Posted By Scratchy (Maddening, Itchland) on 12/05/2012

About 3 months ago I developed an itchy rash over my entire body - arms, stomach, chest, shoulders and back, thighs, buttocks... It never really seemed to affect my feet, hands, or face (although my ears got hot, itchy, and almost scaly for a while). It started kind of mildly, but in less than a week progressed to such an intense itching that I couldn't sleep at night.

The rash itself was bright red with small raised bumps. It seemed less itchy first thing in the mornings, but by evening would be unbearable. I had a "crawling" senseation on my skin and the itching would grow more and more intense until I finally broke down and scratched. After a few days of scratching the skin started to dry out. Thick flakes of skin began to peel off my elbows and the inflamed/scabby area beneath oozed slightly.

It did not seem to be contagious (or only very mildly so). It might have been spread around by my scratching, but I was living in very close living conditions with another person at the time, who did not develop any of the same symptoms.

I tried everything I could think of to relieve the itching. Cortizone cream which I occasionally use for mosquito bites did nothing. Antibiotic ointment did nothing. Cold water helped only a little. Salt water soaks didn't seem to help. Dillute apple cider vinegar rinses gave only a minute or two of respite, and dillute baking soda rinses made it burn as well as itch. Taking an antihistamine (loratadine 10mg) helped somewhat, providing enough relief for me to finally fall asleep in the evenings.

I was at the time temporarily working pretty far from home, so the first doctor I saw was at a nearby urgent care clinic. He took my temperature (normal) and blood pressure (good), took a look at the rash, and diagnosed it as folliculitus. He proscribed me an antibiotic (cephalexin 500mg to be taken 2 tablets 2x per day for 9 days), as well as a histamine-blocker (ranitidine 150 mg to be taken 1 tablet 2x per day), and told me I could also take an over-the-counter antihistamine (diphenhydramine HCl 25mg) before bed if I was still scratching too much to be able to fall asleep.

So for the next 9 days I took all the meds as prescribed and took a bath/soak with a cup of vinegar added to help relieve the itching every evening. The rash improved slightly over this time, but I was still itching intensely and scratching my arms bloody in my sleep overnight.

The week after finishing the antibiotic my itching slowly started worstening again.

Next I went to see a naturopathic physician. He gave me a tea tree oil salve to apply to the affected areas, homeopathic sulfer (200c), suggested I take baths with oatmeal or bentonite clay added, and reminded me to drink plenty of water to support my liver.

The tea tree oil salve helped enormously, but the itching would return in just a few hours and I had to reapply the salve 3-4 times a day for relief. Using it that frequently over pretty much my entire body quickly became almost prohibatively expensive, and was (of course) not covered by my insurance.

I went to my regular physician's office after returning home (at this point I've been continuously itchy for 2 months now and I am miserable). She takes my temperature (normal) and blood pressure (good), looks at my rash and tells me Dr. #1 was a kook, it isn't folliculitus after all I just have an allergic response/auto-immune problem atopic dermatitus - probably eczema. She prescribes me with a medium strength steroid cream (triamcinolone cream 0.1%) and a stronger antihistamine (hydroxyzine HCL 50mg: taken 1 or 2 tablets at bedtime as needed for itching), and tells me to get a quality healing moisturizing lotion to use.

So I try that for awhile instead, but now I suddenly have an extremely itchy fluid-filled blister between two of my smaller toes, an itchy ring of rash on my buttocks again that now looks something like diaper rash, and a thick slightly yellowish vaginal discharge (not itchy or smelly or bothersome, just thicker and a little yellower than usual).

I start to think that doctors don't know a lot about itching disorders! From my own research about my mystery itching symptoms I wonder why no one has considered the possibility of a fungal skin infection. Antifungal cream burns when applied to my arms, so I start adding a small amount (1/4 cup) of bleach to a tub full of bathwater, making sure to rinse thoroughly and apply more tea tree oil creme afterwards. My rash goes away at last (yay!! ) but my skin still itches. I read about yeast infections of the skin and candida overgrowth, which sounds scarily similar to what I'm experiencing, so a few days ago I also cut sugar and all processed foods out of my diet, just in case. Now I feel hungry all the time, even immediately after eating. The itching is getting way better, but now my stools are a light yellowish brown color - much softer than usual and they float. Could this be from the yeast "die off" symptoms that people talk about, or should I go get checked out for serious potential liver problems?

What in the world is wrong with me?

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