Reason for rash through out the body?
Patient: my boyfriend has a rash that starts on 1 arm almost heals and the moves to the other arm.this has been going on for 6 months plus.He may have pancreatic cancer.they have done biopsies to verify this just waiting for results.Nobody has given him an answer about the rash though.Can you help explain it? Doctor: Thank you for your question!From the way that you describe a migrating rash it could be erythema migrans, dermatitis or urticaria.Erythema migrans (Lyme disease) is caused by an infection after a tick bite. The rash maybe slightly itchy, it extends over two weeks, to produce another lesion in another site. Does he have the rash only in the arms? Has he experienced any of these symptoms? If yes he should take blood for serology.If it is urticaria the lesions are more like wheals... and also it could be dermatitis.Sometimes these can be paraneoplastic signs that come prior to an internal cancer,Anyway if a patient presents in my clinic with these symptoms I would check him with some patch test to exclude dermatitis and urticaria, skin biopsy and serology if the diagnose is unclear.I hope this helps!If you are unclear with the answer please try contact me again. Wishing you and your boyfriend good health!Dr. Migena GEGA