One of the still-unexplained manifestations of CFS is the appearance of skin rashes. Rashes can have several causes; for example, they can be caused by allergic reactions, either by something that comes in contact with the skin (like poison ivy), or by something taken internally (like medicine or a food to which a person is allergic).

Rashes can be caused by infectious agents. The measles virus causes a very distinctive rash, as do Lyme disease and scarlet fever (both of which are caused by bacteria).

Rashes can also have emotional or psychological causes, because of the interaction between mind and body. Even anxiety can cause hives and other kinds of rashes.

No one knows what causes CFS patients to develop rashes, but they occur in about half of adult patients, commonly on the face and upper body.

For some unknown reason, rashes occur even more often in children with CFS than they do in adults. Dr. David Bell, who studied a group of children involved in a CFS outbreak in upstate New York, found that 80 percent of the children developed rashes.

Patients have described many different kinds of rashes to me. One reason that rashes might be so common in CFS is that allergies are worsened; people who had allergies before they developed CFS often find that their allergies are much more severe after they come down with CFS.

One reason for that might be the involvement of a naturally-produced chemical called histamine in CFS. Histamine, which is also increased in AIDS, controls certain kinds of allergic reactions as well as the production of stomach acid.

In addition to causing allergic reactions, histamine is also thought to bind to immune system cells and produce a substance that results in the suppression of the immune system.

So histamine production is another area which demonstrates how the immune system can be both up-regulated and down-regulated at the same time. While too much histamine can produce an allergic reaction -- which is an over-reaction of the immune system -- it can also cause the suppression of the immune system.

Another result of this general malfunctioning of the immune system is that unexpected bacterial and viral infections can appear. Acne, which can result from a bacterial infection, and the re-emergence of herpes virus infections -- like cold sores or shingles -- are examples of the kinds of infections that can occur when the immune system is depressed. AIDS patients, of course, develop the same kinds of bacterial and viral infections because of the down-regulation of their immune systems.

Numerous CFS researchers have reported that their adult patients can develop acne -- even patients who've never had skin problems before they became sick with CFS. Dr. Paul Cheney cautions that this type of acne, and other skin infections, may require more aggressive treatment in CFS patients than they would in healthy people for the treatment to be successful.

Herpes viruses live in harmony with people, generally speaking; once we become infected, the herpes viruses usually stay dormant, kept in check by an intact immune system. But when the immune system is damaged, as it is in CFS, herpes viruses can become reactivated and cause various kinds of skin (and other) problems.

One herpes virus that most people are infected with is herpes simplex, the virus that causes common cold sores. CFS patients sometimes have recurrent cold sores, which signal that the herpes simplex virus is no longer being controlled by their immune systems.

Another herpes virus, herpes zoster, causes chicken pox in children; later in life, it can become reactivated to cause shingles, a very painful skin condition in adults.

Both types of herpes virus reactivations -- cold sores (or other skin lesions caused by herpes simplex) and shingles -- can occur in adult CFS patients because of the "down-regulation" of their immune systems.

In children with CFS, chicken pox -- the childhood disease caused by the herpes zoster virus -- can be particularly troubling. Dr. David Bell has found that, among children with CFS whom he has studied, more than 80 percent had already had chicken pox before they contracted CFS. After developing CFS, however, about 12 percent of those children who'd never had chicken pox got the disease, and about 12 percent had it twice. Dr. Bell even found that one of those 74 children had chicken pox three times after developing CFS, and another had chicken pox five separate times after coming down with CFS.

An experimental treatment for CFS, Kutapressin -- which is an extract of pig liver -- has been found to be useful in treating herpes zoster-caused shingles. If Kutapressin stops the reactivation of herpes viruses, that may be why CFS patients' symptoms appear to improve when they are treated with the drug."

Do must people who have fibro,CFS have a stressful event that precipitated it?

Do most people have sleep issues, and are fibro ,CFS suffers mostly women?

I thought i had fibro when i had severe sleep issues. I was bedridden,

brain fog, widespread pain,depressed etc. My issues were severe

for about 6 months. When i could finally sleep again my fibro disappeared.

I think if we all put our heads together we can find the etiology and cure

for this awful condition.

I am reading the book Melatonin written by Russel J Reiter PHD who has

decades of experience w/ melatonin. He feels fibro,CFS, are

viral and melatonin/seratonin depletion issues. Sleep deprivation,EMF's,

lack of daytime light, nighttime light, poor diet all decrease melatonin and keep levels depressed.

Lack of sleep makes someone more prone to viral/bacterial infections due

to a decrease in natural killer cells.

Women are more sensitive to men in these issues.

As i read the book i felt WOW could this be the answer! The supplements he

recommends at bedtime are 1000mg calcium lactate , 500 mg magnesium chloride,

100 mg niacin . Basically you want to kick up the melatonin with supplements to

boost melatonin at bedtime. A melatonin snack also helps,oats, bananas etc.

Sleep in total darkness, wear a sleep mask if necessary.

5 HTP also helps to stimulate melatonin . I take 250mg every night before bedtime.

AlwaysTurn the TV and computer off by 7:30 at night as they can interfere with

sleep.This was a biggie for me.If i watch tv past this time i don't sleep well and

sometimes i am not able to get to sleep at all."

FROM DOM: I have discussed these topics in past newsletters and in various places on my site. Use the Google search box at the end of this newsletter. My insomnia story is at www.fms-help.com/insomnia.htm (began at age 16 - I am now 59). A list of things I tried for sleep is at www.fms-help.com/sleep.htm. Melatonin worked for 3 years until I hit age 47, then stopped working. 5-HTP has never worked for me. Interestingly, I get sleepy watching TV and can fall right into bed. I take a combo of meds and supplements: list at www.fms-help.com/what.htm. We are all different. This reader is correct that when we get restorative sleep to our brains, our fibro problems disappear. Gettings restorative sleep however is elusive for most of us without medication. For those who do not have a resistant sleep disorder, some of these ideas might work. My brain clock is broken and has forgotten how to sleep.

17. CHRONIC RUNNY NOSE

From a reader--

"I recall seeing someplace (I thought it was your site) where chronic runny nose was listed as a symptom or sign of fibro or cfs...

Since people on narcotics get chronic runny noses (as well as sweet tooths), could it be that those of us with chronic pain who are taking narcotics are seeing the side affect of that narcotic and assuming it is from the illness?"

18. THE CHRISTMAS STORY TOLD BY KIDS

From a reader--

"It doesn't get any cuter than this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ki8EcnVbd-Q"

19. XMRV: STILL WAITING FOR A TEST

From a reader--

http://blogs.wsj.com/health/2010/12/17/xmrv-still-waiting-for-a-test/

FROM DOM: I think we who have FMS/CFIDS are infected with a "stealth virus" that hides in our brain, body tissue and organs - and that is why it is so difficult to locate it just in the blood. See my page on stealth viruses at www.fms-help.com/stealth.htm. Researchers are trying hard to come up with a blood test for XMRV, but it is proving elusive so far. We should pray for these people who are doing this difficult work and for the truth to be revealed.

20. THE REAL THING

Great article sent in by a reader--

The Real Thing - by Charles R. Swindoll

Galatians 2:20

Back in 1958 when I was a young marine stationed on the island of Okinawa, I became closely associated with a man I deeply admired. His name was Bob Newkirk.

I didn't know what it was exactly that first drew me to Bob. More than anything else, I guess, there was something refreshingly unpretentious about him. He was devoted to the things of the Lord, no question, but it was never on parade, never for the purpose of public display. And I loved that.

I never got the idea that Bob was interested in making big impressions on me or other people. He was what he was, plain and simple—far from perfect, but authentic. Real.

I remember dropping by his home late one rainy afternoon to pay an unexpected visit. His wife met me at the door and informed me that he was not home. She added, "You've probably noticed lately that he has been under some stress. I think he may be down at his office. I'm not really sure. But he told me he just wanted to get alone."

I decided to try Bob's office, a little spot down in Naha. I caught the three-wheel jitney that took me from the village where the Newkirks lived down to the capital city of the island. It was still raining lightly, so I stepped around and over the puddles as I made my way down a street, across an alley, then another alley until I came upon his unassuming, modest office.

Before I arrived, however, I could hear singing in the distance . . . "Come, Thou Fount of every blessing, tune my heart to sing Thy grace." It was Bob's voice! I'd know it anywhere.

I stood outside in the rain for a few moments, listening, as my friend continued singing the simple hymn. Then, I confess, I peeked in the window and saw a candle on a table, my friend on his knees, and not another soul around. He was spending time with the Lord . . . all alone.

As I stood outside, the soft-falling rain dripping off my nose and ears, my eyes filled with tears of gratitude. Bob never knew I came by that evening, but without his knowing it, I got a glimpse of authentic Christianity that night. Not piety on parade . . . not spiritual showtime, but a man "in the shelter of the Most High."

In the back streets of Naha I learned more about simple faith than I would later learn in four years of seminary.

When it comes to faith, there is no substitute for the real thing.

Day by Day, Charles Swindoll, July 2005, Thomas Nelson, inc., Nashville, Tennessee.

21. NEW BOOK ON M.E. - "THE SOUND OF A WILD SNAIL EATING"

From a reader--

"I wanted you to know about this book written by Elisabeth Tova Bailey, a woman ill with severe ME/CFS who wrote the book The Sound of a Wild Snail Eating. Dr. David Bell states that….”this book is a triumph of the human spirit……The writing is magnificent.”

A friend gave Elisabeth a snail from the woodlands nearby and placed it in a terrarium and realized that as she felt ‘trapped inside a stark, white box”, the snail was similarly confined. Her journey of discovery about herself, the snail and her courage bring awareness about the impact of ME/CFS. What I find unique is the fact that she has managed to create interest and awareness to others by not only relating her story of discovery about herself but also about a relatively unknown creature.

Elisabeth’s has received several Pushcart Prize nominations and a Notable Essay Listing in Best American Essays. Just viewed Craig Maupin of The CFS Report ‘s review which gives a wonderful description of the author’s journey. THE CFS REPORT by Craig Maupin. Review of The Sound of a Wild Snail Eating: http://www.cfidsreport.com/News/10_Elisabeth_Tova_Bailey.html/ You can also view more details on the author’s website and find out about how to buy her book at: http://www.elisabethtovabailey.net

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Well, that's all for now! Thanks to the many caring readers who send in articles for the newsletter. Pooling our information is such a blessing!! Don't overdo it for the holidays. We had our Christmas program at church last Sunday night "Comfort and Joy" and it was beautiful. Now I'm trying to get things ready for our family Christmas with 4 generations who will be present. Will try to go to a Christmas Eve candlelight service, as well.

Dominie Bush

www.fms-help.com

dombush@bellsouth.net