Skin/Allergy Problems

[FriendHelp]

I have a very dear friend who has been suffering for the past 4 years with horrible skin problems.  Anything and everything breaks her out with some kind of rash.  Things she has used all her life have now start to effect her.  No answer from various doctors.  Tons of meds given and nothing works permanently or cures.  Very depressed, thyroid disease, high blood pressure, high chlestorol.  She had saline implants put in 4 years ago to correct a problem that occurred with her breast after giving birth.  The recovery of the surgery was horrible.  She is severly scarred.  Doctor claims no responsibility.  Has gotten second opinion and they did a test incision on her, infection and rash occurred.  Doctor said he has never seen anything like this?  We are thinking it is implant related, but not sure.  What would you suggest she might want to question doctor's about testing her for.  We live in a tourist town, the doctors and specialist are not plentiful.  We are looking into a bigger city.  but need to know where to start.  She is getting more and more depressed with each trial and no success.  She's a trooper with it all.  But I think she's giving up slowly.  Please HELP

[Alan Rockoff, MD]

I apologize, but your description simply doesn't call to mind any specific diseases.  Even silicone implants turned out, after large-scale testing, not to cause systemic problems, so it seems hardly likely that implants with saline, a natural substance, would poison the system.  This could be a form of eczema, though that's just a guess.  That's just my best guess.  If so, her condition may not be able to be permanently cured, but it certainly can be made far more comfortable than it seems to be.  Perhaps a trip to the city, to an academic medical center might be worthwhile.

Good luck.

Dr. Rockoff

[kevin14863]

I have had eczema ever since i was an infant (my mother said that she also had it although she grew out of it) and lately i have had such rashes like foliculitis (folliculitis),  a yeast infection, and a noticeable loss in hair. I am only 18 years old and would really like to know if this is all because of some allergy or through some sort of sensitive skin condition. Also developed over the past year or two i have developed an allergy similar to conjunctivitis where if I wear my contact for two long the mucus builds up and causes red bumps under my top eyelids. If you an help with an explanation of any of this it would be much appreciated.

Thanks