Redish/dry "raccoon" Rings Around Eyes (maybe Herpes?)

have you been to a dermatologist yet?

No, didn't have health insurance at the time. Now I do, so I guess that's an option.

But get this - I met a woman who had EXACTLY what I had. The skin around her eyes was red and inflamed. She told me she went to several different doctors and they couldn't tell what it was. I mentioned my experience and told her that lysine seemed to help. Not sure if I helped her or not, but there's a reason I don't have much faith in the medical establishment.

But it's starting all over again, so I should try to find a specialist who actually knows something about it. I think the herpes link might hold some clues.

yes first step IMO should be a derm. now
they can help you sort through possible problems and whats causeing this. because i have no idea!!!!! i sure hope you find some answers though!

I wanted to share my story with others in the event that it may help them in their research and finding whether or not they are allergic to mushrooms.

For me and started about eight months ago I ate large stuffed Portabella mushroom and was in severe stomach cramps and pain and diarrhea within 20 to 30 minutes. Since I have eaten mushrooms with no problem my entire life I assumed I had a bad mushroom. A couple of months later I ate another stuffed Portabella mushroom and experienced the same horrible stomach cramps and diarrhea. A few months went by and I had a slice of pizza that contained some Portabella mushrooms thinking the small quantity of mushrooms would not affect me and again I was sick. From here forward I stopped eating Portabella mushrooms and did not experience any stomach pains or illness. Apparently I had this new found sudden mushroom allergy and I learned that I was not alone, this was fairly common and it can come on suddenly, even if you’ve eaten mushrooms your entire life.

However in May 2012 I noticed a red streak/line under my right eye it almost looked like I had been scratched. I could not associate this with any problems. I applied ointment/Neosporin to the area for over two weeks and it finally yet slowly went away. The area was not necessarily itchy and was just somewhat uncomfortable. A couple of weeks later I woke up with the same I the same red line now further redness underneath my eye on the skin it also appeared dry and flaky. The brightness went away after a couple of days. It would go from red to dry and flaky in the dry and flakiness wasn't ever really going away. Additionally I was experiencing extremely dry lips which is very unusual for me. This intermittent redness, dryness and dry lips continued often on throughout May, June and most of July. I could not put my finger on what the problem was…I trashed my makeup, my contacts and cleaned all my makeup brushes hoping to eliminate the problem. The day I finally figured it out, I was applying my night cream that I apply every night. Back in May (when my skin problem began) I had switched from Olay night cream to Aveeno night cream. The Aveeno product is very nice and I enjoyed using it however one evening as I was racking my brain still trying to put my finger on my symptoms and cause because I was having another severe attack that now went to the left eye, I discovered that Aveeno night cream I was using contains shiitake mushroom extract!!!! As it turns out the continual dryness and flakiness was the result of rubbing shiitake mushroom extract on my face each night. When I would have an outbreak of redness, hives and swelling was attributed to the fact that I was still eating some small mushrooms that were ingredients in food that I eat such as Chinese food, soups etc. Consuming the small amount of mushrooms intensified the allergy resulting in the redness/hives/swelling. I didn't put this together in the beginning because I associated consuming the mushroom allergy to gastrointestinal pain and since I wasn't experiencing that, I was not relating the allergy to the problem with the skin around my eyes and on my lips. I have since learned that a more severe mushroom allergy cause gastrointestinal issues and less severe on the skin particularly in the areas of the eyes and lips. Also it is common for a mushroom allergy to result in a red streak or scratch like appearance on the skin.

As of today it has been over two weeks since I have stopped using the night cream and not consumed any form of mushroom and I have been problem free...thank God. I have read many stories where it has taken people years and hundreds or even thousands of dollars in doctor’s visits to figure out their mushroom allergy. I'm hoping that my story will help anyone out there with the same symptoms.

I wanted to share my story with others in the event that it may help them in their research and finding whether or not they are allergic to mushrooms.

For me and started about eight months ago I ate large stuffed Portabella mushroom and was in severe stomach cramps and pain and diarrhea within 20 to 30 minutes. Since I have eaten mushrooms with no problem my entire life I assumed I had a bad mushroom. A couple of months later I ate another stuffed Portabella mushroom and experienced the same horrible stomach cramps and diarrhea. A few months went by and I had a slice of pizza that contained some Portabella mushrooms thinking the small quantity of mushrooms would not affect me and again I was sick. From here forward I stopped eating Portabella mushrooms and did not experience any stomach pains or illness. Apparently I had this new found sudden mushroom allergy and I learned that I was not alone, this was fairly common and it can come on suddenly, even if you’ve eaten mushrooms your entire life.

However in May 2012 I noticed a red streak/line under my right eye it almost looked like I had been scratched. I could not associate this with any problems. I applied ointment/Neosporin to the area for over two weeks and it finally yet slowly went away. The area was not necessarily itchy and was just somewhat uncomfortable. A couple of weeks later I woke up with the same I the same red line now further redness underneath my eye on the skin it also appeared dry and flaky. The brightness went away after a couple of days. It would go from red to dry and flaky in the dry and flakiness wasn't ever really going away. Additionally I was experiencing extremely dry lips which is very unusual for me. This intermittent redness, dryness and dry lips continued often on throughout May, June and most of July. I could not put my finger on what the problem was…I trashed my makeup, my contacts and cleaned all my makeup brushes hoping to eliminate the problem. The day I finally figured it out, I was applying my night cream that I apply every night. Back in May (when my skin problem began) I had switched from Olay night cream to Aveeno night cream. The Aveeno product is very nice and I enjoyed using it however one evening as I was racking my brain still trying to put my finger on my symptoms and cause because I was having another severe attack that now went to the left eye, I discovered that Aveeno night cream I was using contains shiitake mushroom extract!!!! As it turns out the continual dryness and flakiness was the result of rubbing shiitake mushroom extract on my face each night. When I would have an outbreak of redness, hives and swelling was attributed to the fact that I was still eating some small mushrooms that were ingredients in food that I eat such as Chinese food, soups etc. Consuming the small amount of mushrooms intensified the allergy resulting in the redness/hives/swelling. I didn't put this together in the beginning because I associated consuming the mushroom allergy to gastrointestinal pain and since I wasn't experiencing that, I was not relating the allergy to the problem with the skin around my eyes and on my lips. I have since learned that a more severe mushroom allergy cause gastrointestinal issues and less severe on the skin particularly in the areas of the eyes and lips. Also it is common for a mushroom allergy to result in a red streak or scratch like appearance on the skin.

As of today it has been over two weeks since I have stopped using the night cream and not consumed any form of mushroom and I have been problem free...thank God. I have read many stories where it has taken people years and hundreds or even thousands of dollars in doctor’s visits to figure out their mushroom allergy. I'm hoping that my story will help anyone out there with the same symptoms.