Could the rash that looks like stretch marks be a sign of Bartonella coinfection? Explore the symptoms, diagnosis, and treatment options for this often overlooked condition.

Mysterious Rash Causing Alarm in New Jersey

In the rural community of West Milford, New Jersey, a strange rash has been causing concern among a group of young people aged 14-23. The rash, described as wavy red discolorations, is accompanied by a host of other symptoms, including extreme exhaustion, crippling pain, vision loss, confusion, and depression. At least ten individuals in the community have reported these alarming health issues.

Sixteen-year-old Jimmy Nonas, along with his brother Andrew and sister Athena, have all been affected by the mysterious rash. The rash covers their stomachs, backs, legs, and even the tops of their shoulders, causing them immense discomfort and forcing them to leave school.

“It’s all over my stomach and on my back,” Jimmy tells CBS2’s Paul Moniz. “It’s all over my legs, tops of my shoulders, everywhere. My knees are killing me. I stand up and they crack and I walk and they crack.”

Initial Diagnosis: Lyme Disease

Initially, doctors were at a loss to explain the syndrome affecting these young individuals. Most patients have been diagnosed with Lyme disease, a tick-borne illness that can cause a range of symptoms, including a characteristic bull’s-eye rash.

“It scared me,” says Cynde Levans, whose son has the rash. “My first reaction was to call a dermatologist.”

The Potential Link to Bartonella Coinfection

However, the unusual appearance of the rash, described as resembling inflamed stretch marks, may suggest a different underlying cause – Bartonella coinfection. According to the Global Lyme Alliance (GLA) website, Bartonella henselae, the bacteria that causes the disease, can result in a red mark that becomes swollen and discolored, potentially resembling “stretchmarks” or striations.

Bartonellosis, the disease caused by Bartonella henselae, is often overlooked and can co-infect individuals who have already been diagnosed with Lyme disease. Symptoms of Bartonella infection can include swollen lymph nodes, conjunctivitis, heart or spleen problems, bone lesions, hepatitis, other eye issues, and even encephalitis, which can lead to seizures and coma.

The Link Between Bartonella and Tick Bites

The author of the article shares her own experience with a tick bite in 1997, which eventually led to the diagnosis of Lyme disease, babesiosis, and ehrlichiosis. However, it wasn’t until eight years later that she realized the rash she developed that summer could have been a sign of Bartonella coinfection.

According to the article, the author’s LLMD (Lyme Literate Medical Doctor) always suspected she might have had Bartonella, based on the symptoms she described, such as the rash and pain in the soles of her feet. The antibiotics prescribed by the LLMD treated Lyme, ehrlichiosis, and bartonellosis, ensuring a comprehensive approach to her recovery.

The Importance of Bartonella Testing

The article highlights the fact that not all patients are aware of Bartonella, and not all doctors, even LLMDs, think to test for it. This oversight can be detrimental, as patients might not be receiving the appropriate treatment for their condition.

If you have been diagnosed with other tick-borne illnesses and have not been tested for Bartonella, it’s crucial to ask your LLMD about it. Additionally, if you experience symptoms such as the rash, swollen lymph nodes, foot pain, or other signs mentioned in the article, consider the possibility of Bartonella coinfection.

Seeking Proper Diagnosis and Treatment

The article emphasizes the importance of seeking a proper diagnosis and receiving the right treatment, as the symptoms of Bartonella coinfection can be debilitating and significantly impact an individual’s quality of life. By being aware of this often overlooked condition and advocating for the necessary testing and care, patients can take steps towards regaining their health and reclaiming their lives.

Conclusion

The mysterious rash affecting the young individuals in West Milford, New Jersey, serves as a reminder of the complexities and challenges associated with tick-borne diseases. While Lyme disease may be the initial diagnosis, the potential for Bartonella coinfection should not be overlooked. By educating ourselves and working closely with Lyme Literate Medical Doctors, we can unravel the mysteries surrounding these conditions and ensure that patients receive the comprehensive care they need.

Could You Be Co-infected With Bartonella?

I was bitten by a tick in summer 1997 while working at a camp in the woods of Maine. It would be another eight years, however, until I figured out that the rash I developed that summer was a result of a tick bite, and that my subsequent hypoglycemia, crushing fatigue, joint and muscle aches, and fever were caused by the tick-borne diseases Lyme, babesiosis, and ehrlichiosis. That fall of 1997, during my sophomore year of college, I fell ill with the aforementioned symptoms. I missed class. I couldn’t exercise. I could hardly walk to the dining hall.

Because of frequent low blood sugar reactions, I gained a lot of weight very quickly. I felt ashamed of my sudden, noticeable size change. Though I frequently sought care for my flu-like symptoms—often being told I was just run down or stressed—I did not consider that the weight gain might be related to my other symptoms. Medical practitioners didn’t, either; some just told me to go on a diet.

Part of my shame was about deep reddish-purple marks that developed on my chest and in my groin. I assumed these were stretch marks from my skin expanding to accommodate my weight.

Had I shown them to a Lyme Literate Medical Doctor (LLMD), they might have said that instead of stretch marks, lines on my skin possibly could have been striae caused by Bartonella henselae.

As noted on the GLA website, bartonellosis is a bacterial disease starting with a red mark that can become swollen and discolored or even look like “stretchmarks” or striations. Symptoms include swollen lymph nodes (especially under ears), often with conjunctivitis, heart or spleen problems, bone lesions, hepatitis, other eye problems and encephalitis (causing seizures and coma). There is indirect clinical evidence that this is a group of “Bartonella-like organisms” that can co-infect a Lyme patient. Identification of these organisms awaits further scientific study.

Many people with Bartonella henselae also experience pain in the soles of their feet. According to the National Institutes of Health, “This is associated with trauma to blood vessels in the soles of the feet with walking.” Furthermore, “Anemia can occur from Bartonella scavenging nutrients from red blood cells.”

At the time I developed striae, I was also experiencing pain on the soles of my feet when I ran (which I did when I was feeling up to it, as my symptoms waxed and waned). I thought the pain was from heel spurs, or simply because I needed new sneakers.

How easily we explain away symptoms, not realizing they could be related to actual illness.

Though my initial blood test for Bartonella henselae was negative, my LLMD always suspected I might have had it, because of the symptoms I described. The antibiotics he prescribed treated Lyme, ehrlichiosis, and bartonellosis, so our bases were covered regardless. I have not experienced striae or heel pain in years.

Not all patients know about bartonella, and not all doctors, even LLMDs, think to test for it. This oversight could be detrimental to patients, as they might not be receiving the right treatment, or enough of it. If you have other tick-borne illnesses and have not been tested for bartonella, it’s a good idea to ask your LLMD about it. If you have any of the symptoms I’ve described, consider whether bartonella could be the cause.

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Strange Rash Causes Alarm – CBS News

Health

By CBSNews.com staff CBSNews.com staff

January 31, 2002 / 8:44 AM
/ CBS

Sixteen-year-old Jimmy Nonas has a mysterious rash that looks like inflamed stretch marks. His brother, Andrew, and sister, Athena, have also it. Extreme exhaustion and crippling pain have forced all three to leave school.

“It’s all over my stomach and on my back,” he tells CBS2’s Paul Moniz. “It’s all over my legs, tops of my shoulders, everywhere. My knees are killing me. I stand up and they crack and I walk and they crack.”

At first, doctors were at a loss to explain the syndrome. The symptoms also include vision loss, confusion, and depression. At least ten young people aged 14-23 in the rural community of West Milford, New Jersey, have reported the wavy red discolorations. These cases are causing alarm.

“I see my children losing their whole teenage lives,” mother Adora Nonas says of Jimmy, Andrew, and Athena.

“It scared me,” says Cynde Levans, whose son has the rash. “My first reaction was to call a dermatologist.”

Most patients have been diagnosed with Lyme disease, presumably from the bite of a deer tick, but the wavy lines look nothing like the bulls-eye rash characteristic of Lyme disease; and despite getting the standard treatment for Lyme disease, patients had been slow to improve.

Sixteen-year-old Harrison Levans has missed 2 1/2 years of school because of excessive sleepiness and confusion.

“Sometimes I will forget where I put my medication or sometimes I will walk into a room and forget why I am there,” he says.

Most people are aware that tick bites can be dangerous, especially in wooded areas around much of the Northeast, but doctors say there are many misconceptions. For instance, Lyme disease can be difficult to detect and treat. What’s more, tick bites may cause other infections.

Lyme disease specialist Dr. Richard Horowitz of Poughkeepsie, New York, studies deer ticks. He suspects the strange rash is somehow related to either Lyme disease or other lesser-known infections. He says deer ticks can release a bacteria that attacks white blood cells, causing an infection called ehrlichiosis.

“It’s not just Lyme disease that has entered their body,” he explains. “These ticks are containing multiple organisms. I’m extremely concerned about this because these tick-borne diseases are spreading. “

Ticks can also carry a parasite that invades red blood cells, causing a more serious infection known as babesiosis. Many doctors do not test for those infections.

The parents of the sick teens say they have been misdiagnosed many times.

Sixteen-year-old Don Mobius spent 10 days in a psychiatric ward for depression actually caused by a tick-borne infection. It was Harrison Levans’ mother who urged the Mobius family to get the right blood tests after spotting the wavy rash. It turned out that Don had all three of the tick borne infections.

“She saved my son’s life because she told us what was wrong with him when doctor’s couldn’t,” says Bonnie, Don’s mother.

Now, after getting antibioics and antimalarial drugs, Don is starting to feel better. So is Harrison, who was also triple-infected.

Dr. Horowitz says the tiny deer ticks may prove to be much more of a hazard than anyone ever imagined.

“There may be other viruses or other parasites that are getting into these people’s blood that we don’t know about at this point,” he explains.

Patient advocates are calling on Congress to set aside more money for research and treatment of Lyme-related infections. Part of the problem is that blood tests are not always reliable. Patients might have Lyme disease or the other co-infections even when a blood test comes up negative.

If you think you have Lyme disease or a related infection, ask about DNA blood testing and make sure to see a specialist.
©MMII CBS Worldwide Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed

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First published on January 31, 2002 / 8:44 AM

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Stretch marks on the skin: how to remove them

Stretch marks (stretch marks) are a skin defect that does not affect its health in any way, but spoils its appearance. Fresh stretch marks are usually reddish-purple in color and stand out most on pale skin. Later, stretch marks turn white and are especially visible when the skin is dark.

Stretch marks occur in response to mechanical damage to the skin fibers – when the skin is stretched and does not have time to adapt. The most common causes of appearance:

• Rapid growth in children, and especially in adolescents.
• Weight gain. And not only during pregnancy, but also for other reasons. So, for example, stretch marks can occur in athletes with a rapid set of muscle mass.
• Hormonal changes, when the structure of the skin is disturbed, the normal production of collagen. This usually happens with diseases such as diabetes mellitus, Itsenko-Cushing’s disease.

If we are not talking about a disease, then the tendency to stretch marks is genetic. In people with dense skin, they may not appear at all, even with large fluctuations in weight. And someone already appears with an increase of 7–10 kg.

Important to know about stretch marks

This is a deep skin injury, literally tearing collagen fibers throughout their entire thickness, including the dermis. Therefore, the appearance of stretch marks cannot be prevented using moisturizing oils and creams. External cosmetics only moisturize the skin, but cannot strengthen it. For the same reason, stretch marks cannot be removed with creams, oils, scrubs.

Stretch marks are skin damage like a scar. In fact, whitening of the skin in places of stretch marks is the formation of scar tissue.

What can be done about stretch marks?

Small and shallow stretch marks usually look like thin whitish scars and do not cause aesthetic discomfort. But if there are a lot of them and they are deep, then this can be a concern.

In cosmetology, there is a way to reduce the appearance of stretch marks and smooth them out – this is a laser.

Laser is the only proven effective way to make any scars, scars and other skin lesions less noticeable.

How does the laser work?

The laser beam treats the skin, causing heating of the water contained in the tissues and, as it were, “evaporating” the damaged areas. At the site of exposure, skin restoration begins, the synthesis of new collagen fibers begins. And the surface of the skin in the place of stretching is smoothed out, it becomes more like healthy skin.

Depending on the depth of stretch marks and the number of stretch marks, multiple sessions may be required.

What can support the skin to prevent stretch marks?

Stretch marks cannot be completely avoided if the skin is generally prone to stretch marks. But you can:

• Eat right. A balanced diet with enough protein helps keep skin toned. If there is not enough protein in the diet, the quality of collagen in the skin decreases.
• Drink enough water. So the skin will be sufficiently hydrated. Dehydrated skin reduces collagen production.
• Check weight. With a gradual increase in weight during pregnancy, the skin is likely to have time to adapt and stretch without damage.

Signs of skin cancer on the website of the Orenburg hospital

The causes of skin cancer are not well understood. Several factors are known to increase the risk of developing skin cancer. These factors include:

1. Prolonged exposure to the sun (sun exposure) is the most important risk factor for skin cancer. Typically, skin cancer develops in exposed areas of the body that are exposed to the ultraviolet rays of sunlight.
2. White skin, or skin that contains little melanin, is more likely to develop cancer. Melanin is a dark pigment that is produced by special skin cells and serves to protect the skin from the sun’s rays. White skin, which has many moles, is also extremely prone to developing skin cancer.
3. Prolonged skin exposure to x-rays (eg radiologists).
4. Skin contact with substances that can cause cancer (carcinogens), which include arsenic, tar, etc.
5. Smoking predisposes to skin cancer of the lower lip.
6. Age over 50 is a risk factor for skin cancer, but the disease also occurs at a young age.
7. Frequent use of the solarium significantly increases the risk of developing skin cancer.
8. The presence of skin cancer in close relatives.
9. Decreased immunity after severe illness, and also as a result of taking certain drugs that suppress the immune system (corticosteroids, anticancer drugs).

Symptoms of skin melanoma

The first sign of melanoma is a change in shape, color, size or an unpleasant sensation at the site of an existing mole. Melanoma also occurs as a new nevus. Pay attention to all skin changes and monitor the following:

• Asymmetric . The mole does not have an axis of symmetry.
• Irregular borders . The edges are torn, jagged or blurry. The pigment may spread to surrounding areas of the skin.
• Uneven color . There are shades of black, brown. White, gray, red, pink, or blue areas are also visible.
• Diameter . The mole increases in size. Melanomas can be tiny, but most are larger than a pea (more than 6 mm).

• Modification of . The mole has changed a lot in the last few weeks or months.

Change in size: increase in mole two or more times in 6 months; color change: darkening (to black), lightening, the appearance of enlightenment in the center and simultaneous darkening at the edges, heterogeneous pigmentation; asymmetry of form; fuzzy borders: in this case, the pigment merges smoothly with the surrounding skin, so that the borders become blurred; pain; ulceration of a mole; hair loss, if any, on the mole.

In more serious cases, the surface of the mole itself changes. The skin on the surface may crack or appear scratched. Becomes stiff, may bleed. Sometimes melanoma causes itching and pain.

When to see a doctor

Melanoma (skin cancer)

If you scored 10 points in total, then you need to contact your local doctor to decide on further examination.

Signs of basal cell and squamous cell carcinoma

Skin changes are the most common sign. They may be a formed growth, an ulcer that does not heal for a long time, or any changes in the structure of the old nevus – the appearance of the carcinoma may be different. As a rule, the tumor does not cause pain.

When to See a Doctor

Skin cancer (basal cell and squamous cell carcinomas)

If you scored 10 points in total, then you need to contact your local doctor to decide on further examination.

Prevention of skin cancer

Everyone who is at risk should take preventive measures seriously and, if possible, eliminate provoking factors.

Prevention of any disease is to reduce, as far as possible, the influence of factors provoking it and to increase the number of factors that reduce the risk. The same goes for skin cancer prevention.
Since the main cause of skin cancer is ultraviolet radiation, the main preventive measure is to limit exposure. Of course, it is impossible to completely protect yourself from sunlight, especially in the warm season, when you want to walk, sunbathe, swim. However, one should know the measure in everything, and sunbathing should be done without fanaticism. Doctors strongly recommend the use of sunscreen. It is customary for us to buy such creams for a trip to the sea, but this is wrong. Ideally, you should use sunscreen all year round. Of course, in the cold season we are talking only about face creams, because other parts of the body are covered with clothes. But in the summer you need to take care of lotions and creams that will protect all exposed skin. When choosing such a tool, you should carefully read the label. The SPF protection factor, or SPF in Russian, usually ranges from 15 to 50. For darker skin that is not prone to burns, you can take a lower protection factor, 15-25. For light, sensitive and baby skin, you need to take a product with a high STP factor. The label should also contain the inscription: UVA / UVB. This means that the product protects against alpha and beta rays. An important mark on such a tool is water resistance. It is important not only if you are going to swim. When you just walk around the city and sweat, the product is just as “washed off” from the skin. However, just because you bought a high protection waterproof product doesn’t mean you can apply it once and forget it all day long. Every 2-4 hours, depending on the protection factor, you need to apply the product again.
If possible, it is better to wear clothing that covers the body as much as possible from the sun’s rays. Of course, in the summer heat this is difficult, but try, for example, to wear light trousers instead of short shorts. Don’t forget the headwear. A wide-brimmed hat will protect not only the face, but also the ears and neck. Men can wear baseball caps with a visor. In recent years, special sun protection clothing has become more and more popular. It is made from fabrics treated with sunscreen.
Sunglasses are not only a tribute to fashion and style. Protecting your eyes and the skin around them from ultraviolet radiation is very important. Glasses should be not just stylish and fashionable, but really protect from the sun’s rays.
Avoid sun exposure during peak hours. This time is from 11 am to 4 pm. If you are near water or in nature, take care of the shade. An umbrella, a canopy, a tent are a must. Even if the weather is cloudy and the sun is not visible, you can still get burned, because clouds block only 30% of the ultraviolet. This suggests that sunscreen is essential even when the sun is hidden behind the clouds.
Intense tanning has been considered fashionable for many years in a row. Solariums are in demand all year round, many people, especially young girls, love to sunbathe until their skin turns dark. Not everyone understands that a solarium is harmful to the skin. One of the problems is premature aging, but even that is nothing compared to the risk of developing skin cancer, especially melanoma. American scientists have proposed to ban the solarium to young people under the age of 18.
Self-diagnosis and control of the skin condition is a prerequisite not only for people at risk, but for everyone in general. We all know

that you can follow all the precautions and still get sick. Therefore, periodically inspect open areas of the body – the neck, shoulders, arms, ears, head for the presence of any neoplasms on the skin, examine moles, if something is alarming, take the necessary tests. Skin cancer can be prevented if all the above measures are carried out systematically, persistently and persistently. Make sunscreen your constant companion, get your kids used to it, and give up tanning to a crisp – these are quite feasible and adequate conditions.

Skin Self-Exam

The following tips will help make self-exam faster and more convenient. The best time to visit is after taking a shower or bath. Use 2 mirrors: full-length and small, preferably with a long handle – their combination allows you to view all parts of the body. Also, to inspect the head, you will need a comb / comb or hair dryer (they can be used to expose the skin under the hairline). Inspection should be carried out in a well-lit room, you may also need a small flashlight.

Pay attention to:

• new moles (dissimilar),
• new red or dark lesions slightly raised above the skin,
• changing the size, shape, color of a mole,
• wounds that do not heal.

Regular checkups are especially important for people with skin cancer risk factors.