Healthy 21 year old with loss of skin elasticity.

[Jpdimauro]

I noticed about two weeks ago that my skin was losing it's elasticity. It wrinkles like sun damaged skin when pinched, and I can stretch it nearly an inch to two inches off of my arm, and three to four inches under my arm. I have noticed wrinkles developing on my face at an alarming rate. This is a dramatic change that seemed to have happen nearly over night.

I am a 21 year old male. I am 6 feet tall and weigh 140 lbs. I drink alcohol 2-3x a week in moderation, and I smoke 1 cigarette every few days. Just before I started noticing symptoms I became a vegetarian. I drink plenty of water daily, eat very healthy foods, and take supplements. (1 multivitamin daily,  1/2 of an Iron supplement daily, 2 fish oil daily, 1 B12 every other day, and 1 vitamin E every other day) I moisturize my skin every few days and get at least an hour of sun daily. I have gotten a check up and blood work done, all of which shows that I am in immaculate health. My PCP has no idea what is causing such a sudden change in my skin elasticity. 1 month ago I had pink eye, and before the pink eye was cleared I got a urinary tract infection. I was concerned with the possibility of an std and tested negative but still took 1g zithromax anti-biotic as a precautionary measure. The UTI took a month to clear, urine test from last week shows that my kidneys and urinary tract are free of infection. I have two episodes of what seemed to be an allergic reaction to something. My back legs and neck got extremely itchy and my neck and forearms became red. The first time was at work, the second was at a friends house. I took benadryl and it quickly passed.

Additionally, I am currently employed at a petstore where I handle animals daily. Ranging from reptiles (snakes, turtles, and lizards), to birds, rodents, and fish.

Any ideas?

[sannpiper]

secret genetic/ proteome, or phenome, warfare or 'management' on targeted groups.  not menopause or natural aging.  induced aging.  worser case scenario a complete malicious hack job.  less worser scenario, more complex to put in these margins, updates were done previously that are now incompatible with current roadmap.  probably former.  notice a specific group of ppl are not having these problems suddenly and are with non wrinkled elastic skin well into 80s.  in fact their skin is getting better in age and while some of them do have natural genetics for this surely they are still being amended.  in the least likely scenario, where there is no malice or even passive we cannot bring everyone into the future effect, but are actually with model that intends improve all but naturally with some casualties that are consequential, it could be done differently.

[Hoppi2]

Well, I may be close to solving it for me :)

I suspect I have either hyperthyroidism (which my doctor is checking me for anyway) or high levels of cortisol (a hormone - or I think collection or hormones - produced in the adrenal gland (mine are overactive anyway)). Both can cause these kinds of rapid skin changes.

These aren't necessarily the ones affecting you, but might be worth considering!

[Hoppi2]

You would imagine that, logically speaking, only a handful of things could cause this:

- Environmental changes, or effects (external stresses and strains on the skin). Unlikely.

- Internal stresses and strains, such as nutrient deficiency. Again unlikely, it's just too sudden, we are young, and I'm sure we have reasonable enough diets to prevent this.

- Genes. Not much we can do about this one. If our skin cells say "we want to go all saggy now", then medical science is a little beyond altering our DNA! lol  Again though, it's unlikely.

- I guess also yeah failure of an organ of some sort, but this would cause other problems, and I am largely healthy I think... I hope!

- Hormones. I would say this is very likely to be the case, in fact not just for this but for MOST noticeable, rapid changes in the body. I'm going to look into what hormones affect skin elasticity :)


Mike!

[Hoppi2]

I just wrote a huge reply and managed to lose the whole thing! Damn ._.  lol

But yes I just wanted to say, I have exactly the same sudden change with the skin elasticity too - its WEIRD! I must say though Im really glad I'm not alone, I mean mind isnt too bad but yes all happened in probably less than a week, a huge change in skin elasticity and Im only 24 :(

It really scared me! I wonder what it is... my doctor is testing me for hyperthyroidism and I also have long term anxiety which obviously doesnt help. My best guess is that its in some way hormonal, although there are certainly other possibilities! I am determined now to suss this one! :)

Mike, UK

[Need_Help43]

hey ive had a problem sort of like this since gr 4 and now im gr 9
does ur rash go away sumtimes and den comback fast
and try using vaseline and if it works den afterwhards gose back to
its normal rash form den we have de same problem

[desso]

What antibiotics did you take for your UTI and were any of them quinolones, eg Cipro, Levaquin, or Avelox?  Were there any others?

[Jpdimauro]

I haven't experienced any hives, although my first guess was allergic reaction. The issue was about my skin losing elasticity, not hives. Unless hives cause skin to appear like that of a 40 year old something else is wrong.

[Bhupinder Kaur, MD]

Hello,
I cannot confirm anything without examination but it can be hives or allergic reaction. Hives (medically known as urticaria) are red, itchy, raised areas of skin that appear in varying shapes and sizes. They have a tendency to change size rapidly and to move around, disappearing in one place and reappearing in other places, often in a matter of hours.

Sometimes the treatment for hives i.e. antihistaminics and steroids have to be taken for few weeks like 4-6 weeks. If the hives don’t go after 6 wks of treatment also, then it can be a case of chronic urticaria which needs further evaluation as it may be due to auto antibodies. I would suggest an allergist’s consultation in that case.
I hope it helps. Take care and please do keep me posted in case you have any additional doubts. Kind regards.