Ladies,

Just wondering if any of you have had trouble with any patches on your skin. I have had this patch on my arm between my elbow and wrist that started about 2 years ago. It actually looks like a birth mark, or a bruise. Sometimes it looks white from being so dry. It itches sometimes so bad I scratch it and I make it bleed. Really gets bad when I'm stressed and anxious. Have tried many lotions and Cortaid and all that stuff. Just won't go away. Hate to wear short sleeves because people will ask me "What is that on your arm?" Or "What happened to your arm? Did you burn it or bruise it. Have this nowhere else, just one large patch of ugly. Any ideas? Could this be related to Peri? Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Susie

My first thought on reading this is that any "lesion" anywhere on the body should be checked out by a doctor, especially since you have had this for two years. It will put your mind at ease as well as ours.

Susie,

What you're describing sounds a bit like eczema. I have it and get spots that look like that but I have never had one last that long. Eczema can really be triggered by stress too.

I echo what Sybilleruth said though. Go see a doctor!

thank you for your replies. I did go to a dermatolagist last November and he called it some kind of dermatitis brought on by stress and gave me an ointment to put on it and a shot. This visit cost me over $300.00 because we had no insurance. The ointment healed it a little bit, but it just keeps coming back. I can't really afford to go back again. I guess it won't kill me cause I'm still here but I just wondered if anyone had this problem. The trouble with me is I'm always nervous and stressed about something. Boy I sure do long for the good old days when nothing hurt and I was calm and relaxed.

Thanks again for replies

Susie

I've got an itchy red spot on leg, now....it started to go away then the skin looked tight and felt kinda hard. Is this eczema? I tried some Eucerin and it itches more! Doc gave me bacitracin and a stick- on bandaid....no help!

Hey Sybilleruth - I'm from Oregon too!

I get this on my neck in the folds on the left side mostly. It is eczema or dermatitis. You can use an over-the-counter hydrocortisone to take care of it. After you shower or bathe, make sure all the soap is off in that area. I get it every winter, for some reason. Just kind of learned to live with it.

SuzieQ,

Scaly, itchy patches on the arms, especially around the elbows, can be a symptom of wheat allergy (called dermatitis herpetiformus, I think). Have you been checked for this? Your physician can do an initial blood test for it, and sometimes a follow-up is necessary with a gastroenterologist.

It's probably not what's going on with you, but if no one's mentioned it, you might talk to your doc. Wheat allergy isn't that uncommon.

Good luck to you,
JJ

hi,

can you get hold of Tea Tree Oil......or an Aloe Vera plant.......

Tea Tree Oil is from the Australian bush, and is a wonderful healing oil....very
potent, so dilute it, and the aloe vera plant, when you break one of the stiff stems, oozes a very gel like substance, that you rub on directly onto the rash.

Sometimes it's the natural solutions that work.

Good luck.

The dermatolagist diagnosed it as neurodermatitis. I am now getting a small patch on my ankle. Trying not to scratch it. The patch on my arm is so ugly! They call it lichenfication. Seems to get worse when I am stressed. Thanks for all your suggestions. Am curious about the Tea tree oil. Seen it in Walmart today and heard someone else mention it before. Anyone out there ever used it?

Susie

Hi Susie,

I agree wtih Dorotka, sometimes it's the natural solutions that work.

Tea tree oil is wonderful and is sometimes called a medicine kit in a bottle. It's great for skin irritations, and definitely worth a try for your sore spot. It's the only thing I use for insect bites -- and North Carolina is biting insect haven -- it completely takes the itch away and the bite heals quickly.

I echo Dorotka about the aloe vera too. I always have a plant in my house and I use the gel inside the leaves for burns, cuts, scrapes, scratches. The other day I burned my fingers rather badly, put aloe on it by bandaiding a piece of leaf to my skin; it cools the skin as well as ice. It healed quickly with no blistering. Mother Nature is amazing.

If you try the tea tree oil, let us know how it works. I can imagine your discomfort, and so sorry for your suffering.

My best to you,

RedFox