Medical Questions > Conditions and Diseases > Skin Forum

Pityriasis Rosea, Or Something Else??? Please Help Me.

Must Read
Acne is a common skin condition - but what types of acne can a person have? Start learning about acne here....
Does chocolate or greasy food cause acne? Learn the difference between fact and myth...plus who is at risk for getting acne?...
Severity of acne and symptoms vary by individual. Learn the difference between mild and sever acne here...and when you should seek medical help for acne....
I am a 21 year old female, and recently I started getting various sized pink spots nearly all over my body. I did notice a slightly larger patch a few weeks ago that reassembled a bug bite. This could have possibly been what is known at the "herald patch," however nothing can be certain. Then not even a week later I noticed another smaller mark underneath my breast.
I tried not let this worry me. I assumed it was eczema because I have had a very small case of it on my ankle, which doesn't even affect me anymore since it was so minor.
Then suddenly out of no where I started waking up with more and more of these pink patches. I started feeling itchy, achy, and then even sick. The spots spread all over my torso, chest, back, neck, and i've even noticed a few blotches on my cheeks! This obviously really concerned me. A friend of mine told me that it was probably just a minor rash, so I bought cortaid, but that didn't seem to help. Then suddenly my neck and chin started burning. This was the final straw for me, as I couldn't even go to school because I felt so damn uncomfortable.
I went to the hospital.
I made the mistake of telling them that I thought it may be a case of pr, which now I realize I shouldn't have so that I could have definitely known what their diagnosis would be. My mother had pr a few years older than me, so I had only assumed since I have a lot of the symptoms.

But the problem is, there are over 1000 different rashes out there that could possibly be considered one in the same.

The doctor prescribed me prednisone.
This was last saturday the 18th. Since then some of the itchiness and acheyiness has gone away, however the spots haven't, and neither has the burning on my neck, chin, and now chest hasn't. I realize that its only been about 4 days since I started the medicine, but shouldn't it be working by now?
My prescription will be over by the end of this week, and I fear that its just not going to be enough. I just don't want this to get worse, and i'm scared. Sad it has made me so unhappy, and feel so self conscious. I have never had any problems with my skin until now. My upper back looks like its covered with tiny zits, while the bottom is clear of them only with the pink spots. I just want it all to stop. As of now my face isn't that bad, its a bit blotchy, but can easily be covered with powder.

I am so scared that maybe this isn't pr, and maybe its something more serious. I've literally tormented myself looking at over 30 different websites on rashes/acne/everything!
Is it normal to experience burning during pityriasis rosea?
Does cortaid really help, or in all actuality does it make things worse?
Has anyone else who has had pr experienced any on their face?

Please, please, please, someone help me. I am literally driving myself crazy with all of this, and I can't seem to focus on anything else. Sad
Did you find this post helpful?
|

replied September 26th, 2004
Pityrisis Rosea
Hi my 6 yr. Old beautiful daughter was just diagnosed with this ****! The whole thing has got me freaked out. I just hope it goes away soon without any scaring. She has it really bad all over her front and back trunk and neck front and back up on her scalp and also its on her forehead and chin. It is horrible. Her docter said it should go away with in 6-8 weeks.But every ones story I have read online had it for 3 months or longer. I did read that a study was done and the antibiotic erythromycin 250mg 4 times a day for two weeks cleared the rash up in 2 weeks. I am going to talk to her doctor about trying this. You should too. It sounds like that is what u have . Do not be scared because it will for sure go away and hopefully we can look back on this a laugh someday. Good luck!!!
|
Did you find this post helpful?

replied September 27th, 2004
Hey There...
Thanks for replying, I appreciate it. I'm so sorry to hear about your daughter! Sad the poor thing must be horrified. It sucks no matter what age you get it, but I can imagine the self control not to itch must be so hard on a little kid! I went to the doctors again and got a second opinion because it spread to my chin and some of my cheeks and it has made me feel very self conscious and worried. Sad the second doctor thinks its folliculitis. That could be spelled wrong, but it sounds exactly how I spelled it. He prescribed me lots of prednisone "oral steroid", and an antibiotic called cephalexin.
Folliculitis is caused by coming in contact with a germ, and then getting infected by scratching yourself and getting into your skin. It's an infection of the hair follicles, and looks a lot like pr. However even though this doctor seemed to be pretty damn sure of my condition, I still feel paranoid and unsure of his diagnosis. I've been driving myself crazy with it, and today I set up an appointment with the only dermatologist in my area for thursday. I want a skin biopsy done just to ease all my fears that this is really going to go away. Hopefully things go well, I just want to get it over and done with.
I really hope your daughter feels better. Sad its really terrible to have this, it makes you feel sick, you loose sleep, and you feel constinently uncomfortable. The good news is, that if your daughter does indeed have pr, there's a 98% chance that she'll never have to go through it again.
Your both in my thoughts!!!
|
Did you find this post helpful?

replied November 14th, 2004
P/r
I had this when I was about 13 or so. I too was very freaked out- my parents didnt have health insurance so telling them to get to the dr was almost out of the question- to make matters worse- my older sister-14 decided it would be funny to tell me it was leporasy!- I went to wisconsin to visit family and after I returned home I was told that my younger cousin had developed it- even though it was supposed to be noncontagious..Evn more.. Get this no kidding, my pen pal who lived in jamaica- sent me a letter saying she got this weird skin rash and its called pityriasis rosea...I didnt even tell her that I had gotten it! This all happened within 3 months and my rash went away with prednisone and erythromiacin-now im allergic to that though...But it did go away!
Hope this helps!
|
Did you find this post helpful?

replied September 20th, 2008
PR Contagious?
Hi I read all your posts and I feel your frustration.
I'm 26 and by boyfriend is 23. He had PR (that's what they say it is) when he had a bad cold back in Feb '08. The doctor told him its not contagious..yet I got it a month later from him. Now, its Sept '08 and I'm on my second round of it and guess what, my boyfriend just started getting it a second time too...probably form me. Basically we just keep swapping it back and forth to each other.
If a doctor tells you its not contagious, they are full of crap. Probably because they really don't know but they feel they have to tell you something because its their job. But through my experiences, it is contagious and it is very exhausting just having whatever it is we have.
I hope this posts helps.
|
Did you find this post helpful?

replied May 31st, 2009
Pityriasis rosea
I am 48 yrs old and I have been diagnosed with PR. This has been going on about 2 months and I am not sure that it is getting better or worse. I just know that I am so depressed behind this. My doctor has prescibe prednisone but I am afraid of all the side affects that goes along with this drug but now I may have no choice but to take it. Has anyone else taken this drug and got good results or is this just another idea in the wind! Please help....
|
Did you find this post helpful?

replied June 8th, 2009
My experience.
I know this was posted ages ago, but just to help future lookers. I was diagnosed with pr when I was 13. I didn't get it as bad as I have seen it get. I'd say at the most I had about 10 medium to large patches. The largest one I had ever gotten was nearly the size of my hand on my back. I don't remember what medicine was given to me, but I do remember that when I would try to put lotions on it, it would burn like crazy. Eventually, of course it went away. But I continued to get pr every year since then, and I am 21. After that first year of me getting pr when I was 13, everytime after that I have never returned to a doctor for a prescription. I have just let it "run it's course" and it has. It seems that every year the amount of patches I would get will get smaller and smaller. This year for example, I only got like 2 or 3 penny sized patches.
However, my boyfriend and I have just moved in with eachother, and a few weeks ago he started breaking out just like I did when I first got pr. And he has never had this problem before. So, as far as it on being contagious, I would say it is.
I hope this helps.
|
Did you find this post helpful?