Back in 2011, I got my first case of Tinea versicolor. It itched like crazy. It is a small, mottled red rash on my sternum. I had it for weeks. I got the Tinea rash when I had been on florinef, to raise my blood pressure to at least 90/60mmHg, for about a year. At that point, I discovered that long term use can reduce resistance to fungal infections, and voilà, my rash.
Anyway, Tinea versicolor, in people who get it, tends to recur each time the person is exposed to hot, humid weather. The rash came back in 2012, when I was on my honeymoon in Hawaii, no less. It itched and itched, and I tried really hard not to scratch it. (Translation: I scratched it and made it more inflamed.)
This summer was pleasantly cool. Only over the past week has the weather consistently hovered around 80° F. For some reason, this has been enough to trigger the rash again. Bummer. Even worse news, from the itchiness perspective, is that I’m headed to the warm, soupy weather of early September North Carolina. I anticipate it getting a lot worse.
Tinea is hard to get rid of. I have tried to kill Tinea with the regular topical antifungals drugs. Two problems: 1. They didn’t work. 2. I’m allergic to the two that are supposedly most effective. I’ve also tried to kill Tinea with topical lavender oil. It does reduce the inflammation and itchiness. The first year, it got rid of the rash. The second year, not so much. Selsun blue was the third try. Once I got rid of most of the rash, Selsun blue in the shower kept it away. It doesn’t work that well because I don’t take long enough showers. Supposedly if a person keeps in on the affected skin for 10 minutes every day for a week before washing it off, it goes away. Then there is a maintenance program of 10 minutes once a week. That might work. But I never managed to keep it on long enough. And, it doesn’t go away forever. It lives there waiting for its chance to wake up again.
I even tried coiling for Tinea versicolor. I don’t think I had the right frequency, because the frequency I tried made no difference at all. I might do that again when I get back, but I won’t have time to try before I leave for North Carolina.
So I have a crazy idea that I think I will try. It seems Tinea versicolor is essentially an opportunistic infection. Possibly it grew out of control enough to cause a rash because I am lacking some probiotic skin microbes on my sternum. I read about transplanting microbes from one person to another (fecal transplants-which I don’t intend to try at this point in my life), and I read about all the microbes that grow on different areas of the skin. Since my skin is okay on other parts of my body, I’m considering doing a self transplant. I’ll wait until I’m nice and sweaty, then I’ll use a cotton swab to wipe the sweat from one area of my body where the skin is healthy (maybe my armpits, which tend to have lots of bacteria) and put it on my sternum. With any luck, something will colonize and crowd out the Tinea. I don’t have high expectations for my experiment, but it seems worth a try. Even a little relief will go a long way.
Never Say Never
What a fool I was to think that just because the joint pain from food sensitivities didn’t arrive with the swollen belly that I might not get it this time. Yesterday, as my belly went down most of the way, but not completely, I started having joint pain in my hands, wrists, knuckles and elbows. My belly is swollen again today, and the joint pain is worse. I guess I need to stop malvin and red foods for real.
Lyme Coiling
After I coiled for Lyme last Tuesday, I had a pretty noticeable herx, with fatigue and sleepiness and brainfog. I coiled for Lyme again yesterday. I didn’t have much of a response. I’m not sure what to make of it.
Coiling Break
For the next two weeks, I’ll be away from my coil machine. I’m going to visit my sister and her family for ten days. Yay!!! Then I’ll spend a few days with my parents in NYC. Yay!!! Then I’m back home and back to making progress with my coil machine.
Bartonella, your days are numbered.
Categories: healing process, iatrogenic complications, using the coil machine
Tags: bartonella, lyme, probiotics
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Coiling for Lyme 
I love your last line:
Bartonella, your days are numbered.
Good for you for fighting!