Hello Lately (but also over the 4 years since I am being ill with diagnosed ME/CFS and post-Lyme disease (weak Elispot LTT values). I have something weird going on: scratches that seem to come from a cat (but I didn't touch any cat in years). Could this be still bartonella? I also didn't scratch myself for the record or worked in the garden. They also seem impossible to do myself with my nails because certain scratches are parallel to each other with only 1mm space in between... (cf pictures). I never had Bartonella treatment (except many antibiotics for Lyme and latest 3 years for SIBO/Gut dysbiosis). On certain antibiotics I felt much better: Ciprofloxacin during prostate infection and Biaxin. But I relapsed very fast every single time. I want to do maybe a Galaxy ePCR test for Bartonella (most reliable?) but I don't know if this is possible logistic wise since I live in Belgium (Europe).
I have had periods where I made similar scratches on my face during sleep. Is this a possibility for you? The scratches always appeared in the same place and sometimes bled quite a bit. I have never had Lyme.
As I understand it although bartonella can be caught from a cat scratch the rashes that occur afterwards do not actually look like scratches. They are red spots or blotches. The marks in the picture look like scratches but not from a single claw scratch. They are all slightly curved and not quite following each other. That makes me think that they are due to a repeated scratching action with a single sharp point. So they would be consistent with repeated scratching with a fingernail (or toenail) that had a sharp point somewhere. But it would have to be pretty sharp because the central traces are very narrow. They look most like thorn scratches from brambles or other plants. Plant scratches can produce quite angry reactions if they carry substances to which the body reacts. Another possibility that would fit with repeated similar scratches would be something used in the shower or bath I guess. These definitely look like reactions to some new action on the skin, not a longstanding infection.
I test positive for Bartonella antibodies, and I get rashes on and off - but I cannot say for sure if they are from Bartonella. What I can say is that they are not true scratches - they are more like enlongated thin rug burns. The (maybe) weird thing is that I have found they seemed to be provoked when I go on a drug like Rifampen (which is frequently prescribed for Bartonella).
I do recall that where I'd had a tick bite suddenly reappeared in that exact spot with a secondary exacerbation. Doc refused to believe me and insisted it was a second bite in that exact spot that coincidentally correlated to worsened symptoms (and yes, post-abx). I mean, that's possible but unlikely.
Strange variations in California, especially with babesia, but CA is a documented hotspot for Lyme and Company. Why any doctor would minimize...well, it's that way all over, I suppose. Edit to add: Ahhh, he wasn't minimizing the idea of a TBD, he was shrugging off the idea of a chronic one. Sorry, I'm a little slow these days.
Seems like it might be a pattern made by the fingertips/nails if the hand were moved in an arc from below by swiveling it from the wrist. Place your hand on a flat surface and swivel it by the wrist to see what I mean. The nails would have to be pretty sharp (or ragged) to make such fine arcs, though. Might happen during sleep.
