I started out strong today but by the end of the day I was ready to break. I think it was in response to a stressful day at work. I also have this terrible, terrible rash that I get when fasting and the scars that it has left all over my body are really distressing. It’s also terribly uncomfortable and only seems to get worse the longer I fast. So, I originally wanted to make it to 21 days but now I’m not even sure if I 'll make it to Friday (17 days).
Going on Day 16
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This sounds like you have “Keto Rash”, this is something from our resident medical expert who is getting her Masters in Public Health and completed a 30 day fast here in December.
@Anna
It’s an inflammatory condition in the skin which shows in red, itchy rashes around the neck, armpits and chest usually! If you’re otherwise healthy, there’s a correlation between the rash and going into Ketosis, since when you’re in ketosis, sweat (even in small amounts) can contain the ketone body acetone and can be irritating at high concentrations if your skin is sensitive! Unfortunately I haven’t come across many solutions for it! I was lucky that mine went away even while I was still fasting! I believe that the Keto rash, like a majority of skin rashes may get worse when exercising a lot or expose the skin to friction och moisture!
If you’re able to deal with it for a couple of days, (maybe weeks?) you might see how it evolves over time, and (hopefully 
) it might fade after a little while being in Ketosis, since the body adjusts to being in Ketosis after a period of time! I’d suggest making sure you’re not sweating excessively and maybe shower more often than you’re normally used to when not being in Ketosis, so the acetone amounts that are released through the skin doesn’t irritate your skin more!
I’ve heard that the rash can get triggered by micronutrient deficiencies as well (if you’re experiencing this while eating a Keto diet too). I don’t exclude carbohydrates from my diet myself so I don’t have any experience in that part though!
Hope you’ll find a solution for it! Best of luck!
I know that this forum is here to support water fasters on their journeys, but in a case of scarring rashes, I would be remiss in encouraging the fast. I recommend consulting someone who can tell you how to fast and avoid the rash, particularly if it is causing scars. Assess why you are fasting and break it down into smaller fasts that don’t lead to a rash? A doctor ended my fast due to muscle cell loss. If fasting replaces one problem with a worse one, then the point of fasting is lost.
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