About a week and a half ago, after a visit to a local area lake (swimming included) I first noticed a small series of bright red, non-itching spots on my lower legs, just around my ankles. At the same time, I believed I had picked up what we call in the South 'chiggers' -- though that's probably not the medical name for them -- otherwise known as red bugs, etc. The typical treatment we recognize is to cover the swelling with fingernail polish to smother the 'bug'. Anyway, it's a week and a half later and the red spots have spread from my ankles to my groin area (none in the actual pubic area), front and back. There is still no itching, but they are bright red and very embarrassing. In addition, a week after the first appearance of the splotches, I developed an (unrelated?) stomach ailment which lasted for 3 days, but has now passed, leaving only the red rash. I experienced some muscle pain in areas not closely related to the rash, and one of my fingers has swollen a bit. I'm trying to give everything I can think of that might possibly be related. I experienced no fever, and feel just fine at the moment. I'm not sure what this is, but I would appreciate any feedback whatsoever.

I am uncertain as to what this could be other than a possible parasite. There are some parasites that live in lakes, streams and rivers that may be causing this. The only way to know for certain is to make a visit to your doctor. If this does seem to be the case then the water in that lake will have to be inspected.

Keywords:golf;heat;hiking;leukocytoclastic vasculitis;prolonged exercise;stasis;urticarial vasculitis

SUMMARY
A number of patients presented with an erythematous, purpuric rash occurring on the legs in association with playing golf and also after prolonged walks or hikes. Many patients believed that it was an allergic reaction to grasses or insecticides and had sometimes undergone extensive allergy testing. We collected reports of 17 such cases from dermatologists in the state of Victoria, Australia. Patients were interviewed by phone and asked to submit photographs of the rash if possible. Of these, the eruption developed in 15 after playing 18 holes of golf and in three following prolonged hikes. The rash would usually develop over the summer months under hot conditions. Most patients were over 50 years of age when the tendency to develop the eruption began. Biopsies of the rash in the active phase showed leukocytoclastic vasculitis. Patch testing and investigations for potential underlying causes for vasculitis were negative or unremarkable. It would seem that this is a common but poorly documented condition. The clinical presentation and histology would support the conclusion that it represents a leukocytoclastic vasculitis induced by prolonged exercise under hot conditions. The findings would suggest that it occurs in healthy people and extensive investigation with blood tests or allergy testing is inappropriate. We believe the condition should be termed 'golfer's vasculitis', as golf appears to be the most common precipitating event and such a term would enable the condition to become more widely recognized.

This thread is several years old, long "dead." Your help is needed on some of the more recent threads.