Tender skin - sore to the touch

[stef71]

Hi -

I am hoping that someone might have some feedback on an issue I have been experiencing over the last year with various areas of skin.  It started with my legs and back but now has moved to my face.  Basically, for about 24 - 48 hours, an area of skin (generally from the size of a softball to basketball) will become extremely tender and sore to the touch ... almost as if it were bruised significantly.  It is so tender that clothes brushing against it is painful.  The problem is, there is no visual evidence of it.  I went to the doctor and felt as though he was insinuating that I was making up the symptoms because he could not see anything.   Very, very frustrating.  Again, just wondering if anyone here has ever experienced anything similar.  At the moment, the skin on my entire face aches and it is difficult to even take a shower.  If it follows my past episodes, it will fade within a day or two so it is not too much of a problem but it would definitely be nice to get a better understanding of what is happening inside my body and if there is anything I can do to prevent/relieve it.

I thank you in advance for your time and help.

Regards,
Stef

[AngieM08]

yeah, I have the same issue. It started with a pain in my lower back and ribs/sides. Then 2 days later it disappeared and I was fine for a full 24 hours. The day after that, the arch of my feet and each ankle had the same exact feeling. It hurt to touch but even when I wasn't touching it, there was still a pain. But it felt like I had either pulled something or i had bruised myself (which Im not ruling out either, because Im quiet clumsy). The next day It was my right shoulder and 3 days later (now) its my left wrist and thumb. Its driving me crazy. I wish I knew what was going on.

I dont do anything strenuous around the house. I stay at home and watch my little brothers all day and clean. So I really dont think that would have anything to do with it. Anything regarding this would be super.

Thanks
-Angie

(Also, I just noticed that you posted this about 2 months ago. Has this cleared up at all? If so, how? Any pointers?)

[canadianlou]

Wow, it is awesome to see that I am not crazy and that many others have the same symptoms. I have had this sensitivity for years off and on. It affects different parts of my body at different time, usually last a couple of days and then goes away. There is never any physical evidence of what I am feeling. It is so difficult to explain but you all have done a great job explaining the sensation. I only wish there was a definitive explanation as to what this is and how to deal with it.

[canadianlou]

Wow, it is awesome to see that I am not crazy and that many others have the same symptoms. I have had this sensitivity for years off and on. It affects different parts of my body at different time, usually last a couple of days and then goes away. There is never any physical evidence of what I am feeling. It is so difficult to explain but you all have done a great job explaining the sensation. I only wish there was a definitive explanation as to what this is and how to deal with it.

[chamois_shimi]

I arrived here while looking for information - I'm having the exact same problem right this moment with the outside of my arm, between elbow and wrist, and extending down to the outside of my pinky. The lightest of touches is very painful, and there's no swelling, no bruising, nothing to see at all.

Given the way my pinky feels, I'm thinking it's a nerve thing. (Ulnar nerve, I guess, in my case right this moment.)

Thoughts, anyone?

[superlou]

Hi all  yeah I have had this for years i usually get the sensation before I get a cold/rundown then it goes when i feel better, but recentley I had this sensation in my little finger paticularly it moves around my body in patches and feels like you say nerve pain  the doctor dismissed it  i don't blame her aas i have no weakness or rash i am going to record thid to see what pattern i can spot ? i will keep you updated
lou

[jowoodgate]

Hi, I know exactly what you are talking about! I have had this condition for many years now I'm 63, my mother and my sister experienced this condition and now my daughters do. It seems to be when I have been on buses or trains, or if someone with a cold has been to visit, almost like picking up a virus in your skin, if that is possible. To me it feels like I have been dragged across a gravel path.

Hope this helps

Jo

[kbhaynes]

I have also had this condition for many years... i have never been to the doctor for it because i thought they would all think i was crazy. im glad to know that there are other people who get this problem as well. i get this at different times, usually about 2-3 months apart from one episode to the next. all parts of my body have been affected. legs, arms, hands, feet, stomach... everywhere. it is so painful when you touch it or your clothes touch it. it usually lasts about 4-6 days with me. no visible evidence of any bruising or strenuous activity to cause the pain. my husband thinks im crazy. does anyone have a name for this condition or know what it is or what causes it?

[kbhaynes]

I have also had this condition for many years... i have never been to the doctor for it because i thought they would all think i was crazy. im glad to know that there are other people who get this problem as well. i get this at different times, usually about 2-3 months apart from one episode to the next. all parts of my body have been affected. legs, arms, hands, feet, stomach... everywhere. it is so painful when you touch it or your clothes touch it. it usually lasts about 4-6 days with me. no visible evidence of any bruising or strenuous activity to cause the pain. my husband thinks im crazy. does anyone have a name for this condition or know what it is or what causes it?

[Gpsnohelp]

If you can feel the pain, it is real. I have it too and it's very painful. I'm seeing the dr again today but I don't hold out much hope because gp's don't know much about skin conditions. And they don't seem to know anything at all about this particular problem but I think we should all tell our drs because then they will realise that lots of ppl do have it and it is real. Perhaps they might start to investigate these things. Even if it is 'psychosomatic', the pain is real and there should be something that can be done about it.

[jeepgirl84]

I am having the same problem right now and it has been going on for about 2 months. The sensitivity starts about 4 inches above my knee on my left leg and has now gone to part of my stomach. No one seems to know anything about it or what to do for it. It feels sensitive and tender to touch. In fact it feels like something has rubbed my skin over and over and has irritated it.
I have been under a lot of stress...moved my parents here 4 yrs ago, then father fell and broke his neck in Jan. then died in Apr, now taking care of mother so maybe stress has something to do with it.
Also I have been using Splenda (a lot) and now have found out that it causes skin problems along with a boat load of other health related problems. I have cut out Splenda and now I am waiting to see if leg and stomach will get any better. Do you use Splenda? I am trying to figure out what we all have in common other than this skin tenderness. There is no outward signs that anything is wrong...no rash, no ANYTHING.

[AmyMorgan]

This is the first time I have this happen to me and it freaked me out. So I was trying to found out if there is anyone else with this strange skin thing going on. I keep trying to explain the feeling to my husband and he looks at me like I'm crazy so I'm scared to see a doctor about it cause I'm sure he will do the same. The back of my legs and the bottom of my feet are super tender for no reason at all. I have no swelling, red marks and this by far isn't a pulled muscle it feels nothing like it. Have any of you figured out this thing yet?

[crazypainter]

It sounds like the shingles that I had over the summer months.  I have been under the highest amount of stress I've ever had.  The shingles broke out and the symptoms are just what you're describing.  Since it's a virus it makes sense from those of you who have speculated about a virus.  I have had it in the back of my upper legs before but it was short lived.  I think my body finally said enough is enough!!  I went to an acupuncturist and took herbs he prescribed.  You might try that if you have one nearby.

[9191Tracy]

I have suffered on and off with this for years, usually when i am coming down with something. Recently however i am experiencing it without feeling unwell. I too can only describe it as if my nerve ending on my skin are hypersensitive and it can happen practically all over my body or move from area to area. Showers and clothing prove painful when my skin is like this. I got a bout of it a few weeks ago and it lasted 5 to 6 days then it went. However it has appeared on the inside of my left arm from my elbow upwards and is extremly painful. I too feel it is probably viral related but like many of you have not been to the doctors about it for fear they dismiss me as being crazy. I will keep researching online to see if i can find anything that may be linked to what we describe and will post on here with a link if i do.

[jamessavitz]

Well I to have the same issue as everyone else.  It started a few days ago when I came down with a common but nasty cold...(I don't get colds often at all first cold in 3 years)  Well the cold has calmed down about 70% and I have been dealing with the tender skin started on triceps area of arm and then has really had the most pain on my upper back -shoulder to shoulder and has really been painful.  What caught my attention when looking up to see if anyone had experienced my symptoms was the pain when wearing a shirt,no muscle pain,no signs of any rashes or anything for that matter.  The way I explained to my wife is it almost feels like hat hair on the areas of pain but much worse...and when I get home and take off my shirt it feels as if there is a heat lamp above my area's of pain.  I rate the pain a 3-4 out of 10 but it has its moments were its a 6+ but goes away similar to a crap pain would sharp then fades after 15 secs.  I really don't think my post will help anyone...This page seems to sound like a broken record...As there are no explanations of what this could be...Best luck to everyone dealing with this annoying pain..

[inpainandconfused]

Hey James, My story sounds EXACTLY like yours.  Skin is very sensitive to touch or when clothes rubbing against it.  Started on right tricep, then 2 days later felt a spot on the left side of my right shoulder blade.  Both area still affected for 7 days now.  Not getting any worse but not getting any better.  Shingles has been mentioned but with no rash showing up, I don't think it's shingles.  Also read about being related to Herpes, I guess either 1 or 2.  Does anybody else on this board have Herpes?

[Jokennard]

Me my mother and aunty suffer from all these symptoms and have done for years. We have noticed it always just before you are poorly with a cold or flu virus. After looking it up on the Internet I'm amazed how many people suffer from this mystery skin pain and there is no name for the condition? My partner came down with a cold two days ago and I have just started to soreness above the backs of my knees. with me the pain always rises up to the top of my legs and makes it uncomfortable to sit on the toilet then it goes down to my feet and toes. My guess is with in a week I will have the cold swell!

[nanajoc]

i have now in the top part of my leg.very painful.does anything help. jo

[eloyd]

Sounds like you are all talking about Fibromyalgia:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0001463/

[BetseyP]

I have had this condition for many years.  I am now 65.  I went to a neurologist when I was around 35.  He tested me for MS and decided it was NOT MS but couldn’t say what it was.  I haven’t bothered going to a Dr about it since but I do troll the web every so often.  This is the first string with so many people describing the same thing (which I don’t think is Fibro.)   What I get are very neatly formed, oval patches on the skin that are very tender to the touch and that every few minutes hurt intensely for a few seconds.  So they ate tender maybe a 3 on a 1 to 10, but then throb with pain that can go up to an 8 or 9.  For me these patches are above my knees and below my ears, but mostly on my trunk.  The patches are not visible except when really bad and then just a rosiness.  They are warm to the touch.  I get an outbreak several times a year.  The only thing I have ever associated with an outbreak is eating too much sugar.  I got on a candida kick for a while a they did calm down.  (At that time I got them more often.)  When I get them now I can usually look back and see a high sugar intake for a while.  (I’m not diabetic or pre-diabetic and I have a moderate weight.)   I do eat better now than I did when I was 35.  So as to viruses, I did have chickenpox and all the other childhood diseases, since everyone my age did.  Since then I’ve gotten TB, Hep A, Herpes, Meningitis, quite a batch of possible causes.  This has been an interesting string.  I hope someone is watching it still.

[marcek]

It's remarkable to read all these accounts of exactly the same condition, that I also suffer with, and nobody can figure out what this is. I have had the condition off and on over the past several years. Recently I broke my arm and I wore a cast for 7 weeks. During this time I felt like I was having a poking and burning on that arm, which I would treat with alot of Ibuprofen and I would keep ice on the cast at that site, thinking the break was causing the pain. After the cast was removed, I realized the pain was the skin sensativity that I was all too familiar with, not the broken bone. The pain is always the most intense when something is touching the area. Can you imagine having a cast on it for 7 weeks?
But I still think the Ibuprofen and ice helped give me temporary relief. Has anyone else tried this simple treatment?

[lavender53]

Hi I have just been scrolling through all this and its amazing.  I suffer exactly the same thing.  I have a pain at the top of my leg right under my buttock, but last night I had the same pain under my eyelid!  Its like a nerve thing, I thing I get it sitting on something cold or having a cold wind blowing.  I have had herpes before, but with this pain I don't get any rash or blisters, just such sore skin.  I also can't sit on the toilet especially if its cold.  It sounds like if you are run down or stressed the pain comes.  Not sure what to do about it though.

[fancynancy1]

hello , my son is 19 and has had this going on for two mnths, i also have had this for many years took the doctor 5 years to tell me i have fibromyalga . but right now my son is being tested for lymes . they say they have to rule out other things first  my sons skin is so sencative he cant where a shirt or have the wind blow on him . very pain full . hope this hhas help.

[popcornpo]

I have all the same symptoms, usually on one side of my face and head where my hair hurts as well.  Now, I am experiencing this same sensitivity on my right leg above my knee.  Very very painful.  No bruising and it seems other people are sharing this same condition.  I hope someone out there can shed some light on this.  Is it a form of neuralgia and nothing too serious to worry about?

[MarthaArntson]

I have had the same thing on my face.  The past few years it just happens out of nowhere.  I get out of bed one morning and my face hurts, just the skin on one side, like it should be bruised or something.  I do have sinusitus but am not sure there is anything that can be done for it.  My dr. always just prescribes nasal sprays during the winter months when it seems my allergies are worse here in the Midwest.  I wonder if anyone has had a diagnosis as it is really frustrating to not know what causes this.

[parkersmom2097]

I have had this same problem for seven years or so, it seems to be just before my menstral cycle, only last a day or so and it's awful. It somehow make me feel better to know I am not alone. I have never mentioned it o my doctor, I figured he would just think it was all in my head, and trust me it's not,as you all know or you wouldn't be reading this .. I am hoping it goes away soon, as I am getting older and finding new aches and pains to complain about ...lol

[RachelSS]

I have been doing research on-line because I, too, have been beginning to feel this raw tender pain. There are now several soft ball sized spots on my skin that hurt when I very lightly touch them, but no visual signs. It even hurts for my clothes to touch the spots. Everything that I keep coming across seems to indicate an auto-immune disorder, mainly fibro-myalgia. I have been gluten free for months because I was starting to notice celiac disease symptoms, food related, but I just went out to eat to a place where they did not have a gluten free menu, which caused me to end up eating from the regular menu. My skin is so tender and seems to have been a result of the gluten, my stomach was bloated after I ate, and I am now feeling a bit run down and tired as well. I think I will need to continue to look into the auto-immune/fibro-myalgia route & diet to avoid these flair ups. Hopefully this will help!

[Kellydawn325]

If there is a sort of rash it could be Shingles.  I don't have the rash, just the sore skin....it started with a spot on my wrist, now there is one on my hip and my lower back.