pictures they show are always the dramatic cases.  This is a skin sensitivity which often affects people in cold, dry months, but some people get it in the humid times.  I wouldn't think about it too much, if I were you.  Just get some simple and effective medication, like a prescription-strnght cortisone cream, and use it whenever you itch.  Also, an over-the-counter itching lotion like Sarna or Pramegel or Benadryl may help you stop scratching.  Otherwise, ignore it, is my advice.

Best.

Dr. Rockoff