Dry Spots on Skin (fungus of some kind). What is it?

[jase247]

Hello:

It started over a year ago while in the military.  I developed a small patch of dry skin (about the size of a dime) on my calf area that itched like crazy.  Every now and then it would erupt with small bumps that oozed clear/amber liquid.  The corpsman issued me some kind of ointment that helped with the itching, and the rash reduced to a small spot but didn't completely go away.  

About 2 months ago, it once again erupted with small bumps that oozed and itched.  I went to the doctor and they issued me lamasil - it helped with the itching but the bumps got larger and started spreading around the same area.  The newer bumps that appeared developed white puss, but with lamasil they went away after about a week.  The main problem didn't go away though and it continued to get worse to where it is now a large scab the size of a quarter and bumps are beginning to form again around it.  The doctor also gave me bactroban, but that made it worse right away.  

I have uploaded a photo of the fungus on my server for you to see.  A friend recently told me to use sulfur soap and betadine, but at this point I'm not sure anymore and it's driving me nuts.  Any advice will be appreciated.  Thank you.

Regards,
Jay

[Alan Rockoff, MD]

You need a proper diagnosis.  Lamisil is for fungus, and while fungus is possible, eczema strikes me as more likely.  Eczema often comes and goes, so the fact that it went away after one week of Lamisil may be no more than coincidence.  My advice is to consult a skin doctor so you can find out whether you have an infection or, as I think is more likely, an ongoing itchy condition you can suppress when you get it.  If cultures or other tests are relevant, the doctor can do them.  But an untested course of antifungal pills does not seem the proper approach.

Best.

Dr. Rockoff

[jase247]

http://www.nvon.com/skin.jpg

[Alan Rockoff, MD]

Can't tell for sure, but looks like eczema.

Dr. Rockoff

[christoff5]

I started itching about 2 years ago, it started on the bottom of my feet, I thought I had a bad case of athleets foot, then it spread to the top of my head, the itching was driving me crazy. I went to the doctor and she gave me Lamicil pills, ( very high in price) and my ins co did not cover it, so I went to mexico to get it, It did the trick for a wile, however the itching did not go away, I take script alergy (allergy) pills to mask the itching. I have found that all over my body I am getting small rashes and they are spreading and itching a lot. can anybody help in telling me what you think this might be.

[sentinel2k]

jase247.  I've read your coorespondance with "Derm".  I have also viewed the jpg on your site.  Not to say what you have is the same as me, but the picture is virtually identical to what my feet look like.  Roughly 3 years ago I developed what I thought was a rash on my right left foot.  It started with very tiny very few bumps.  The centers were black dots, and had a whitish ring around them.  When touched I could feel the sensation over my entire body.  I made the mistake of scrathing them because the itched so much.  What was left were tiny pinholes in my skin and they looked like they went down several layers.  Moments after that, a clear fluid was produced from the holes, and as it dried, it turned yellowish and crusty.  It didn't take long after that for it to appear on a large portion of my foot and eventually on the other one as well.  The itching was most intense when wearing work boots or sneakers.  Itching was more intense at night than during the day, and when exposing my feet to air after a period of time with shoes and socks on. After treating this problem myself for over a year, because of a lack of health insurance, I finally went to a doctor.  Without even a scraping she diagnosed Tinea Pedis 'atheletes foot'.  She prescribed a drug called Sporanox.  It's a pulse pack oral medication that is a one week on, three week off, and one week on again medication.  I started taking it, 2 capsule in the morning and 2 in the evening for 7 days.  Along with this, she prescibed diprolene for the skin trauma that I had incurred with this ailment.  Basically I had raw burning flesh on most of both of my feet, top and bottom.  After the first week I started to notice marked improvement, but shortly before the three week off period was up, it started coming back.  After the next week on period it was gone and had been gone for well over a year. A few weeks ago it came back.  Once again I can't afford health insurance and was hoping it would go away.  A few days went by and then a rash starting appearing all over my body.  This worried me, so paying cash out of the pocket, I went to the doctor.  As it turned out I not only have the fungal infetion back, but also chicken pox.  I'm 37, and this was not pretty.  She prescribed the Sporanox once again for my feet, but no Diprolene this time, and of course the pox would have to run their course.  After a couple of weeks, the pox was pretty much through.  I'm in my second week of the three week off period on the Sporanox, but am not really showing much sign of improvement.  OTC lamisil cream seems to be helping a little but not much.  The doctor is looking at possible blood tests now.  What I have learned about fungal infections is that the lower the immune system is, along with other contributing factors, the greater the possibility of occurance.  I've been prtty run down lately and under a lot of stress, so I think that may have something to do with it.  I have a theory that, the fungal infection came back because of being rundown and wearing work boots all day at my job.  I think this may have caused me to be more succeptible to the chicken pox virus, and getting putting a big hit on my immune system, which is making it harder for the drug to work against the fungal infection.  It's like a biological catch22.  By the way, I had to pay $300 cash out of pocket for a weeks worth of the Sporanox.  If you have health insurance, get back to a doctor, but not the one you went to before.  Try to find one more knowledgable of fungal infections.  An actual pediotrist, 'if I spelled that right' would probably be a good bet, as I'm sure they've seen there share of fungal infections.  I'm not a doctor myself, but since having gone through this once, and now going through it again, I have gotten very good at researching medical issues through the internet.  Some things you may want to stay away from in the meantime are beer 'ya I know!', wine, breads & baked goods, fermented & sugary foods.  Appearently they help make your body a good breeding ground for possible fungal infections.  I've used Neosporin and Mirasorb Sponges under my socks at both bedtime and at work, to help heal the skin where lesions occured. Also, try using an antibacterial body wash.  It's gonna sting on the affected areas, but it seems to help control it a little better. As I find more info on this I could send it to you.  My email is ***@****.  This is the fisrt time I've been on this forum and am not sure when I'll be back on again.  Hope this helped you and any that may have read it.  P.S. Curiosity? in the general areas that are affected do you sometimes feel a sensation of crawling flesh or like somethign is moving under your skin?  That's something I have experienced with this, and that disappeared when the ailment went away the first time....

[sentinel2k]

jase247.  I've read your coorespondance with "Derm".  I have also viewed the jpg on your site.  Not to say what you have is the same as me, but the picture is virtually identical to what my feet look like.  Roughly 3 years ago I developed what I thought was a rash on my right left foot.  It started with very tiny very few bumps.  The centers were black dots, and had a whitish ring around them.  When touched I could feel the sensation over my entire body.  I made the mistake of scrathing them because the itched so much.  What was left were tiny pinholes in my skin and they looked like they went down several layers.  Moments after that, a clear fluid was produced from the holes, and as it dried, it turned yellowish and crusty.  It didn't take long after that for it to appear on a large portion of my foot and eventually on the other one as well.  The itching was most intense when wearing work boots or sneakers.  Itching was more intense at night than during the day, and when exposing my feet to air after a period of time with shoes and socks on. After treating this problem myself for over a year, because of a lack of health insurance, I finally went to a doctor.  Without even a scraping she diagnosed Tinea Pedis 'atheletes foot'.  She prescribed a drug called Sporanox.  It's a pulse pack oral medication that is a one week on, three week off, and one week on again medication.  I started taking it, 2 capsule in the morning and 2 in the evening for 7 days.  Along with this, she prescibed diprolene for the skin trauma that I had incurred with this ailment.  Basically I had raw burning flesh on most of both of my feet, top and bottom.  After the first week I started to notice marked improvement, but shortly before the three week off period was up, it started coming back.  After the next week on period it was gone and had been gone for well over a year. A few weeks ago it came back.  Once again I can't afford health insurance and was hoping it would go away.  A few days went by and then a rash starting appearing all over my body.  This worried me, so paying cash out of the pocket, I went to the doctor.  As it turned out I not only have the fungal infetion back, but also chicken pox.  I'm 37, and this was not pretty.  She prescribed the Sporanox once again for my feet, but no Diprolene this time, and of course the pox would have to run their course.  After a couple of weeks, the pox was pretty much through.  I'm in my second week of the three week off period on the Sporanox, but am not really showing much sign of improvement.  OTC lamisil cream seems to be helping a little but not much.  The doctor is looking at possible blood tests now.  What I have learned about fungal infections is that the lower the immune system is, along with other contributing factors, the greater the possibility of occurance.  I've been prtty run down lately and under a lot of stress, so I think that may have something to do with it.  I have a theory that, the fungal infection came back because of being rundown and wearing work boots all day at my job.  I think this may have caused me to be more succeptible to the chicken pox virus, and getting putting a big hit on my immune system, which is making it harder for the drug to work against the fungal infection.  It's like a biological catch22.  By the way, I had to pay $300 cash out of pocket for a weeks worth of the Sporanox.  If you have health insurance, get back to a doctor, but not the one you went to before.  Try to find one more knowledgable of fungal infections.  An actual pediotrist, 'if I spelled that right' would probably be a good bet, as I'm sure they've seen there share of fungal infections.  I'm not a doctor myself, but since having gone through this once, and now going through it again, I have gotten very good at researching medical issues through the internet.  Some things you may want to stay away from in the meantime are beer 'ya I know!', wine, breads & baked goods, fermented & sugary foods.  Appearently they help make your body a good breeding ground for possible fungal infections.  I've used Neosporin and Mirasorb Sponges under my socks at both bedtime and at work, to help heal the skin where lesions occured. Also, try using an antibacterial body wash.  It's gonna sting on the affected areas, but it seems to help control it a little better. As I find more info on this I could send it to you.  My email is ***@****.  This is the fisrt time I've been on this forum and am not sure when I'll be back on again.  Hope this helped you and any that may have read it.  P.S. Curiosity? in the general areas that are affected do you sometimes feel a sensation of crawling flesh or like somethign is moving under your skin?  That's something I have experienced with this, and that disappeared when the ailment went away the first time....

[KD175]

A related discussion, Dryspots was started.