unknown rash

[Me2]

Monday morning I noticed a rash(non-itchy!) on my chest. Hours later it had spread to my torso/back/arms and legs. I thought it was some allergic reaction. The only thing I had taken medicine wise within the previous few days was my generic allegra for my seasonal allergies, and a tablet or two of Drixoral--which had never caused me any issues in the past.

I went to my primary doctor who is a internal medicine specialist. He wanted to look at the bottom of my feet. He thought I had syphilis. I told him that I had gotten tested for all STDs(HIV, syphilis, etc.) three weeks earlier and all came back negative. He had me give blood for a syphilis test. He was confident that the test would come back positive. It didn't. He mentioned something about "prozone phenomenon" and suggested I get a biopsy of one of the rashes. The labs for the biopsy will be in this coming Monday. He had me get a penicillin shot today(Thursday).

I've read that it is usual that a person with syphilis will have rashes on their palms and/or on the soles of their feet. I have neither. I am anxiously awaiting the lab results. What if they show that I don't have syphilis? What kind of specialist should I ask to see?

Worried

[Monsterlove]

Your doctor is one of the rare good ones. Stick with him to determine what it is if it isn't syphilis; most doctors don't recognize the signs. Perhaps shingles if it is one sided. It can be a rare side effect from Drixoral.

[Kiera]

I second the doctor comment, but I do not think you have a STD. A biopsi will certainly help determine what is going on, so hang tight and hold on to your rare doctor!

Kiera

[Me2]

The rash is pretty much gone now(Monday). I don't know if the penicillin did it, or the rash just ran it's course. The dermatology nurse said that my labs results should be in tomorrow. I will let you know the results.

The rash wasn't unilateral, like one might suspect with shingles. The rash was spread bilaterally all over my chest/torso, back, arms, and legs.

And just another item, re; it being potentially syphilis. I never had a classic chancre anywhere on my body--anywhere visible.

Thanks for all the feedback so far!

[Me2]

Derm doctor said that labs show it isn't syphilis. He believes the rash was caused by something viral. I go to my GP today and we may run some blood tests for viruses.

[Monsterlove]

well, that's good and bad news....maybe it's just the meds..have you been around any insecticides?

[Me2]

haven't been around insecticides that I know of. The doctor that gave me penicillin for no good reason, is having me take para virus, HIV test, Hepatitus test and check my liver enzymes to see if my levels have returned to normal since the rash went away. I've recently tested negative for all STDs, so I think that everything regarding that should be a-okay. I just think that I may have picked up some random virus that gave me a rash and ran it's course.

It would have been nice not to have had that needless and semi-painful, penicillin shots(one in each buttocks).

Doctors should jump to conclusions, like he did re: the so-called syphilis diagnosis. He should have waited a couple of days for the labs to return. It's easy to let doctors whip you up into a nervous wreck when you are in the mist of some unknown rash.


And it would have been nice for him to apologize for having me take unnecessary antibiotics.

[Me2]

On this past Friday I felt better and went for a jog. Before this whatever it is hit me, I was able to jog/do cardio for 60 minutes without a problem. I didn’t want to overdo it so I only jogged for 30 minutes without any problem. When I got home and looked in the mirror my face and neck had bilateral areas of redness. It was really a rash per se. But I had never had this redness after working out.
By the next morning it was starting to fade, and was pretty much completely unnoticeable 36 hours later.

It’s Monday. My doctor called and said that HIV, Para, Hepititis tests all came back negative. And my liver enzyme levels were way down.
So today I went jogging for 25 minutes with short and a Nike running shirt so as to not over-heat due to too many clothes. I got home and had redness on neck and face. I am going to see how long it takes to go away.
It’s about 15-20 minutes post job, and the rash has already started to fade(yeah). I wish I could figure out what it is but I may never findout.

[reecesk8]

i can sympathise, i have the same rash, all over besides palms and feet, no itching or other symptoms, been there for months, havnt seen a doctor yet no other symptoms, i noticed its more prominent when ive been out for hours, anyybody who knows anything, please leave a reply, thanks

[lehacarpenter]

There are a lot of different kinds of rashes, and really only a few that don't itch. If you go to the dermatology website you can sometimes narrow it down by looking at pictures. Wikipedia can also help. If it looks like shingles, hurts, and is upper body only, check for Sweet's Syndrome. If it's related to heating up, put that in your search string, because there is a rash specific to heating up that goes away when you cool down, but I can't think of the name of it. Good luck.