2 things can happen here.  I am paying a small price asking for a
really good website that can help me or I will pay more if you can
help me. Just give me your email and I will paypal you.

I have never had skin problems other than acne(which has cleared all
up) until the age of 26.  I joined the Navy and I am stationed on a
ship out of San Diego.  I have been the the medical department on my
ship at least 8 times about this rash.  I do not trust the doctors on
my ship.  I do NOT get good medical care and I need your help.
Symptoms:
It is the weirdest things I have ever felt. 
The areas that itch feel nothing like I have felt before.  It feels
overwhelmingly good to sratch those areas.
When I scratch it starts to make bumps and then more scratching makes sores.  
I get spots taht looks like small bruises, but they are a light or
semi-dark yellow color.
I usually scarth the most when I am asleep, when I cannot control
myself and it itches serveraly.
I have had this rash for 7 months.  
One of the doctors and myself included think that the water on the
ship is affecting my skin.
They have said it is not fungal.  They have given me everythign from
anti-histomenes, to steroids.  Pills and creams.  The steroid pills
they give me for 5 days helps, the bumps go away, I do not itch at all
but they said they cannot keep me on it for long.
Please help me or point me in the right direction.

---

Request for Question Clarification by markj-ga on 06 Sep 2004 06:37 PDT

ingeniious --

Is the rash concentrated on one or more parts of your body?

markj-ga

---

Clarification of Question by ingeniious-ga on 06 Sep 2004 07:28 PDT

It can and has been all over.  It has mainly been on my thighs and
calfs, but it goes everywhere.  Strange things happen after each time
they have me take steroids.  The first time the rash went away for 4
days and then my whole body felt like it was on fire, it itcfhed so
bad every night for over a month that I was losing A LOT of sleep. 
Wehn I would take hot showers I would come out with red bloches all
over my body.  It was like my skin was ultra sensitive to everyhting.

There was one time when I got rid of it, while we were inport and I
was not showering on the ship nor drinking the water, cause I had a
place out in town I got rid of it by putting aloe vera on my body and
drinking it.

Scratching does not help, but it is not the cause as the docs here on
this ship want to beleive .  They think if I stop scratching it wil go
away and never come back.  The wierd thing is my body itches in places
where the "visible" rash cannot be seen.

Hope I have clarified better.

---

Clarification of Question by ingeniious-ga on 07 Sep 2004 02:39 PDT

This is what the doctor on my ship said after I told him some things
about what you all had to say:

"The ship only uses chlorine when we are pierside.  At sea the ship
uses bromine which is a halogen that is next to chlorine on the
periodic table.  The PMTs here in medical check the water every day to
make sure that the water has between 0.2 and 2 parts per million of
halogen.  This is considerably lower than any swimming pool or hot
tub.  It is also about the same as what you will find out of the tap
in San Diego.
 
I don't mind the e-mail at all.  I am sorry that you are still having
trouble with the rash.  If you want to come to medical you are always
welcome.  I can definitely send you to a dermatologist when we get
back to San Diego."

Maybe the halogen is what I am allergic to?

Not an answer, just some interesting info on rashes in general.
http://www.askdrsears.com/html/8/T082900.asp

It could be that you're allergic to the chlorine in the water on the
ship. Have you ever been tested for allergies? If you're showering in
chlorinated water your pores will be open because of the heat so
you'll absorb it more readily, and you'll also breathe in chlorine via
the steam.
Again, this is not an answer but it's interesting reading,
particularly the part about chloramines.
http://dermatology.cdlib.org/rxderm-archives/chlorine
and this website has some general but relevant info about chlorine.
http://www.waterandhealth.org/healthy_pools/healthy_pools_faq.html

Test putting Evening Primrose oil on a small area.
Salt water (externally applied) also sorts out such problems.

Hello--
At least you can get relief by leaving the ship.  I'm just going to
number these in no logical order.

(1)    Any chance you have silver fillings (amalgam) in your teeth. 
They are half mercury and mercury can affect your skin. Before getting
any dental work done it pays to check the site for Dr. Huggins at
www.drhuggins.com.  He sells a little booklet on detoxification that
explains how to do a DETOX BATH.  Since your problem involves your
skin this sounds like an excellent idea to me.  (Do you have access to
a bathtub?)  It's is simple.  20 minutes in 104 degree water with 1/2
cup baking soda and 1/2 cup epsom salts.  (you need to find a spa
thermometer to get the temperature right.  basically if it feels
"burny" it is too hot...don't use water as hot as you can
stand...that's too hot and can overheat your body core)  After 20
minutes...get out..longer is not better...get in the shower and wash
with a wash cloth to clean whatever is on your skin off (toxins that
you have been sweating out).  Daily would be good...twice a week at
the minimum.

(2)    Learn about infrared saunas.  They make you sweat bullets so
your body dumps the toxins that have accumulated over the years.  Dr.
Sherry Rogers wrote the recent book "Detoxify or Die."

(3)    If you are at your wits end contact the Environmental Health
Center in Dallas.  You can report there and they will run you through
a program.

(4)    The thing is that no one can guarantee a cure.  It will
probably become your job to find the most workable solution for you. 
Another thing I can suggest is a state of the art allergy
treatment...NAET.  Go to www.naet.com and be prepared to spend some
time studying.  It is not your traditional allergy handling...it is
almost miraculous...and had helped many people with impossible
problems.

(5)    You can't do it all at once.  Getting rid of toxins in the air,
water, clothes, and food is an area to concentrate on.  Mattresses can
also contain toxins (antifungals, fireproofing).  Detergents and dry
cleaning can be toxic to some people.  There are books and web sites
on this subject and non-toxic solutions.

These are a few guideposts.  There are wonderful people out there with
lots of ways to help.  Wishing you success.

I'd be looking for an allergy and also considering a reaction to any
kinds of meds, even vitamin pills, and diet.

It's possible you have two things going on.  Here's one
hypothesis--essentially a GUESS:  some kind of allergy or hives makes
you scratch, anything from sensitivity to laundry detergent to too
much niacin (which can cause that hot flush).  The bumps and sores
come up when you break the skin because of some kind of resident
fungus or virus like herpes.  Here's a thought:  scratch yourself raw
someplace where it *doesn't* itch and see what happens.

I'm suggesting this because your symptoms sound like a mix of things I
have seen before.  But I am not a medical person or a researcher.  I
am suggesting this just because I too have been frustrated with
diagnostic attempts for several conditions where the doctors say, in
effect, "We don't know what this is, so you'll just have to live with
it."  *They* don't have to live with it.  Keep looking, and definitely
try allergy testing.

Archae0pteryx

One thought that comes to my mind is mastocytosis.  It can cause
yellowish-tannish sort of lesions, and be very itchy.  The symptoms
can be triggered by a lot of different things, including overheating,
stress and some types of foods.  Also alcohol, hot beverages.  It
differs for different people.  A hallmark of the disease is that
scratching (even areas that don't have a rash) causes swelling or hive
like lesions to appear.
The navy often has relatively inexperienced doctors on smaller ships,
who may not have done a full residency, so may be unfamiliar with
this.  However San Diego has a large naval hospital with dermatology
and other specialties.  The diagnosis can be made by skin biopsy, as
well as some other tests.  Sometimes this can be a more significant
illness, with similar lesions in places other than skin, so I think it
would be important to see if that is what it is and get treated.  I
would definitely take him up on his offer to see dermatology.