61 replies to this topic

[Edinburgh Colin]

I have an infected "thing" on my left inner thigh. I had something similar about 6 weeks ago on the back of my left elbow which the doc gave me anti biotics for and after a week it had cleared up, assisted I might add by me banging it on the char in the shower and bursting it! Lots of horrible grey jelly type pus out and a nice crater about 1/2 the size of the tip of you little finger.
Well about 4 weeks ago another appeared on my left inner thigh and it was hot and about 1/2 the size of a golf ball and quite deep under the skin.
Same Dr gave me a 2 week (double )course of anti-b to kill it off and hopefully also remove it from my system. At the end of the course of pills it was almost gone and I as usual just ignored it, bad idea!
It has comeback with a vengeance, same size as before and fiery hot and triggering spasms, Dr prescribed a week course of Co-Amoxiclav . I had a hydrotherapy session on thursday and it was closed and covered by a dressing but it obviously got wet. After getting myself dry there was a patch of skin bright red about the size of an old 1/2 penny and looking like it was about 1 layer thick. I put a new dressing and when I had the district nurse come visit the next morning she took the dressing of and it was burst, lots of the grey jelly pus stuff again she cleaned it up and I have neat wee hole in my thigh that looks the diameter of a match and about 15 mm deep all black inside and hot as hell and sore too. So that was Friday morning and she took swabs, Redressing every morning and night and spraying with iodine around and in the hole and it's continually weeping, not so bad tonight but there is still a big lump deep in my leg.
I'm just a little wary of the results of the swab probably tomorrow.
Anyone had anything like this before? Any idea what it is? I'm nervous because I've been feeling like crap too for about a week or two.

Advice really welcome and any pictures if you have or can google something similar.

[davjed]

could be mrsa......stay on top of it an good luck.

[Edinburgh Colin]

 davjed, on 23 May 2011 - 01:24 AM, said:

could be mrsa......stay on top of it an good luck.

Thanks Djaved that's what I'm worried about. But I guess we'll see today I hope.

[airart1]

have u ruled out a bite of some sort? strange, i've never heard of such, i've heard of cellulitus causing red spots and tissue break down, without pressure, maybe the test will help u figure out whats going on........hope for the best.......

[Edinburgh Colin]

 airart1, on 23 May 2011 - 05:22 AM, said:

have u ruled out a bite of some sort? strange, i've never heard of such, i've heard of cellulitus causing red spots and tissue break down, without pressure, maybe the test will help u figure out whats going on........hope for the best.......

I don't think it's a bite (you never know though) when I get some feedback from the Dr today hopefully, I'll post what She thinks.
EC

[airart1]

yeah, u usually can tell where it bit u if it was too, but your right, u never know, the tests will hopefully get a handle on whats going on.....let us know, strange occurrrance....

Darryl

[roo]

yo colin was also going to mention it may be mrsa ,,hope the result today is good news and keep putting loads of betadine cream on twice daily ,,seens like you are doing the right thing with clean dressing daily etc

let us know how you get on today matey ,,Good luck,,

Roo

[guido]

You've learned the same lesson I have. Ignoring these things is never a good idea! Hope the results come back with just an abscess or infection which wasn't treated long enough last time and was aggravated by its owner who went swimming etc... Had a bad infection and abscess in my bum back in 2005 that caused surgery - and another on my heel in 2007. Both healed up with proper treatment and being religiously looked after by me and dressings nurse, and neither was MRSA. I thought MRSA was quite location specific and didn't travel except by direct contact?

Hope you get it sorted quickly. Let us know.

[Apparelyzed]

Hi Colin,

If it is in a non weight bearing area, it could of been an infected hair follicle, which has developed into a cyst.

Sebaceous cysts are common, and develop into a sac of puss, which due to the sac wall, sometimes needs to be removed for it to heal properly, otherwise it just fills up again.

Regards

Simon.

[wheeliebear75]

I don't know what it is but I wish you the best in getting rid of it.

[Edinburgh Colin]

Thanks to you all, I'll hopefully find out later today. Right now I prefer Simon's suggestion!
EC

[Beautiful]

My friend had something similar. Her family friend, who is a nurse, thought it was MRSA. She went to urgent care and they took samples. It turned out to be molloscum.

[Tetracyclone]

STAY OUT OF THE POOL!!!
Pools are notorious for infection us with all manner of things, but most hot pools. They breed bacteria like crazy and it is not possible to clean the pumping mechanisms thoroughly.

Edited by Tetracyclone, 23 May 2011 - 09:34 AM.

[greybeard]

My money´s on infected hair follicle - triggered by an in-growing hair. Best of luck.

[roo]

 greybeard, on 23 May 2011 - 10:07 AM, said:

My money´s on infected hair follicle - triggered by an in-growing hair. Best of luck.

mine 2 ,,,, hope all goes well today

[Edinburgh Colin]

Well nurse just left and it's not so red and angry, still got the baby mineshaft in the middle though. She will hopefully call me later with the results of the swab.
Cheers folks for your comments.
EC

[Edinburgh Colin]

Well it's not MRSA but I'm not sure I can pronounce the name of what it is, sounds like some kind of Greek waiter or something

- ""something retocopolorocusrucsrep something""-.


Anyway new sript Flucloxacillin 500mg x 4 a day for a week.

And we shall see!!!!..........

[airart1]

wow, you go to wiki and read what the antibiotic is used for? it gives a list of stuff it is used to treat, specifically,

Staphylococcal skin infections and cellulitis – including impetigo, otitis externa, folliculitis, boils, carbuncles, and mastitis<LI>Pneumonia (adjunct)<LI>Osteomyelitis, septic arthritis<LI>Septicaemia<LI>Empirical treatment for endocarditis<LI>Surgical prophylaxis

so it could be a boil or folliculituis, cellulitus, i'm with GB i bet its a hair follicul infected probably.......just get that booger out of there!!!!

Edited by airart1, 23 May 2011 - 03:12 PM.

[edlee]

Follow the above link ( in AA1's post) for folliculitis. Wiki has some things to say you might relate to. Some of the symptoms sound very familiar to your problem.
ed

[Edinburgh Colin]

Sounds like you boys could be right, we need to see I had a 14 day course of the same thing when it first showed up a month ago and it failed to kill it (obviously!). Fingers crossed this time!

[hooplady]

I was going to guess carbuncle, especially since it burst when you banged it. But who cares...just kill it!

[roo]

nice 1 soon be sorted with tabs fingers crossed

[McTavish]

Maybe them wee Scottish midges have been biting you Colin

[Edinburgh Colin]

Well what do you know, got another one! Slightly higher up the same left thigh right in the fold in the groin. Been on Flucloxacillin 500mg x 4 a day for a week again and it seems to have died down. Same deal as last time but 3 little mine shafts this time.
It's Streptococcus and it seems that I am obviously prone to it flaring up.
I thought is was just mildly chaffed skin from the valve on the end of my leg bag tube (temporarily using as a safety net due to increased bladder spasms) but it ruptured and revealed it's true nature.
I am hopefully clear again but have a Dr reviewing it on Monday so if it's not gone then another week of antibiotics it will be.
A bit pissed of as I seem to have been taking too much antibiotics recently for the leg things and also two courses for suspected UTI's that tested negative but exhibited all the symptoms, don't like taking too many antibiotics as it kills off all the wee pals you spend time cultivating in your guts!


Anyway enough griping,
Fingers crossed I'm off the anti-b's for a while.
EC

[brockit79]

 Edinburgh Colin, on 21 October 2011 - 02:33 PM, said:

Well what do you know, got another one! Slightly higher up the same left thigh right in the fold in the groin. Been on Flucloxacillin 500mg x 4 a day for a week again and it seems to have died down. Same deal as last time but 3 little mine shafts this time.
It's Streptococcus and it seems that I am obviously prone to it flaring up.
I thought is was just mildly chaffed skin from the valve on the end of my leg bag tube (temporarily using as a safety net due to increased bladder spasms) but it ruptured and revealed it's true nature.
I am hopefully clear again but have a Dr reviewing it on Monday so if it's not gone then another week of antibiotics it will be.
A bit pissed of as I seem to have been taking too much antibiotics recently for the leg things and also two courses for suspected UTI's that tested negative but exhibited all the symptoms, don't like taking too many antibiotics as it kills off all the wee pals you spend time cultivating in your guts!


Anyway enough griping,
Fingers crossed I'm off the anti-b's for a while.
EC

Hey EC,

Could it be an ingrowing hair which has got infected? A prev ex of mine had this and it is quite common. When you shower try and use an exfoliator; this is a grainy detergent which you can use with hands, flannel or a shower flower thinggy. It is good that you are recovering quickly from these periodic nuisance occurring's which if were pressure related would take longer to heal.

Best of luck
B

[greybeard]

If it's an in-growing hair, it will keep getting infected until you get the hair out. Get you missus to try hooking it out with a sterilized needle. You might be surprised at the length of the thing is she is successful. It will probably be coiled round on itself, so if she can grab a loop the rest should follow fairly easily..

[Edinburgh Colin]

 greybeard, on 21 October 2011 - 09:57 PM, said:

If it's an in-growing hair, it will keep getting infected until you get the hair out. Get you missus to try hooking it out with a sterilized needle. You might be surprised at the length of the thing is she is successful. It will probably be coiled round on itself, so if she can grab a loop the rest should follow fairly easily..

Unfortunately it's not a hair. This one is about 10cm from the last one and is about the diameter of a penny. The infected puss ball for want of a better word was probably the size on a grape and well below the skin.
How it comes to be infected and then develops significantly before it becomes apparent on the surface is a bit of a mystery but given my reduced sensation it can kind of creep up on me. That being said when it breaks the skin and then leaks is is extremely pain full for a few days until the swelling is reduced.
Anyway enough of this, it's not Halloween for another week!
EC

[Trinity]

Sounds like a sebaceous cyst to me, harmless until they get infected

[Edinburgh Colin]

 Trinity, on 22 October 2011 - 09:00 AM, said:

Sounds like a sebaceous cyst to me, harmless until they get infected

It's not in the same spot just general location, as I said about 10 cm from the previous site.
Is it possible that it's a recurring infection but in a different location?
If it was a cyst would it not be the same location?

[Skid]

I had a lump come up in my groin a few years back, when it burst there was about 1/2 a cupfull of gunky pus came out, it drained for ages, no trouble since.