My wife is suffering from a recurring skin sore condition. She had it briefly while in her 20's, then it resumed in her late 30's. It can be present for a year or more, and can also disappear for a year or more. Here's how the sores play out: [br>[br>There is never a blister. They always start out as a very small, flat sore (almost like a very tiny round rug burn). Even early on, it weeps a clear fluid. The sore then grows in size and starts to break down from underneath (becoming concave). The surface becomes yellow, tight, and very painful. The size continues to increase (up to the size of a thumb nail, though usually the size of a pinky nail or slightly smaller). Then the yellow tight surface becomes soft, continuing to weep a clear or slightly yellow fluid (still concave), and she is able to remove it with a tweezers. Once removed, the tissue underneath is raw, spotted with at least one, if not several tiny red dots. At this point, the sore slowly begins the healing process (atleast a week or two), ultimately leaving a permanent scar behind. Years ago, they were only on her arms. When she was pregnant with our twin daughters, they were largely concentrated on her tightly stretched abdomen, and currently, they are only on her legs. [br>[br>Other background info: We've been to several dermatologists, who find it a mystery. One believed she was self-inflicting them. Another believed that it was some form of auto-immune condition (I'm leaning in this direction). The Mayo Clinic did a core sample of one of the sores, and found nothing (no bacteria, etc.). They seem to be triggered by eating certain foods (especially fats that are solid in room temp - butter, partially hydrogenated oils, palm kernel oil), but might well also be triggered by stress. There have been times of great stress when she did not get the sores, so that alone is not the cause. She's also gluten sensitive, though the sores associated with Celiac appear to start as a blister, and then break down. My wife's sores never blister, but start flat and then progress to a concave shallow crater (deep crater once she removes the softened yellow surface). [br>[br>We're at our wits end. Does this sound like anything anyone has read about or experienced before? Any insights or suggestions? I have a photo I could post if there's a way to do so.