Grover’s Disease

Posted by sharfar @sharfar, Mar 13, 2022

Hello-I am a 54 year old, active female recently diagnosed with Grover’s Disease. It started shortly after having an MRI. And it started on my neck and went up behind my ear. It is now on my stomach and back and arms. Is there a correlation between the MRI and Grover’s? I’m also a runner but have been running in freezing temperatures, not heat as suggested in much of what I’m reading.
Thanks for any help you may offer including any suggestions on helping to get rid of it.

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I have been coming to this group for almost 4 years and have never heard of a connection between MRI's and Grovers. Shingles shots, my situation, yes, but not MRI's. If it is Grovers, you will not get rid of it, only control it. There is no magic bullet, different things work for different people. Seemingly, the most effective way to mitigate the itching is Cilantro, either in leaf form, in smoothies, or the tincture, available on Amazon. Despite running in cold temperatures, your body still sweats, which does prompt itching. I suggest that you read a number of the past blogs. There is more information there than any derm can give you. No question, GD is a drag, and there is no cure. Just keep reading this blog for other peoples experiences and advice.

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Thank you so much for responding. I have a lot to learn about this.

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The list of 'triggers' in broad and includes viral infections, use of certain anti-fungal medications, exposure to sunshine on previously sunburned parts of the body, 'heat' events (like a sauna, hot tub, or hot showers), sweating, and stress. Some vaccines have triggered Grover's, and there even a couple dozen reported cases of the mRNA Covid vaccines or boosters triggering Grover's in people who never had the disease before. Could the strong magnetic field and radio waves generated by an MRI 'trigger' Grover's? With this disease I wouldn't rule it out.

As for jogging - keep running. Your overall health can't be sacrificed because of an uncomfortable, but not life-threatening, skin condition. My advice would be to buy some Gold Bond Extra Strength Medicated Body Powder and really powder up your abdomen, chest, shoulders, neck, and back before running. Wear a mask and goggles to apply the Powder, because it contains talc which you don't want to get in your sinuses, lungs, or eyes. The product contains 5% zinc oxide which provides an antimicrobial coating on your skin and prevents chafing and irritation. It also contains menthol to act as an analgesic, cooling your skin and reducing itching. Most important of all, it absorbs any sweat that your body produces during running so that the sweat is not left in contact with your skin. There are lots of theories about what 'causes' the itchy red bumps and lesions, but some of the proteins in your sweat are often the culprit. So powder up, go for a run, then wash off the powder with a cool shower as soon as you are done. I follow that routine for my aerobic and weight lifting sessions without experiencing any flareups. Once the five days of 50mg prednisone had stopped the inflammation and given me back clear skin, I found that weight lifting without using the body powder resulted in an itchy, prickly, minor 'heat rash' that later turned into red bumps. After a second round of prednisone to clear up the inflammation I won't make that mistake again. I keep up the routine of daily (disgusting) cilantro smoothies and I've been fine for some time. Good luck with your situation. Some doctors don't want to prescribe a drug that turns off your immune system because of the Covid pandemic, but if you do a high dose for five days your immune system bounces back within a few weeks. I've attached a picture of my chest/shoulder the day I started Prednisone, and then on day five of taking Prednisone.

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@sharfar

Thank you so much for responding. I have a lot to learn about this.

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Did your MRI exam include administration of an intravenous contrast agent which could have triggered the GD?

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you don,t get rid of it . since it,s spread to your legs and arms, it,s hell the best you can do is keep the itch down os you can sit back or3 go to sleep I,ve had this crap for 6 years I just got out of the hot shower and put my meds on so I can lay down. It seems like everyone who has this crap have a differnt way of treating it. I tried every OTC you can think of. but its only a wast of money. the doc,s don,t help because they don,t know any more than you do.
stay on this site because people that don,t have this crap don,t care. You won,t die from this it will just drive you to keeping looking for relief.

gdgd

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@frcraig

The list of 'triggers' in broad and includes viral infections, use of certain anti-fungal medications, exposure to sunshine on previously sunburned parts of the body, 'heat' events (like a sauna, hot tub, or hot showers), sweating, and stress. Some vaccines have triggered Grover's, and there even a couple dozen reported cases of the mRNA Covid vaccines or boosters triggering Grover's in people who never had the disease before. Could the strong magnetic field and radio waves generated by an MRI 'trigger' Grover's? With this disease I wouldn't rule it out.

As for jogging - keep running. Your overall health can't be sacrificed because of an uncomfortable, but not life-threatening, skin condition. My advice would be to buy some Gold Bond Extra Strength Medicated Body Powder and really powder up your abdomen, chest, shoulders, neck, and back before running. Wear a mask and goggles to apply the Powder, because it contains talc which you don't want to get in your sinuses, lungs, or eyes. The product contains 5% zinc oxide which provides an antimicrobial coating on your skin and prevents chafing and irritation. It also contains menthol to act as an analgesic, cooling your skin and reducing itching. Most important of all, it absorbs any sweat that your body produces during running so that the sweat is not left in contact with your skin. There are lots of theories about what 'causes' the itchy red bumps and lesions, but some of the proteins in your sweat are often the culprit. So powder up, go for a run, then wash off the powder with a cool shower as soon as you are done. I follow that routine for my aerobic and weight lifting sessions without experiencing any flareups. Once the five days of 50mg prednisone had stopped the inflammation and given me back clear skin, I found that weight lifting without using the body powder resulted in an itchy, prickly, minor 'heat rash' that later turned into red bumps. After a second round of prednisone to clear up the inflammation I won't make that mistake again. I keep up the routine of daily (disgusting) cilantro smoothies and I've been fine for some time. Good luck with your situation. Some doctors don't want to prescribe a drug that turns off your immune system because of the Covid pandemic, but if you do a high dose for five days your immune system bounces back within a few weeks. I've attached a picture of my chest/shoulder the day I started Prednisone, and then on day five of taking Prednisone.

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Like most GD sufferers I’ve tried just about everything that I could afford. Been to two dermatologists and I know more than they do especially after joining a forum for GD. I wanted to try prednisone for just a few days since there was some success on this but my dermatologist won’t prescribe it. I did see that those who took it said after stopping their GD came back with a vengeance 🤷🏼‍♀️ I find mine flares up worse when the cold weather sets it.

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I have been on Prednisone 3-4 times this year, each time it came back except the last time. It came back but slower and not as bad as previous times. I have a few spots left but it has been manageable with Avene cream and an anti histamine. Fingers crossed it slowly goes away.

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That’s why it’s called “transient”—it comes and goes. Mine has disappeared for months at a time. No dermatologist has ever known much about this malady; not in my years of experience.

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I have had Grover's disease for over 3 years.Have been on Dupixent for 1 month and I am so much better,James Wood

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@jameswood40

I have had Grover's disease for over 3 years.Have been on Dupixent for 1 month and I am so much better,James Wood

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Have you applied Dupixent just for spots or to the whole torso?

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