Kira Dirlik wrote:

A dermatologist told me not to use Tide... that it was one of the
worst. I don't use any fabric softeners, nor sheets of stuff in my
dryer. Use dermatologist-recommended Dove soap.
I've lived here in the woods for 7 1/2 years, but the last two summers
I had developed a rash on my feet, ankles, and calves. I've seen a
number of doctors and none can pinpoint it. I know other folks who
seem to have just recently developed this same stuff. Bamboo grass?
(I started pulling it in earnest the last two summers). Systemic
reaction to tick bites? It went away completely last winter, came
back again last summer, and is mostly gone now.

My mom and a friend's mom had something that sounded like this. My mom
in Pennsylvania had it for several *years* before a doctor finally
diagnosed it. It turned out to be a fungal infection. Some drugs and
oitment and she was doing much better. In telling a friend about her
ordeal, it turned out her mother was undergoing somehting similar in
Texas. My friend relayed the info to her mother who had her doctor
check for a fungal infection... She is doing much better now, too,
after drugs and ointment therapy.

Susan
s h simko at duke dot edu