A MOTHER-OF-ONE has revealed how an ear piercing triggered a reaction that left her feeling like she was constantly on fire.
Lara Awalt, 48, lives with erythromelalgia, an ultra-rare condition that causes burning, redness and hot skin, most commonly on the face, feet and hands.
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For two years, Lara has been unable to leave the house and can only eat cold food because any small amount of heat or stress causes her face to turn red.
Now, Lara from South Carolina, USA, is speaking out to raise awareness about erythromelalgia.
She says: “I’ve tried dozens of medications and absolutely nothing helped.
“I’m completely lost.”
In April 2022, Lara had the cartilage in her right ear pierced.
Two days later, his ear became red, hot to the touch and swollen.
Lara explains: “I thought I might be infected, so I went to the emergency room.
“But the doctors told me I wasn’t infected.”
Over the next few days, the redness spread to Lara’s cheek and after two weeks it covered her entire face, neck and left ear.
Lara says: “The pain was unbearable.
“I felt like I was on fire, like my face was in front of an oven.”
Lara visited her doctor, where she was prescribed steroid cream.
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But this only made her symptoms worse, so she went back to the doctor.
There, she had blood and urine tests done to detect diseases that could cause inflammation, such as cancer and blood disorders.
But all the results were negative.
Eventually, she was referred to a private dermatologist, who prescribed several antibiotics and topical treatments, but nothing helped.
During the winter I would walk around the house in a t-shirt, shorts and no socks as any small amount of heat from the central heating would cause a fire.
Lara Awalt
Doctors performed a biopsy of Lara’s face and the results concluded that she may have rosacea, a long-term skin condition that affects the face.
Lara explains: “I was prescribed an antibiotic, which helped at first, but the symptoms returned quickly.
“My reaction started to affect my feet and hands too.
“It felt like I was constantly on pins and needles.”
Months passed and doctors were completely perplexed by Lara’s condition.
At this point, she needed to stay home and could only leave the house for medical appointments.
DOCTORS perplexed
In September 2022, Lara was referred to a dermatologist at the Medical University of South Carolina.
Lara says: “The doctor saw my face and immediately dismissed rosacea.
“After examining me, he told me I had erythromelalgia.
“I couldn’t believe I had developed such a rare disease.”
Despite the diagnosis, doctors were only able to offer Lara a list of medications, including blood pressure medications, antidepressants and anticonvulsants.
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Lara says: “Absolutely nothing helped.
“The only thing I could do was keep a fan and an ice pack on my body constantly.
“During the winter I would walk around the house in a t-shirt, shorts and no socks because any small amount of heat from the central heating would cause a fire.”
But because of this, in January 2023, Lara was admitted to Prisma Health Oconee Memorial Hospital in South Carolina with hypothermia and hallucinations.
She explains: “The doctors told me they needed to warm me up, but I was afraid of being burned alive. As expected, I had a horrible reaction.
“After five days, I was discharged and prescribed an antibiotic that helped control my flare-ups.”
In May, Lara was referred to another doctor, a specialist in erythromelalgia.
What is erythromelalgia?
Erythromelalgia is a rare condition that causes burning, redness and heat in the skin, especially the feet.
It may be constant or come and go, but treatment and avoiding triggers can help.
The main symptoms are:
- Burning pain, which often starts as itching
- Redness – may look different on dark or dark skin
- Warm or hot skin
Other symptoms include:
- Swelling
- Sweating more than normal
The pain may be constant or come and go.
When pain arises, it can be called a crisis.
An outbreak may come on gradually or suddenly and last from a few minutes to a few days.
Your skin may feel cold after a flare-up and turn blue or gray.
It is often unclear what causes erythromelalgia.
Sometimes it’s caused by another condition or a faulty gene inherited from one of your parents.
After blood and visual tests, she discovered she had chronic inflammatory response syndrome (CIRS), a disease caused by exposure to biotoxins such as mold, which triggered the erythromelalgia reaction when she pierced her ear.
Lara says: “To have any chance of getting better, I needed to be in a clean environment.
“My house was destroyed, which revealed mold in the basement and dry walls.
“For 10 months I lived with my parents, while my house was renovated.”
Despite this, Lara still has crises every day.
She can only eat cold foods, such as salad, watermelon and potatoes, and is confined to the house.
Lara says: “It’s so demoralizing.
“I am carrying out drug trials and hope that one day there will be a breakthrough.”
What is chronic inflammation syndrome? And how to treat
Chronic inflammatory response syndrome (CIRS) is a biotoxic disease triggered by exposure to mold.
People with this disease have genes that put them at risk of developing CIRS if they come into contact with mold.
The disease can affect virtually any organ in the body and, if left untreated, can become debilitating.
Symptoms include:
- Fibromyalgia
- Chronic pain
- Concentration problems
- Visual insensitivity
Patients with CIRS are often misdiagnosed as having depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder.
CIRS cannot be completely cured, however, removing the person from exposure to biotoxins, including moving house or replacing possessions, can help eliminate the root cause.
Credit: MedicinaNet and the Virgina Center for Health and Wellness
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This story originally appeared on The-sun.com read the full story
