Blotchy brown patches on skin

[momcap]

DS8 was born with a blotchy section of skin on the side of his knee that looks like permanent goosebumps. No colour, just raised bumps exactly like goosebumps that won't go away. The doctor assured me it was nothing to worry about. Shortly after starting to treat lyme (12 months ago) this patch turned a very light brown and the bumps are less noticeable. Then I noticed another light brown blotchy patch came up on the side of his face, this time no bumps, just patchy colour. In the last 6 months a similar patch has shown up on my 5 year old's face. Both boys have very elevated ASO, lyme, and probably bart. DS8 also has PANDAS.

 

Has anyone here experienced anything like this or have any ideas on what this might be? GP/PCP is not concerned at all. LLMD hasn't seen anything like it. I'm convinced it's TBI related because of the changes with treatment, but perhaps that's a coincidence?

[SSS]

Could it be this?

 

http://skinverse.com/guide-to-melasma-and-hormone-imbalances.html

 

Toward the end, states it may be from antibiotics or too much copper, and lack of certain minerals, etc.

Edited August 13, 2012 by S & S

[momcap]

Ya, it looks like it could be. Very interesting - hyperpigmentation from long term abx. I wonder how common that is?

[dpet]

Pretty common in a dermatology office. I seen this pretty often.

[rowingmom]

My DS15 (the healthy one) had tinea versicolor, a fungal skin infection, on his face for a couple of summers. In the winter it can have a brownish colour, but in the summer when the skin is more tanned, it appears to be white blotches. Our doctor gave us some antifungal skin cream that had some immune suppressing properties - I never used it. We have all been increasing our intake of probiotics (kefir, fermented veg, etc.) and he has not had the problem this summer.

 

Don't know if this is what you may be observing.

[dpet]

Rowing mom. I'm not sure if he told you but you can use an anti dandruff shampoo as a body wash also, usually a couple times a week. If it comes back. Lather and leave on for about 5 min then rinse off. It helps to prevent yeast also. We always recommended seldom blue.

[rowingmom]

Rowing mom. I'm not sure if he told you but you can use an anti dandruff shampoo as a body wash also, .

We did try Head and Shoulders for a while, but it did not seem to make a difference for DS15. Only time and probiotics did. I went back to Head and Shoulders when DD10 developed cradle cap (also a fungal infection) about a year into her Abx therapy. Her scalp cleared up right away. We continue probiotics. Thanks for the reminder, I had forgotten about that.

[momcap]

I looked at pictures of both, and it definitely looks more like melasma. One of my other kiddos picked up ringworm (also fungal, not an actual worm) this summer from his cousins. I might try the anti-fungal cream I got for that, just to see if anything happens. I don't think it is tinea versicolor, but it might be worth a try. Thanks for the ideas!