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Question: Skin bumps - Schistosomiasis or Hypochondria?
| jerremie
- Tue Jan 23, 2007 4:04 am |
Hi, I'm a 34 yr. old male who had the these 7 little red bumps show up on my hand this morning after spending a fair amount of time cleaning a couple of my aquariums this weekend and since I've been at a loss to find good images on the internet, I've taken my own shots (see link below). Maybe it has nothing to do with the aquariums, but they were both full of freshwater fish and shrimp imported from Asia, plus LOTS OF SNAILS. Naturally I've jumped to the conclusion that I have been exposed to schistosomiasis. Then again, perhaps it is just Dermatitis and a healthy dose of hypochondria. Does it warrant a trip to a dermatologist, or the GP? By the way... no Itching, no pain whatsoever.... just the past 15 hours staring at these bumps. Any help is GREATLY appreciated. Again... here are the close-up photos I took:
http://www.
otgdesign.
com/images/photos/hand.
htm
THANKS!
|
| Dr. Tamer Fouad
- Wed Feb 21, 2007 12:29 am |
 Hello,
I hope you are feeling better.
The picture you sent shows vesicular lesions. Schistosomiasis may present as Itchy vesicles at the site of penetration after skin exposure to water from an endemic area (swimmer's Itch). The lack of Pruritus makes it less likely but you can't rule anything out.
Other diseases known to cause vesicles include:
Acute allergic contact Dermatitis (itchy)
Bullous pemphigoid
Pemphigus vulgaris
Dermatitis herpetiformis
Herpesvirus infections (itchy)
Bacterial folliculitis (very common)
Please update this thread whenever you can.
Best regards,
|
| jerremie
- Wed Feb 21, 2007 2:10 pm |
Thanks so much for your response. A dermatologist on another forum said it was nothing, so I've tried to forget about it. It's been almost a month now, and the bumps on my hand have been gone for about 2 and a half weeks. They neither multiplied nor got noticeably worse, they just slowly faded away over a week and a half or so. They were never Itchy or painful. I've never had anything like them before, and I don't know if I should go see a local "travel specialist" to rule out schistosomiasis or just hope for the best. I did have a sore throat for three days last week, but I have no reason to believe it to be connected to the bumps. All I do know is that that was the only hand I used when cleaning and rearranging the snail-filled aquarium full of asian imports. Any suggestions? Thanks again for your help. --jerremie
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| Dr. Tamer Fouad
- Wed Feb 21, 2007 3:53 pm |
Hello again,
Yes they do look benign. But I would have preferred if you had actually seen a dermatologist. Did the dermatologist in the other website tell you what he thinks it is?
My recommendation would have been to go to a dermatologist for a direct examination.
Keep us updated.
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