Bites? Rash? Allergy? My skin is ruined!! - Skin Problems Message Board

lemichele · 07-20-2003, 01:13 PM

Someone PLEASE help. I've had a problem with some kind of rash or insect bite for the past 6+ months. It really only occurs on my legs, and now my legs are so scarred and inflamed that I can no longer wear skirts or shorts. Even pantyhose won't cover up the scabs, blisters and scars.

My cats have flea medication pumping through them, I've sprayed the house for fleas, and sprayed the yard. I wear OFF whenever I go outside (and have takena couple weeks off of doing that in case I was allergic to the OFF, but still got these things), I wash my sheets in hot water every few days, have switched detergent many times.. I moisturized, then stopped, then started seeing if there were a pattern there.

I also don't think these are bug bites, as I never see any bugs on me. I've never caught a mosquito, flea or spider on me.

I live in the NW, so there isn't any poison oak or ivy hiding in my backyard.

Anyone know what could be doing this? Seriously - my legs are so scarred that I really can't wear anything that doesn't come to my ankles anymore - very very depressing...

[This message has been edited by lemichele (edited 07-20-2003).]

inquisitive1 · 07-20-2003, 03:58 PM

Does it have something to do with shaving, maybe?

Lindarella · 07-20-2003, 10:17 PM

I'd go with the flea theory. Them little buggers will tear you to bits. Do they itch A LOT?

Fleas only live on a host (pet,you) about 10% of the time. The rest of the time they live in your house, in your carpets, any place the pet sleeps or goes. They are hard to kill and need a specific regiment of extermination to kill them. Fleas lay eggs all over and the eggs take 2 weeks to become full grown fleas.

You have to get spray from an exterminator. The stuff you can buy at the store is worthless. You then vacumn really well and empty the bag. THEN you get either a garden sprayer or something that will spray your entire house with a fine mist. Spray the entire house. The spray is residual which means it will stay on the carpet for a bit.

THat is step one.

Step two is to spray again in exactly 2 weeks as then you kill the eggs that are now full grown adults. If you skip this step, the eggs will just make more fleas and you will never get rid of them. A better option is an exterminator.

Nothing you can put on or bathe the cat in will get rid of fleas as they are only on the cat a very short amount of time. IF you see fleas on the cat you can rest assured there are thousands in your house....

Fleas in your home almost always bite on the legs. If nearly all your bites are below the knee it's likely fleas. They jump from the floor as you walk by, bite you and jump off. They're pretty small and hard to see but you can see them if you pay attention.

There is a fairly easy way to see if you have a flea infestation. Put on a pair of white knee socks. Walk all round the house a couple times bending over every little while and looking carefully at your sock. Do you see any fleas? They show up pretty good on white socks.

Good luck. I hope it is fleas as even though they're hard to get rid of, at least you can get rid of them and get rid of your problem at the same time.

kellie2 · 07-21-2003, 08:53 PM

Fleas, definitely, especially if you have cats. I also agree with the above poster that chances are your home is infested with them. Most people don't know that a flea only has to bite once every three months to stay alive. Scary, eh? And yes, it will be mainly on your legs. I will also tell you that if you let your cats roam outside, you're going to keep on getting them because an outdoor cat will bring in all sorts of things, including fleas which they can pick up by simply walking through someone's yard who has them. You can use an exterminator, or start with flea bombs from your vet. He will tell you how many you need for the size of your home, then you and the cats will have to leave while they're going off. These give off a fine mist which will coat everything in your home and kill any live fleas. You will then have to do it again in two weeks to kill the remaining ones that hatch. Because you obviously have them so bad, I'm afraid this is going to become a vicious circle for you as you most likely have them in your car also, and will simply carry them back into your home with you even after the home is clean, doing nothing but reinfecting it again. My suggestion would be, when you're ready to bomb, drop the cats off at the vet to get dipped while you're bombing the house. When you walk out of your house, you carry out with you a spray of flea killer (which is the same thing that's in the bombs) and you spray the dickens out of your car and trunk. What you're trying to do is to not bring them back into the house with you, either from your car or on the cats. Then you do it all over again in two weeks, and you may even have to do it a third time if they're that bad and you've really had them this long. But as I said earlier, if you allow your cats to roam freely outside and then come back in, chances are you're eventually going to get them again. Oh - and if you have a home with a yard, do the grass too.

Another way you can check for fleas is to simply lay a white kleenex on your carpet, then sit and watch it. You'll be able to see the fleas on it....

Good luck

drawingablank · 07-26-2003, 05:07 AM

I have recently gotten this rash under my breasts, at first I thought it was a typical summer heat rash, until it lasted and was killing me, that was 3 weeks ago, I went to the doctor and all she told me is that it wasn't yeast!!! She also told me to use an antifungal cream, and to keep my breasts clean and dry well there comes my problem to get my breasts as dry as skin can get i have to hold them up to the fan well my skin underneath is so raw that I can't even touch them. I just recently switched from paxil to lexapro about 2 months ago, and I'm also on lovera for birthcontrol and I wonder if either one of them might cause the rash if anyone has any suggestions or knows what this might be please help

------------------