MrsLee

Has anyone found a good way to deal with this?

I've gotten these skin rashes for years and years. I get red and painful (ocassionally itchy) patches on my skin, sometimes they are scaly and shed skin flakes. They usually pop up without warning (though sometimes I can tie my breakouts to stress), though I now have red/white patches on my hands that won't go away. I also get hives from time to time, sometimes after sun exposure.

The rash has been diagnosed as dermatitis, eczema, psoriasis, CTCL... My current dermatologist, a world-renouned derm at a teaching hospital, insists that it's allergic dermatitis. He ordered more allergy testing (I've had it before and the test came out the same...shocker). He said I have a nickel allergy, but I've never gotten a rash from direct contact with nickel. I don't get rashes at the site of exposure from cheap jewelry, metal buttons, anything. Now he wants me to go on a low nickel diet.

I just feel like he is missing the boat here. I picked this guy because he's so well-known, but I feel like he's blowing me off. I'm tired of switching derms (I've probably seen 8 over the past 10 years). I'm just wondering if anyone has been in a similar situation. What are your experiences with allergic dermatitis?