I have had sensitive skin ever since I can
remember, but this is a new problem. It
feels like the skin on the left side of my
lower back (right about where pants sit)
is very irritated, but there is no rash,
no discoloration, nothing that is visible.
My skin tends to have reactions (rashes,
hives, etc.) when I use new products so I
haven't changed soaps, lotions,
detergents, fabric softeners, or anything
at all in at least two years. I'm also
really careful about washing clothing or
anything that I just bought or that a
friend used before I wear it again because
sometimes (not all the time, though) I'll
have a reaction to the lotion, perfume, or
something just from touching it briefly.
Usually, my reactions are a pretty major -
I'll get hives that spread so fast and so
badly all over my body that I end up going
to the emergency room for treatment
through an IV. But this is something very
different. The irritated skin doesn't
itch and it doesn't sting or burn or
anything like that. It's just a
non-specific but very irritated feeling.
At first, I thought it was just something
about certain pants or shorts that was
scratching me but it has gotten worse over
the week and a half or so, to the point
that I'm feeling it before, after, and in
the shower when there is nothing touching
my skin. I've tried everything I know to
do for skin irritation - trying colder or
hotter showers, anti-histimines, Cortisone
lotions, creams, and ointments, Benzocaine
- but nothing helps at all.
I've read about a ton of things that it
could be, including some kind of fungal
problem from tanning beds, but where I get
stuck is that there are no visible
symptoms whatsoever and almost everything
I read about included some kind of rash,
discoloration, bump, etc.
My dermatologist doesn't have an available
appointment until next week, but like so
many people say on some forums I've
browsed, he usually just blames my usual
skin irritations and hives on stress or a
new lotion or soap (even though I tell him
I haven't even been near anything new) and
gives me some Cortisone concoction I
haven't tried yet. I haven't seen him for
this particular problem yet, but I'm
guessing that will be the "diagnosis"
again. Even if I do make
