Could this be parasitic?

[wootty1987]

Essentially I am displaying a number of quite freekish symptoms & abnormalities with my skin & hair over the last 2 months or so with absolutely no headway made with my GP as blood work etc is all fine – they have given me the whole ‘anxiety’ speil but I’m sorry, that’s just not going to cut it.

Some advice around fungal infection, mites, parasites etc…!

Essentially here is my story; I am 22 years old, male, otherwise healthy, happy, rower, living in H-O-T – but this is beginning to consume me somewhat.

November 2009 – Develop acne after 4 years of remission from Roaccutane – Started to use Benzoyl Peroxide for Acne for 3 months, was ruining my skin so stopped in February, may have had some influence. Acne didn’t do too much good for my stress levels over this time period which could have been another cause.

January 2010 – go off to Seville for a training camp. Develop some skin irritation in corner of eyes and a slight rash for a few days on my arms, rash cleared up whilst out there, irritation in corner of eyes persisted.

Jan – Feb 2010 – an unrelenting feeling that something was just not quite right with my skin. Skin irritation spread to my eyelids, under and in my eyebrows and forehead. A LOT of dandruff in scalp also. A lot of GP consultations prove inconclusive.

The irritation is sometimes itchy with a ‘moving sensation’ across my face, arms, neck, scalp – you name it. I sit here right now with the sensation that something(s) is/are moving around. Mainly though, the irritation is reddened/purple, burns a bit and has quite a greasy element ie forehead, eyelids, eyebrows always seem to have a film of oil no matter how much I wash. I also get various weird spots in paces of my face where I have never had them before, which act in odd ways in terms of how they persist/react to treating them like I have done with spots generally through my life.

Mid Feb 2010 – Start to notice some hair loss, scalp, eyelashes, eyebrows – definitely at a higher rate than normal – in the last month this has become particularly noticeable to me – thinner hair, eyebrows etc. More consultations with GP prove inconclusive – at the point now where only those closest to me notice the thinning of my hair, GP’s don’t and only notice small irritation (even though it feels terrible) and will not go into further investigation than blood tests (which are all fine) until it worsens.

The only thing that has sort – of coincided with this worsening was beginning to take antibiotics Lymecyline for Acne – I have mixed feelings as to whether this has had an impact or is the cause (as this process began first)

March 2010 – I am getting various ‘bites’ on arms, legs, torso etc – these itch for a while whilst big & red then subside. Also have a rash on my chest & thighs which is not acne, It is some irritation in follicles around that area.

I have also started to notice (now this may well be paranoia & normal) that there is just so much dust etc coming off of me in comparison to normal (& others) if I am just sitting around or move slightly.

This is everything coming to mind right now – there are so many pieces to the puzzle and I am sure I have missed various things out.

Basically, any help, advice etc would be great as I am fairly young and at a loss. GP is not investigating further & won’t send me to any kind of specialist and is essentially making me feel as if I am cracking up – I am sorry, I am stronger than that and know my own body far too well.

Who should I try and see? What should I try to demand? What route should I go down trying to assess what this could be in terms of external skin/parasite infection? Does this sound like parasitic infection? What symptoms internally would i be observing, because there a plenty.

If you have read all of this, and may reply – then a huge thank you.

Regards

[gigi22]

Wootty -

With many of the symptoms you describe, it sounds like you are suffering from yeast overgrowth on the skin with possibly some other fungal involvement (hair loss, dandruff). Acne can be caused by yeast.. it makes me highly suspicious, especially since you said your symptoms worsened after taking antibiotics.

Even if you did have some parasitic involvement, its likely only a secondary effect, not a cause in itself.
This is more a systematic issue... not something an MD is likely to help with.

Find a naturopathic or holistic doctor for help. Start treating for yeast, ie. switch to an anti-candida diet for starts, look into natural antifungals, and look into detoxing. There are lots of treatment-type baths found on this site. My doctor recommends epsom salt/baking soda baths for yeast-type infections.

I am still looking into the reasons for my immune-suppressed state that occurred last year after I took several rounds of antibiotics. My Primary Care doctor was unable to find anything, but my holistic doctor found food intolerances due to leaky gut (lots of skin rashes caused by foods), gut infections (mold, pathogenic bacteria, candida) found by stool testing, imbalanced liver detox pathways (liver detox test), and a high heavy metal load (metal challenge testing). I also had a severe vitamin b12 deficiency and other nutritional deficiencies and we are in the process of fixing that as well.

I'm not saying you are suffering from the same things as I am, I'm just giving you some more things to think about. I ended up with severe yeast overgrowth on my skin when my immune system went downhill which caused me to attract bugs (collembola, gnats). My skin is much better now, though I still have some type of mold infection (black specks, thread) in my skin pores which is much improved, but I'm still fighting.

[wootty1987]

Gigi,

Thanks for the info - candida and yeast is something that i have wondered about especially with the antibiotics.

Would a homeopath be someone i should go to see?

Its odd, it is as if all of my complaints or on 'the outside' ie skin, hair, bites etc etc - i feel fine in terms of my fitness, apetite etc, but this is something i want to stop.

It does feel like i am attracting or do have some kind of odd movement sensations, and i am sure hair is not supposed to fall from your head and face while you just sit there?!

[wootty1987]

Also, obviously i am keen for the acne not to come back - so do you think it is possible to carry on taking antib's while trying to sort this out?

On the topic of candida;
- i have had pretty bad guts for over 3 years (since taking roaccutane)
- i have a horrible dry, mucousy mouth, especially at night - i have tried the 'candida spit test' in the morning which could not have been more 'conclusive' in terms of what is suggested - positive.

[gigi22]

Yes, a homeopath is someone who could better help, just my opinion. If you can find an Osteopath, or someone who is an MD but practices holistic medicine, this is ideal. My MD is an osteopath and helped me more than my naturopathic doctor did. I think it all depends! You will probably find better luck with a homeopath than any MD in general.

You say your complaints are all on the outside but you feel fine. Your outside health is really a reflection of what is going on inside, however! If you were really fine on the inside, then you would not be having the skin problems. To get better, you will have to treat the outside and inside at the same time.

The dust and hair stuff you talk about is also what happened to me. I started to notice more dust and hair/fibers floating around me, on my eyelashes, in my clothes. I can't explain what this stuff is. I still don't know, though I get tremendously less of it now that I am WAY better. I still see it, but not to the extent I did a year ago. By the way, this stuff I notice is EVERYWHERE... but it seemed to really multiply around me when I was at my sickest.

Originally Posted by wootty1987

Gigi,

Thanks for the info - candida and yeast is something that i have wondered about especially with the antibiotics.

Would a homeopath be someone i should go to see?

Its odd, it is as if all of my complaints or on 'the outside' ie skin, hair, bites etc etc - i feel fine in terms of my fitness, apetite etc, but this is something i want to stop.

It does feel like i am attracting or do have some kind of odd movement sensations, and i am sure hair is not supposed to fall from your head and face while you just sit there?!

[gigi22]

Are you taking the antibiotics for acne? If so, how do you know your acne is not caused by yeast? I broke out in acne too.. but mine was caused by yeast. When I cleared up the yeast, the acne went away. Since I got into the world of Morgellons just by taking antibiotics for a sinus infection, I would not take them personally unless I knew specifically why I was taking them.

As a side note, a few months ago I had to take some antibiotics for a UTI, but I was also on pro-biotics and natural antifungals at the time, and I didn't seem to get worse.

if you still have gut issues.. you need to fix this. I'm on the anti-candida diet, avoiding foods that I'm intolerant of, and taking in lots of supplements/nutrients/minerals, including L-glutamine, which is good for gut repair.

Originally Posted by wootty1987

Also, obviously i am keen for the acne not to come back - so do you think it is possible to carry on taking antib's while trying to sort this out?

On the topic of candida;
- i have had pretty bad guts for over 3 years (since taking roaccutane)
- i have a horrible dry, mucousy mouth, especially at night - i have tried the 'candida spit test' in the morning which could not have been more 'conclusive' in terms of what is suggested - positive.

[wootty1987]

Thanks for the advice.

The acne i am quite sure is just another onset of what i had when i was younger (1 i got rid of it by taking roaccutane but it has come back - i am sure the acne was just a nutural re-occurence. but the way i dealt with it both emotionally and applying all sorts of crap to myself i think has brought this on.

So the antibiotics are specifically to control that and the GP has told me to keep taking this.

To be honest, i have never even heard of morgellons and just stumbled accross this website looking for research on Demodex mites which I had been wondering about as the cause for the hair loss and rash around my face.

i have though, like you too had noticed a lot of random floaty stuff and dust just around me. no very recently i have noticed these bites and after reading about morgellons am beginning to remember all sorts of unexplained lesions which take ages to dissapear and random 'sunk in' little black dots all over my skin, aswell as the sheer amount of stuff that just floats even if i rub my leg for instance. I have got myself into a bit of a worry over this now. I am sure that this has got to be in part psychological and that we specifically look for this type of stuff? I mean i keep wondering if i would have noticed or cared had i not been in ultra hypochodriac mode about my acne?!

[gigi22]

Good point about demodex. I have/had an overabundance of these guys as well. I have rosacea, and when I started cleansing for yeast, these mites when haywire when I ingested oregano oil. It was pretty disturbing! I could feel the crawling all over my face and eyelashes and eyebrows. Dousing them with jojoba oil helped quite them down. I ordered Face Doctor SeaBuckthorne Oil shampoo and conditioner, and Aubrey Organics SeaBuckthorne Oil soap to help with killing these mites.

Originally Posted by wootty1987

Thanks for the advice.

The acne i am quite sure is just another onset of what i had when i was younger (1 i got rid of it by taking roaccutane but it has come back - i am sure the acne was just a nutural re-occurence. but the way i dealt with it both emotionally and applying all sorts of crap to myself i think has brought this on.

So the antibiotics are specifically to control that and the GP has told me to keep taking this.

To be honest, i have never even heard of morgellons and just stumbled accross this website looking for research on Demodex mites which I had been wondering about as the cause for the hair loss and rash around my face.

i have though, like you too had noticed a lot of random floaty stuff and dust just around me. no very recently i have noticed these bites and after reading about morgellons am beginning to remember all sorts of unexplained lesions which take ages to dissapear and random 'sunk in' little black dots all over my skin, aswell as the sheer amount of stuff that just floats even if i rub my leg for instance. I have got myself into a bit of a worry over this now. I am sure that this has got to be in part psychological and that we specifically look for this type of stuff? I mean i keep wondering if i would have noticed or cared had i not been in ultra hypochodriac mode about my acne?!

[wootty1987]

how did you know you had them?

I am tempted to go for my own remedy as i am just so sure that this is what i have - it is like banging my head against a brick wall trying to find someone a) to listen and b) to test for these little horrors. I know testing is invasive but i just need to know whether this is what it is. i am losing lots of hair and most of my skin complaints are around my face therefore am sure it is these little buggers & I and need to stop it.

I just get the crawling sensation mainly (actually, always) on scalp, face and perhaps sometimes on my legs and the way my hair is falling from my brows is definately indicative of something living in the and killing off the life of it. Its weird i also have some hars that have turned very blonde in my brows as well, something else which is just quite strange.

So where can i get the products you said about - does this get rid of them or just limit them to enough to stop the rash and my hair falling out?!

I am pretty sure morgellons is something i don't have to worry about. I have been i contact with a lady who knows a thing or 2 about it from over here in the UK and she has advised i do something in the bath to see what happens. I may do it i may not but i fear for the psychological torture of what may ensue if i do, because essentially other than the mite worry, all i have are a few bites which could account for anything, as well as some dust stuff being noticable which, like you said, is everywhere...

[wootty1987]

I also have been diagnosed with blepahritis (angular and both lids) - paired with the irritation around my lashes and brows as well as loss - the hair loss from scalp - irritation in 'T - Zone' and some follicle type spots on my chest all points to these little creatures.

I dont know if demodex can cause particularly oily skin, though like i have on my forehead - or an increase in the 'floaty stuff' - or the bites on my arms & legs?

over and out.