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"Golfer's Vasculitis" is more than just annoying
I'd like to know anyone who's had this hideous and annoying condition anywhere on their bodies other than ankles and lower legs - have you had it start on your ankles and then over the years progress to other parts of your body? Any remedy to reduce redness besides not exercising or walking outside?
I moved from the dry climate of the Southwest and Southern Cal to hot and humid New England four years ago - nevr, ever had this until the first summer I arrived and then BAM! A weird, nasty rash that scares even me - I'm extremely active (walk every where and run 6+ daily) so suffice it to say being covered with this is not good for the image!
Seriously though I'd like to know if there's a way to treat and how to keep it from spreading.
I moved from the dry climate of the Southwest and Southern Cal to hot and humid New England four years ago - nevr, ever had this until the first summer I arrived and then BAM! A weird, nasty rash that scares even me - I'm extremely active (walk every where and run 6+ daily) so suffice it to say being covered with this is not good for the image!
Seriously though I'd like to know if there's a way to treat and how to keep it from spreading.
I went to Disneyland in the evening, walked 3 miles in a charity event the next morning and then walked around a mall. I kept myself hydrated with water in hand, did not become overheated and escaped any sign of rash - I do not sweat - for me the key seems to be my body temperature.
I have experienced this problem for 10 years (male, 49) and nice to know many other people have the same problem and it is not symptomatic of a more serious problem.
I live in Thailand and it comes near the end of a golf round in hot weather.
It takes two weeks to heal properly so will recur more severly if I play golf within two weeks after the last case.
I believe it is somewhat genetic as I am also fair skinned and do not sweat much.
I also noticed that when it happens the skin in that area is hot to touch. Therefore I believe it is realted to poor sweat gland function in the area concerned. ie. a lack of sweat in that area increases the skin termperature.
For mew it first started around the ankles and now rarely happens there but mostly on my thighs. However, I did wear a new pair of tight fitting socks last week and it did happen after golf that day above the sock line. So probably, some sort of support would help alleviate the problem in the specific area.
I also noticed a number of years ago taking antihistamine pills before golf made it worse. It may have been related to the type of pill, but I avoid taking antihistamines within 6 hours of playing golf.
I will try a few different tratments and advise if I have any success.
I live in Thailand and it comes near the end of a golf round in hot weather.
It takes two weeks to heal properly so will recur more severly if I play golf within two weeks after the last case.
I believe it is somewhat genetic as I am also fair skinned and do not sweat much.
I also noticed that when it happens the skin in that area is hot to touch. Therefore I believe it is realted to poor sweat gland function in the area concerned. ie. a lack of sweat in that area increases the skin termperature.
For mew it first started around the ankles and now rarely happens there but mostly on my thighs. However, I did wear a new pair of tight fitting socks last week and it did happen after golf that day above the sock line. So probably, some sort of support would help alleviate the problem in the specific area.
I also noticed a number of years ago taking antihistamine pills before golf made it worse. It may have been related to the type of pill, but I avoid taking antihistamines within 6 hours of playing golf.
I will try a few different tratments and advise if I have any success.
I'm having right now the worse episode ever of this rash. I was so glad to read all your experiences. I'm 56, have a normal skin, not too fair, live six month a year in Thailand and the rest in Europe, and have this rash every time a walk an 18 hole golf course. It doesn't happen if, for any reasons, I walk only 9 holes. It first appeared in the '90s when I leaved in Jamaica, but it was very light and in four years I had it only once so I thought it was an allergic reaction to the grass o some insects peculiar to the place. I had it again now that I started to play golf and I joined my husband who's working here in Thailand. The weather is hot and very humid all the time, but I don't feel particularly hot when I walk on the course. As a matter of fact, the other day I felt it was pleasant and actually for half my walk I didn't have any problem. Then, all of a sudden, I felt the familiar feeling of swelling, hitching and compression and sure enough when I looked under my pants the rash was there.
It usually take 4 to 5 days to get rid of it, but this time I also had a little fever on the first night and I experienced and extreme and unusual fatigue. I was thinking if the thikness of the blood matters: I mean if the blood is thinner will flow more easily and then not produce the swelling that causes the rash, or I'm saying something totally nuts?
Certainly find a "something" that will if not prevent at least get rid quickly of the horrible redness, will be a real blessing.
Laura52
It usually take 4 to 5 days to get rid of it, but this time I also had a little fever on the first night and I experienced and extreme and unusual fatigue. I was thinking if the thikness of the blood matters: I mean if the blood is thinner will flow more easily and then not produce the swelling that causes the rash, or I'm saying something totally nuts?
Certainly find a "something" that will if not prevent at least get rid quickly of the horrible redness, will be a real blessing.
Laura52
Hi all,
I think it's safe to say it has nothing to do with sweat glands not working well...at least not in my case. I sweat a lot, including on my legs. The women I golf with who also have this problem don't sweat much at all.
For what it's worth, I was diagnosed with vascular insufficiency in my left leg. It was readily seen during the testing they did. The doctor said I could quite likely have it in my right leg too, but not to the same degree as in my left. He would not say, however, that this was the cause of the golfer's vasculitis. They just don't know.
As for the fevers some people have been having with it, after doing some reading it seems fevers aren't uncommon with other types of vasculitis. The explanations I read indicated that vasculitis is an autoimmune response...hence the fever in some cases.
On that note, if there are any doctors out there monitoring this board, I've recently learned that I have the PTPN22 gene which makes me susceptible to rheumatoid arthritis and apparently other autoimmune disorders. Perhaps there's a correlation with the golfer's vasculitis. Or maybe not.
Jane
I think it's safe to say it has nothing to do with sweat glands not working well...at least not in my case. I sweat a lot, including on my legs. The women I golf with who also have this problem don't sweat much at all.
For what it's worth, I was diagnosed with vascular insufficiency in my left leg. It was readily seen during the testing they did. The doctor said I could quite likely have it in my right leg too, but not to the same degree as in my left. He would not say, however, that this was the cause of the golfer's vasculitis. They just don't know.
As for the fevers some people have been having with it, after doing some reading it seems fevers aren't uncommon with other types of vasculitis. The explanations I read indicated that vasculitis is an autoimmune response...hence the fever in some cases.
On that note, if there are any doctors out there monitoring this board, I've recently learned that I have the PTPN22 gene which makes me susceptible to rheumatoid arthritis and apparently other autoimmune disorders. Perhaps there's a correlation with the golfer's vasculitis. Or maybe not.
Jane
Common comments from the blogs on golfer's vasculitis:
Common symptoms: the small capillaries break in patches in the skin and that the legs ache when or after it has happened.
It mainly appears on the skin near the muscles on the legs and is related to upright exercise in hot and particularly humid weather – and so being ‘christened’ as golfer’s vasculitis.
If you have fit socks it appears above the sock line but not below the sock line.
We also know that it does not seem to be related to other conditions as we have not heard consistently of our fellow suffers all saying that they have one particular other condition.
Possible causes:
It could be that the capillaries which exchange fluids between the blood and the skin are not functioning well (for us) when this system is under pressure (from gravity and muscle use) and heat (from the outside temperature and muscle use).
(It does also seem to be affected by humidity. (When the air is humid the body’s cooling system from sweating is less efficient than in dry weather)).
It may be just that we have weak vein muscles which are used to push the blood back to the heart. As we get older all muscles become less efficient so it makes sense.
(However, it does not appear to be related to other conditions from weak vein muscles like DVT).
It is also possible that the blood or some other fluid under the skin is thickening during the hot weather upright prolonged exercise and I don’t know if this is normal during exercise. I do feel that my blood is thickening as after a golf round as I often get a a bit of a headache that evening. (However, it is not related to insufficient fluid intake).
I will try some ibuprofen, as it is does thin the blood, before or during the golf round and see if that helps. Thinning the blood may reduce the stress on those vein muscles and the function of the capillaries under the skin.
It may take a few months to test a few times to see if it really helps. (It is getting to the cool season in Thailand and I still have to recover from the current case of golfer’s vasculitis before I can start the test). If anyone else tries ibuprofen please advise the results.
Also as a note vasculitis is a general term for something affecting the blood vessels. As such, vasculitis covers multiple conditions all with differing causes so the reasons for golfer’s vasculitis maybe totally different from other forms of vasculitis. The symptoms may not be completely the same for everyone, but it does seem from the blogs that a large number of people have a number of identical symptoms.
So far the main benefit from some Aussies giving it a name is that we can find forums like this on the internet. It is already a great help to know that we are not alone and together we may find a solution.
Common symptoms: the small capillaries break in patches in the skin and that the legs ache when or after it has happened.
It mainly appears on the skin near the muscles on the legs and is related to upright exercise in hot and particularly humid weather – and so being ‘christened’ as golfer’s vasculitis.
If you have fit socks it appears above the sock line but not below the sock line.
We also know that it does not seem to be related to other conditions as we have not heard consistently of our fellow suffers all saying that they have one particular other condition.
Possible causes:
It could be that the capillaries which exchange fluids between the blood and the skin are not functioning well (for us) when this system is under pressure (from gravity and muscle use) and heat (from the outside temperature and muscle use).
(It does also seem to be affected by humidity. (When the air is humid the body’s cooling system from sweating is less efficient than in dry weather)).
It may be just that we have weak vein muscles which are used to push the blood back to the heart. As we get older all muscles become less efficient so it makes sense.
(However, it does not appear to be related to other conditions from weak vein muscles like DVT).
It is also possible that the blood or some other fluid under the skin is thickening during the hot weather upright prolonged exercise and I don’t know if this is normal during exercise. I do feel that my blood is thickening as after a golf round as I often get a a bit of a headache that evening. (However, it is not related to insufficient fluid intake).
I will try some ibuprofen, as it is does thin the blood, before or during the golf round and see if that helps. Thinning the blood may reduce the stress on those vein muscles and the function of the capillaries under the skin.
It may take a few months to test a few times to see if it really helps. (It is getting to the cool season in Thailand and I still have to recover from the current case of golfer’s vasculitis before I can start the test). If anyone else tries ibuprofen please advise the results.
Also as a note vasculitis is a general term for something affecting the blood vessels. As such, vasculitis covers multiple conditions all with differing causes so the reasons for golfer’s vasculitis maybe totally different from other forms of vasculitis. The symptoms may not be completely the same for everyone, but it does seem from the blogs that a large number of people have a number of identical symptoms.
So far the main benefit from some Aussies giving it a name is that we can find forums like this on the internet. It is already a great help to know that we are not alone and together we may find a solution.
Hi, yesterday I went for a round of golf (I'm in Thailand at the moment), and having just recovered from the previous week case of vasculitis, I thought of trying a new way of remedy: as often as I could (on every drinking stand) I bought those refreshing towels that here they keep in the refrigerator and put them on my lower legs for few minutes, just the time of a quick drink. Normally there are two stands every 9 holes, so I applyed the fresh towel four times in five hours and a half.
Apparently it worked: it helped to cool down the legs and it took me through the whole round without problem.
Now it will only be a matters of keep doing this and see if it still woks
Apparently it worked: it helped to cool down the legs and it took me through the whole round without problem.
Now it will only be a matters of keep doing this and see if it still woks
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