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Three nights ago I noticed that after washing my hands they felt really sticky, almost like when you use the last paper towel on the roll and you get that glue residue on your hands. However, it wasn't the last paper towel so I figured maybe the liquid soap was really old and doing funky things so I rewashed with dish soap and again grabbed a paper towel. Once again, my hands got sticky as I dried them off. Thinking now that there was something wrong with these paper towels, I washed again and this time dried with a hand towel only to yet again find my hands sticky as they dried off. The stickiness only lasts 30-60 seconds, until the skin completely dries, but during that in-between time of soaking wet and totally dry they feel very tacky to the touch and my fingers will actually stick to each other.
The next day when I took a shower I noticed that the water was beading up on the skin on my arms. Sure enough, when I dried off afterwards I found that all of my skin is tacky to the thouch until it is completely air dried.
Today I shaved my legs and my skin felt almost like it had a layer of wax on it that kept catching the razor. The skin on my hands seems to be getting more sticky when they get wet. Water continues to bead on my skin when it gets wet. I asked my children if they can feel that my skin is sticky to the touch and they said yes.
This is affecting all of my skin now, including my face. I always put a moisturizer on my face after washing and it does not feel like my skin is absorbing it now, it just feels heavy and greasy since the lotion just sits there on top. I also tried putting lotion on my hands and it was not absorbed at all, just left my hands feeling very slimy and greasy so I wiped it off.
Has anyone ever experienced anything like this or have any suggestions for what might be causing it? Thanks for any held you can give.
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Dear Anonymous of May 12, 2011: have you personally taken your own advice and had favorable results? If not, are the recommendations proven satisfactory from people you know that have actually tried these methods? Thanks.
May 14, 2011 - 5:49pmThis Comment
I got the same problem. But mine started when I applied VCO to my hair and it won't wash off. The VCO company told me to use warm water. When it did it got worse! The water that rinses the hair went down do my face, lips, entire body, now, all of my body has that sticky oil residue. and the sticky film seems to thicken every time I use soap/detergent or anything else to wash my body, face, lips.
May 12, 2011 - 4:43amOn the shampoo bottle that got smeared by the oil from the water from my hair, the oil was removed when I rubbed baby oil on it before using soap on the bottle. But on my body, it won't work. On my hair, it seems to lessen the oil but there 's still oil on it.
Can anyone out there help on how I can get rid of the oily sticky film on my skin, hair, and lips?
This Comment
What some of you report about may be the orange//Pink colored
serratia marcescens
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serratia_marcescens
Its a bacterium with fungal like character, one that can be very dangerous (also called PInk Mold)
Sodium hypochlorite (Clorox) is a good and safe antiseptic.
Health problems you may experience can maybe be researched under the term: sick building syndrome.
Fungi are strange entities, and their presence can trigger all type
immune related issues based on components released into the atmosphere.
One way of checking out of an immune compromised state exists is by trying out an over the counter medicine listed as ceterizine.
If (skin/eyes/nose) allergies improve with this type medicine, you may be subject to a so called environmental trigger.
Serratia marcescens sits often in the calcified shower head, and in an around water taps (wet places). You are advised to replace the shower head, shower curtains and the last part of the water tap.
Also repeatedly clean bath tube and all places wet.
Attention: Not all strains produce the pink pigment that may color walls, toilet, bath etc.
Check also for black molds, and replace and/or clean all hard surfaces in the house including windows.
April 21, 2011 - 3:46amThis Comment
Hi Anonymous April 21... thanks so much for your helpful suggestions. It's much appreciated! Diane, please see my reply above.
I wanted to let all of you know that I've been able to get a little relief from my sticky skin in the shower. I bought some latex-free dish washing gloves at Home Depot (by caring hands) & I wear them while I wash my hair... either with my head tipped upside down in the shower or in the kitchen sink. This has worked well for me! I'm now able to avoid getting the shampoo & conditioner on my hands, and I don't have terrible sticky hands when I get out of the shower. I use a ponytail holder on each wrist to keep the gloves tight against my skin so shampoo & conditioner doesn't get inside the gloves. Just a helpful tip to pass along while dealing with the sticky skin issue. If you're going to try this, please find some dishwashing gloves that are right for your skin type. I wouldn't want anyone to be allergic to the latex-free ones that I use. I think they're made out of vinyl... they smell funny but they work well. Hope this helps other people!
April 23, 2011 - 9:54pmThis Comment
Hi : this is Diane: Good tips above... Thanks whoever you are. Stickymess: I'm going to give the gloves a try. Thanks. Sorry youre still struggling and in pain. I feel very bad for you. Your faith is being tested like the story of JOB in the bible. If you're not familiar with his suffering, try to make the time and read it. Stay steadfast in prayer. Remain hopeful. Im Keeping you in prayer. Youre going to be just fine I know it! Regards.. :)
April 29, 2011 - 2:41pmThis Comment
Hey Diane, I hope you get as much 'sticky' relief as I have with the gloves. I got the idea after seeing my hair stylist wear them while she was coloring people's hair at my salon! Thanks a million for your words of encouragement... I'm having a rough day of pain and it's very comforting to hear. I'll read JOB tonight, thank you!!!
April 29, 2011 - 9:23pmThis Comment
I experienced the sticky skin two years in a row accompanied with severe muscle weakness, SOB, heart palpitations and no appetite.
March 26, 2011 - 6:49amWhen showering the skin would feel oily and if sleeping and the arm rested on the leg causing the arm to ahere to the leg. Both times this required me to become bedridden for a period of a month because of the extreme weakness and then gradually my strength would return.It felt to me like I was being poisoned and that the stickiness was my body trying to release the toxins through perspiration. Both times it would take a full two months before I would be back to normal and the stickiness would be gone. There was never any warning as I would be jogging or spinning the day before and then it felt like I hit a brick wall and could not get out of bed and walk 2 ft. without feeling like my body was collapsing from the inside out and shortness of breath with tachycardia.(fast heart beat) As with all of you no medical reason could be found. This had never happened to me before and the only common factors I saw was that I had changed gyms, and always happened when I would be working out at the gym 6 days a week, doing high intensity cardio with spin classes, threadmill, weight training feeling in peak condition and happened in the spring and summer. I also was using alot of the handi wipes to clean the equipment. Therefore, to try and avoid the problem this year I quit that gym(to eliminate possible exposure to mold, mildew cleaning products, bad ventilation) and I am only doing walking outdoors for exercise and have tried to keep the exposure to the chemical cleaning wipes down. I will not know if any of these factors played a role unless I can get through this year without it happening again. I also live near a golfcourse so it could also be exposure to a chemical they use during the spring and summer. Anyway, my reason for telling you this is perhaps you may see a pattern in your life that is similiar to mine that may give you some answers that the medical professional can not find for you. If you do, please share, it may also help me find an answer and a solution as this condition can be very debilitating and emotionally draining because there are no symptoms to warn you of an impending attack.
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Hi friends, sorry I haven't been on here in a while. I've been in the worst pain of my life and trying to get answers. After further testing, I have new information!! What the doctors thought was yeast on my cultures has turned out to be a Staph Epidermidis infection... it looks like yeast so that's what they assumed. This explains everything that I'm dealing with: muscle & joint pain, rashes, boils, pelvic pain, yellow discharge and a sore that won't heal, plus I believe it's the cause of my sticky skin from the inside out.
Staph epidermidis normally lives on your skin and is part of your normal flora. It is a coagulase-negative, gram positive bacteria similar to staph aureus. It can become pathogenic and can cause an infection, and it's very contagious. It's very easily spread in hospital settings if you've ever had stitches, a catheter, surgery, etc., and can even be spread in locker rooms at your local health club. It clogs your poors and forms a biofilm and can be resistant to antibiotics like MRSA. Mine has become severe over time and is resistant to many antibiotics!
For those of you who are not experiencing pain with your sticky skin, consider yourselves lucky. I'm not trying to scare any of you by mentioning the Staph infection, but I wanted to share what I'm going through as I've been on a mission to figure this out. It's possible that your sticky skin could be caused from something completely different than mine, but there's a strong possibility that if you've ruled out everything else it could be caused from Staph Epidermidis. Do I think yeast still plays a role in this sticky skin problem? YES A nutritionist told me that yeast and Staph infections go hand in hand.
Hey Diane, I've attempted the yeast-free diet, but I always seem to cheat accidentally. Sorry I haven't been able to stick to it and let you know if the stickiness has gotten better. As far as detoxing, I'm allergic to most tablets in those all-natural detox kits. I'm now going to try some alternative methods of detoxing by sweating in a reg. sauna or far-infared sauna, trying ionic foot baths and working out. I was told that sweating helps remove toxins from your system. Make sure to consult with your doctor should you decide to try any of this stuff. Thank you for your wonderful advice on thinking positive and listening to worship music... that is what has helped me get through each and every day!
I'm so relieved that the lab finally discovered my Staph Epidermidis infection. Even though I'm in horrific pain, I'm hopeful that my new antibiotics will wipe it out. If you want to get tested too, you can ask your doctor to order a urine culture or if you have any type of rash, boil, discharge, etc. they can culture it with a swab. My Staph was overlooked because the lab didn't let it grow long enough. Let your doctor know that you want the lab to keep your culture for several days to give it time to grow. I hope this helps! Please keep me posted on how you're all doing. Your feedback from this group helps me so much. I can't wait until we all get better!
April 2, 2011 - 11:50amThis Comment
Hi : This is Diane: To Stickymess ; Im so glad you're back! Oh My, I was SO concerned about you and kept wondering what happened to you. I feel so bad you are suffering so much. Is the same doctor treating you that you received a different diagnosis of staph epidermidis? I'll probably get tested for this too since My hands and lips are still sticky. For the past two years I've been around hospital and nursing home settings and this would make sense that germs could have latched on to me while caring for someone.Please take caution when you use a sauna and sweat out because your electrolytes can get out of whack. Your potassium and sodium could become too low and you may experience heart palpitations if you don't replenish what you lost while sweating. Stay on top of this OK? what antibiotic destroys staph epidermidis you didn't mention the name? Oh how I hope your pain and condition is coming to an end with this new medication you are trying. Please keep updating but please don't wait for months... I care ..and so does everyone else. The story i read before yours is very interesting. There's more of us than we realize. Talk to you soon. I'll will sincerely be praying for your full recovery.
April 2, 2011 - 7:34pmThis Comment
Hi again! Diane, thank you so much for your concern. I'll make sure to be extra careful in the sauna too, thanks. I've been so ill for so long and my body keeps getting weaker... the sticky skin issue is nothing compared to how physically sick I am (sore throats, scalp pain, burning skin pain, etc). I've had such severe muscle and joint pain too that it hurts to walk or do anything. I've gone to doctor after doctor without getting any answers for so long, and I've been beyond frustrated. It wasn't until I took a short vacation to clear my head, that I got the answer I've been waiting for. I sat by a minister on the plane who was returning from a mission trip. He prayed for me and told me God could heal me. I saw a nice MD when I got back, and the Staph Epidermidis showed up! Staph appeared on my previous labwork, but it said coagulase negative and didn't specify the type. I knew I had a resistant type of Staph after trying Augmenten, Levaquin and Ampicillin antibiotics and did not feel any better.
The only way to determine which antibiotics to use is from your labwork. If there's a pathogenic bacteria found in your culture, the lab will do sensitivity tests with antibiotics to see what should work. They'll send the list to your doctor, and your doctor will decide which one is right for you based on your health history, current medications, allergies or what you can tollerate. The strong one that's supposed to work for my Staph Epidermidis infection is Tetracycline. If that doesn't work, I'm going to demand something more powerful until this gets cleared up.
Take charge of your healthcare! If you come across a mean doctor who has too many patients and doesn't care, then keep searching until you find someone nice who will listen to you. I've delt with my share of rude dr's, and I think they need to treat others how they want to be treated. In my experience, it helps to bring some friends/family members to appointments with you so you're not by yourself, then the dr's are more likely to listen. Hospitals see Staph Epidermidis infections more often because of the many proceedures that they do. If you have a dr. who's affiliated with a hospital lab and could send your cultures there, that lab might do a better job finding it. If you have cultures done and you want to make sure they look for Staph Epidermidis, you can ask your dr. to note it on the lab paperwork. This helped me get answers and I hope it helps you. Please remember that your sticky skin could be caused by something different than mine and I don't want to tell you what tests you need, but since I'm testing positive for Staph Epidermidis it's possible you will too. I forgot to mention that the doctor also gave me an ointment called Bactroban (Mupiricin) to use externally for my Staph areas. Good luck and keep me posted!
April 3, 2011 - 11:04pmThis Comment