is there a doctor in the house?

[kibskix]

(i put this in health chat too but thought i might get more response here, i'm about ready to try anything)

for about a month, maybe more, I've had really bizzare things going on with my skin. I've never had any problems with my skin at all (aside from being pale ) its always been pretty normal, not dry, not greasy, hardly any acne as a kid, etc...and I can't figure out what the deal is. Its starting to really annoy me.

*After I got out of the shower, I was drying off my arms, and my skin just started coming off. I don't mean like slasher film, but the more I rubbed with the towl the more it came off, like damp dandruff. It was on the tops of my hands too. But it always goes away about an hour after I dry off.

*A few days later, My legs started doing it too. It makes drying off feel disgusting because I don't feel clean. Ever since my legs started doing it too, after a shower my calves itch like -crazy-. But my skin isn't DRY, its just... coming off. Even the slightest pressure with one finger leaves a steak of little white dandruff balls along my skin.

*I tried changing soap, I tried changing my loofah, I tried scrubbing till i thought i might bleed, i've changed the water temp, I tried lotion after lotion and all THAT did was make the skin that came off when i rubbed on the lotion all stick together into clumps. nothing changed. I tried using dandruff shampoos on my skin, no effect. I thought it was my towns water, but it happens at the bf's house too, and he lives 3 towns away.

*now i've noticed it on my sternum and a little on my stomach, and the palms of my hands and the bottoms of my feet now are dry looking which has never happened before in my life, but still none of the rest of my skin is dry at all.

*an interesting and maybe inrelated thing started the same time. After I get out of the shower, the whites of my fingernails get see-through, with little white spots (not the white spots on the bed of the nail, white spots on the tips). Its sort of weird, but it goes back to normal after about an hour. i spent years biting my nails so if this is normal just ignore me, i figured i'd include it just in case.

*its driving me nuts. I hate showering now, and all anyone tells me is 'scrub harder'. Unless they want me to take -all- my skin off, I can't! I've heard it sounds similar to aquagenic pruritis(skin allergy to water that makes your skin itch uncontrollably), but in everything i've tried to find online i havent heard of that causing the skin coming off. It only happens when my skin is wet, when dry it looks and feels perfectly normal, and -is not dry-. the itching drives me nuts sometimes, i'm afraid i might cut myself with my nails when it gets really bad, but i try to ignore it, cause if i never scratch, it never gets unbearable.

can aaaaaaaaaanyone give me aaaaaany clue as to whats going on here?? It might also be worth it to know I had a staph infection last month and took antibiotics for 10 days, which i got off of yesterday. I dont really think its related though.

[Goodbyefat27]

Hey. Im a senior in nursing school and by no means I cant dx, but maybe I could help.What antibiotic were you on? Did this begin happening before the staph infection or during your medication? When the skin is peeling off, what is the appearance of the area? If you were taking an antibiotic when this began it could very well be an allergic reaction, you really should call your doctor about this! Also this could happen due to severe illness (previous staph infection, depending on severity); but once again its something to call your Dr. about. If you are leaving areas of excoriated skin you are at risk for infection.

[MrsChesterDogg]

I'm thinking it has something to do with the antibiotic you were on.

[ziggy]

overdosing on Vitamin A can cause skin problems have you been eating alot of animal liver / organs?

or drinking a ton of cod liver oil?

im guessing you are not overdosing on Vitamin A but just throwing it out here just incase

[TitianWasp]

As an aside, the nail thing is pretty normal. I have had very thin fingernails (goes along with thin hair - same source cells) and they get pretty soft and see-through in the shower or bath. You might keep an eye on your nutrition, though, if this is a new thing. Hormone or vitamin changes will reflect in your hair, nails and skin too.

[Keetje]

Not a medic, but have you considered that this may be a form of yeast infection? They are very common after courses of antibiotics and can appear all over the body, not just in the more usual places (ladies, you know where I mean!).

The scaly rash you describe certainly makes me think it could be some form of candida.

You may well need a visit to the doctor or pharmacist to clear this up.

Keetje

[kibskix]

it actually started before i started the antibiotics. i was only on antibiotics for 10 days, and this has been going on for around a month. but for the record, goodbyefat, i was on bactrim (sulfamethoxazole and trimethoprim) and also for the record, friggin hated it because it made me feel sick all the time. i remember one day i was trying to clean my room and i kept having to take 10 minute breaks to lay down, until i just got in bed and stayed there. i spent about 50% of my time on those stupid meds in bed, nauseated. yesterday was my first day without them and i feel 100 times better. anyway i'm rambling....
yes it started before taking the meds, and it didnt change while i was on them either better or worse, really. i wouldn't really say its peeling off. its like.... ok, take some elmers glue, spread some on your skin, let it try, then rub at it with your finger till it starts crumbling off. -thats- what it looks like more or less. or if you went a long time without exfoliating, and when you rub your skin with a towel it 'sheds'. it seems very similar to that. other than that my skin looks completely normal. it doesn't hurt at all. its not dry. it isnt cracked or flaky looking. all this only happens right after a shower.
the only other thing is the re-diculous- itching, and after i get into water my calves itch uncontrollably, sometimes for a few hours.

maybe your teachers will give you extra credit if you figured this out goodbyefat
lol i swear it looks like what happens if you dont exfoliate your skin for like, a -month-, then rub the ever-living crap out of it w/ a towel. but no matter how hard i scrub it -still- comes off. i'm wondering if i need to go invest in some super fancy exfoliaters, cause my first impression is it seems almost like my skin isn't sloughing off at the rate it normally does, and is getting all clumped together. if you dont touch the skin, it looks fine!

yesterday i got out of the shower, stuck my foot up on the counter, and took a good long peek at my shin/calf. aside from being wet, my skin looked fine, like it always does. but then dragged my finger from my knee too my ankle with just a bit of pressure, and ta-da, skin floofing off. you try to brush it away with the back of your hand, and it just makes more. and because its wet, it sticks to you. so the more you try to brush it away, the more you get covered in it. its enough to make you -want- to scrub all your skin off! argh!!

thanks for the advice everyone. its nothing life threatening but it sure as heck is exaspirating when you feel like if you scrub any harder you're going to take ALL your skin off, then you get out of the shower, and its still coming off every time you touch it.