Erythema Nodosum 2nd breakout

Hi all... I am currently in the midst of my second breakout of what has been diagnosed as Erythema Nodosum... I have read a majority of the posts on this site and was hoping to just share and ask a few questions.

(I posted in this category because I couldn't find a suitable one, and others with EN posted in here)

33 year old Caucasian male, married, kids, desk jockey.

First breakout was March of last year... if you are familiar with this disease then I can spare the details of what it looks like and feels like.

Second breakout started about 2 days ago, felt the first sore spot on my upper thigh and was almost certain I would have a breakout, and 2 days later there they are again...

I cant pinpoint any specific event that I feel would have lead to the break out... I drink beer pretty heavily, dont smoke, no drugs.

Last breakout I got tested for TB, chest Xray, I even had an endoscopy and colonoscopy with no reports of any abnormalities.

Got lab work done today to check for any HEPs, or various blood diseases... will take a few days obviously.

This weekend consisted of some beers Friday night. Saturday morning moved furniture to get the carpets cleaned... continued to clean the rest of the house while the family was away which consisted of crawling around the house cleaning baseboards, floors...etc...etc...

Could it be possible that the chemicals I was using, and crawling around on have caused this breakout?
Is is possible that EN could be from an allergic reaction to something like carpet shampoo or cleaner?

Sunday was spent moving furniture back into their spaces, and thats when I first noticed the bump on my leg...

Yesterday was a full break out... my joints ache, back is sore, ankles... all my lower half is pretty much sad.

Tired... and I think I even had a mild grade fever last night.

Anxiety went through the roof so much that about 10 times last night each time I was about to cross the threshold of sleeping I jerked myself away because I felt like I stopped breathing...

Freaky.

My doc prescribed Potassium Iodide which I took last time, but don't feel like it did anything that time wouldn't heal itself...so I my forego this prescription and try something more holistic and or natural.

Has anyone had any experience with natural remedies?

I hear increasing my citrus fruits, veggies and greens could help increase certain levels of "something" to help combat the inflammation.

Just looking for insight, thoughts, ideas.

Thanks

I've had that exactly twice in the whole time I've had Crohn's (10 years). Mine was extremely painful if it was barely touched. At first it looked like a red spot like an infected bite, but then it turned to blackish bruise like spots ALL OVER both of my legs. It was pretty horrible. I'm not a doctor, but I'm pretty sure it wasn't caused by anything you touched ie chemicals, etc. The way it has been explained to me is that they are like ulcers under the skin. So your body is becoming inflamed for whatever reason. Juicing/veggies or anything that rids you of inflammation (prednisone) will help it go away-but they take time to heal and even though they may not hurt anymore-mine took at least a month for the "bruising" to go away.

So-my thoughts-you may be having a reaction to beer. Which could be from a couple of things. Firstly-you could have an issue with gluten, wheat, yeast, malt or any combination with these ingredients. Many Crohn's patients find out although they aren't "allergic" to these foods-they develop an intolerance, especially if it's something your body is routinely exposed to. I ate dairy and cheese my whole life, but after I had Crohn's for a few years I started finding out dairy was exacerbating my problems. So see a nutritionist who specializes in food intolerence or allergies. They can test you to see if you have a problem with gluten or yeast. I hope that helps.

You might want to view the list of causes at this site http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0001884/ In the introduction it mentions over 50% of cases have no known cause.

That said, do you have any gastrointestinal symptoms? Diarrhea, constipation, bloating, pain, heartburn? If so, the one test they did not do looking for inflammatory bowel disease in the capsule endoscopy. It looks at the 21-23' of small bowel that the upper endoscopy and colonoscopy can't reach. If you don't have GI symptoms, then it is probable that you fall into the 50% unknown or one caused by other inflammatory diseases or infection.

Have you tried a NSAID to help reduce pain and inflammation? I do know that prednisone helped clear mine the fastest. Sorry you are having to cope with these.

They do not always know the cause of EN, however, one of the causes may be crohn's. They are nasty, I've had them for years....only within the last year did a provider listen to me when I said I have a past history of EN, could this be CD? They said yes and didn't laugh at me.