I had them too. I started getting them like 3 years before I was diagnosed with crohns but it came and went. I would get them for a few weeks, it would stop and go away and a few months later, come back. It was so upsetting. The first time it happened, everyone I showed it to thought it was bedbugs (because that was going around the city at the point) so I threw out my mattresses and sent all my clothing and bedding to be steamed - it was a pain (besides for being ugly and embarrassing) and cost me so so much money.
Over the years, I went to dermatologists who all told me they didn’t know what it was – “it will go away” and gave me stupid creams to put on. One even sent me for a chest xray after a biopsy of it because the biopsy showed increase inflammation. That came out clear, thankfully, but she failed to put 2 and 2 together.
Long story short, when my stomach started to get bad and was in the process of being diagnosed, he told me that the things on my foot were most probably related to the crohns. Since I started medication in July, knock on wood, I got one (last week).
I hope no one gets these – its really ugly looking at try getting into a bathing suit or short with those on you feet – no, they are not small or few. For me, they were big and a lot of them – very unforgiving in fact. For a women, its gotta be harder.