Skin soreness (edit: + covid)

Symptoms & Treatments
1

Hi all, it’s been a while, which I always feel rather guilty about - but while PsA is behaving itself, I try to do my best to forget about it! Anyway, I hope everyone is doing as well as is possible.

I’ve got a weird flare-up right now. My ankles have been bad for a week or two, and they’re not something that normally cause me much bother since I’ve been on biologics. But they been accompanied by skin soreness on the front of my leg and going to about halfway up my shin (or is a sore shin bone? Sometimes it’s hard to tell!). More on one leg than the other, but this is new to me. Anyone else had this issue? There is a slight rash running along the shin for maybe four inches or so (but only at the front), which I thought was petechiae, but I’m not so sure as it tends to look worse and better in and out throughout the day, depending on what I’m doing, and I don’t think that’s normal for them - neither is pain, as far as I know. Does anyone else get sore skin with their arthritis (without the psoriasis)?

I have been working more at the computer desk of late. ESA agreed to me doing my writing in a more formal way as part of the permitted work scheme. If I’m writing fiction, I generally do it on the sofa, but when I’m doing non-fiction, it’s at the computer desk so I can use a proper mouse, and have my books around me etc. That has caused petechiae in the past (legs down, sitting in one position for longer periods, swelling causes strain on the skin, (I assume?)). But I’m not convinced this time because of the soreness and the fading in and out. At the same time, the “rash” doesn’t really blanche when you press on it - but if I stopped poking it, it might be less sore!

Has anyone else had similar skin redness/rash/soreness with a flare up in a particular place? I’m off to the GP on Tuesday, but my bipolar tends to blow these things out of all proportion, and they bang around in my head and drive me nuts!

Also, an even stranger one…has anyone had psoriasis in the ears? It’s driving me mad. If so, what do you use for it?

Sending best wishes to you all.

Shane :slight_smile:

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I can answer one part. The psoriasis in the ears my husband has had on and off for years and it definitely seems to annoy him. It’s just harder to get topicals on the area.

The legs. . . You may be on to something in terms of the question about your legs being down for longer periods of time. Maybe you want to try setting a reminder so that every 15 to 20 minutes you are getting up and walking around your place just to get some circulation going. I would do that before I would consider compression socks. It’s the type of thing that I would want to get checked out if walking around doesn’t help. Just because there’s a few too many options of what could be going on

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Thank you :slight_smile: Certainly, moving around makes the redness go, as does sitting with my legs up. It goes quite quickly on some days. Of course, it’s always worse when you notice these things, as you then start looking for it more!!

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Hi again. I normally come back and leave a note on how things resolved, but I didn’t get to see the doctor as I ended up with Covid last Monday. Three years I managed to avoid it, and NOW I get it. To be fair I wasn’t really ill with it. A couple of hours here and there where I felt quite groggy, but otherwise a very mild cold and little else. Feeling pretty much normal now, but still testing positive, which is annoying.

But, as many of us note when we get a cold, it made the pain and swelling of the arthritis go away. I generally assume the immune system has something else to work on, and it gives our joints a break - so, perhaps, a blessing in disguise!

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My psoriasis first manifest itself as Inverse Psoriasis and was in my ear canals and eyelids…it was miserable. I carefully applied Protopic prescription which worked really well.

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Sorry for the delayed reply. The GP suggested I put some steroid cream in just inside, but you’d think there’d be an easier way.

Meanwhile, the testing positive for Covid remains, despite the fact I feel absolutely fine. I officially fall under immunocompromised with regards to Covid (due to biologics), which could mean (recommended) isolation for 20 days, but I’m not sure I’ll manage that. Staying indoors and losing all routine has already completely screwed up my bipolar disorder now - I spent half the day today in tears, and the other half in bed! I haven’t taken biologics since the Friday before last, and my blood tests never show any problems with my white blood cells anyway, which I know isn’t the case for many people on biologics.

The info/advice online is ridiculously contradictory, and so I think, providing symptoms don’t come back, I’m going to call it a day on Monday (day 15) - not least because I’ve run out of tests again, and I’m not going to keep buying them when, according to some sites, you could test positive for weeks on end!

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I got Covid with no symptoms too. It took 12 long days for me to test negative. But I went out and walked my dog. I just didn’t go near anyone. Because I had no symptoms I never stopped my biologic as with no symptoms why would I? That made no sense to me. But mine is once every 28 days which helped. Given the lack of advice I too received I just winged it all alone. But because I had no symptoms I wasn’t worried about me, just worried I might give it to someone else who would be as lucky as I was being symptomless. Aren’t they still sending out free tests to the likes of us who test positive? I could get as many free Covid tests I needed off the NHS website. This was all last summer though.

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It’s a very odd situation. My test last night was very faint, which I take as a good sign. But the more that I look online for advice, the more confusing it gets.

Even with the biologics - advice to start with was that it was a higher risk of severe COVID. Now, there’s a number of articles saying anti-tnf biologics probably actually help fight covid and prevent severe illness.

Then there’s advice saying it doesn’t matter if you’re still positive after day 10, as you’re likely no longer infectious - unless you’re in a high risk group. Which was us. But now our biologics might mean we are no longer on that group, but nobody’s bothered to update that info!

And then a the info from early 2020 is mixed in online with more recent data, and I think it’s worse than having no info at all!

So I’m giving up on Monday, day 15, and hoping that having had a mild illness and symptom free for a week puts me in a good place.

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Very faint positive was my day 11. It was gone by day 12. So you should be just fine by Monday.

It’s all objectively fascinating isn’t it? The huge fear they gave all of us at the beginning about being particularly at risk from Covid given our meds and then the later meds (so like our biologics) which helped save the sickest of patients. Ergo us lot already on these meds anyway should be less at risk surely?

Even more interesting I had a further Covid booster vaccine last week because I’m allowed to given I’m on biologics. As I never want to experience being incredibly sick with Covid I’m extremely happy to be vaccinated against it. But it’s like they’ve given up with any more analysis about why people on biologics like us are still at risk.

People with other diseases which clearly affect their immune system where possibly the meds aren’t helping or there are no meds which can help, or their immune system is being stripped for organ replacement or stem cell replacement are logically more vulnerable. But there is no data out there that’s up to date (so not all the original data) which clearly shows us lot when medicated still are higher risk. As you’ve tried to find.

Here is to getting out again for you.

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Yes, I agree. It’s nuts that there has been no update on who the high risk groups are. For some weird reason we were lumped in with cancer patients and transplant patients. And we have stayed there. You would think they would keep researching in these areas for when the next virus comes along, as it will one day.

I think I’m going to take my biologics today anyway, as I am in agony now. It was fine while the immune system was fighting COVID, as it stops it attacking my joints, I think. But now the arthritis is horrendous.

There’s still the faintest of faint lines today, but now I’m calling it quits, I think. It’s been like this for three days, so I think I’m just one of those unlucky folks who have it sticking around in tiny quantities for a while. My theory is that if this is the tiny amount of virus gained by sticking something up your nose and twirling it around, then I’m good to go - as none of my friends are likely to be climbing inside my nostril. I hope. There are strange people around, but not that strange! Plus it’s going to be way past day 10 anyway.

But there is that horrible nagging doubt, isn’t there? What if that tiny amount of virus is enough to give it to someone etc. Conversely, none of us test after flu or norovirus to see if there’s remnants of it still in our system. We use our common sense instead Id be interested to see the stats on how long they hang around to compare them. When we feel well again, we go out. We don’t even think about it. And I know I’ve certainly gone to work while still sniffling in the past. There’s guidance online that nurses can go back to work after 14 days if still testing positive for covid. So, I guess if it’s good enough for them, it’s good enough for me.

But you are right, it is oddly fascinating. But my bipolar has had enough. Its odd that I was fine with not going out during lockdowns. But there was the knowledge that everywhere was shut. Now everywhere is open, it’s a very different state of mind when being encouraged to stay at home while feeling well.

This year has been a nightmare anyway. I was so looking forward to starting afresh, so to speak, because the dwp had agreed to me writing books as permitted work from the end of December. And then one thing after another has gone wrong. Not illness, but just “stuff,” not least a three month fight with Mum’s phone company as they buggered her line up. I worked out that I spent close to 50 hours on the phone to them. Then my brother’s quad bypass. We are not close, but it was again looking after Mum while it was gone. Tomorrow I go to a hotel while the bathroom is done. And COVID. I really do just want to disconnect from everyone and everything right now and take some time out for me. But life isn’t that east, alas. Mum is 88 and we are very close. It’s just not possible to unplug the phone and rest easy.

Sorry for the monologue!

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Cyber hugs on the ‘stuff’ @darinfan. Remember the only way to metaphorically eat the ‘stuff/elephant’ is one bite at a time. You’ll feel better once you’re out again.

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Thanks. I finally tested clear just before bed yesterday. Now I have four extremely handsome young men demolishing my bathroom. It’s almost tempting to cancel the hotel! :wink:

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