Zit woes

[Will Rickards]

About 2 weeks ago I had a zit on the back of my neck just above the hair line and to the right. It got infected, really bad. I had a fever and shivers and lots of pain. I went to see the doc on Tuesday and they gave me antibiotics and sent me to see a surgeon today. The surgeon drained most of the abscess, which was apparently about an inch deep. It isn't systemic yet but the surgeon made some marks around it and said if it gets any bigger to go to the hospital.

So for all you tough guys like me, go to see the doctor early. I was screaming while he cut it out. No more tough guy.

And I learned something from the doctor. You aren't supposed to clean wounds with rubbing alcohol. It takes the good stuff with the bad stuff. I was cleaning it with that and that was not helping it heal. The doctor said to do warm compresses with a washrag for twenty minutes at a time.

As much as my wife says it is disgusting, she wants to look at it all the time. I'm officially some sort of grotesque monster.

 

[Mercutio]

I can top that...

My ex-'s mother was a SERIOUS hairspray user. She'd had, for as long as she could remember, what she called a "fatty lump" on the top of her head about 2" in diameter and about an inch tall.

For about 40 years.

One day she got a mosquito bite there.

And she scratched it.

To find that the "lump" was a puss-filled goo-monster.

In the end she went to the doctor to find out that she'd had an ingrown hair that'd been growing for that whole 40 years... it was something like 30 inches long, and that a thick layer of puss had grown between her scalp and her skull.

Ewwwww....

After several doctor's appointments, she got it taken care of. They had to cut her scalp open to take care of it all.

<shudder, shudder>

 

[Handruin]

30" puss filled hair cavity. That's pretty f'n gross.

:hurl:

 

[Fushigi]

I had a mass, or puss-infected lump, on my back earlier this year. It was nearly 3" across. Not very high but somewhat deep & right over my spinal column. It was so sensitive I couldn't lean back in a chair let along sleep on my back. Since my wife is a vampire by trade* she stuck a clean pin in it to drain the puss. Make 3 or 4 drainage holes & squeeze out whatever'd come. Daily. For about 3 weeks. Really really nasty discolored puss came out, sometimes squirting up several inches under the pressure. Quite painful, too. I was on the bring of getting a stick to bite on while she was draining it.

We never found out if it was a zit that got infected, an ingrown hair, or someting else. My money's on a zit, though, as I get them when I'm under a lot of stress.

*She's a phlebotomist; one of the folks who draws your blood when you need a blood test.

 

[sechs]

Please stop sharing. Now.

 

[jtr1962]

Please stop sharing. Now.

At least this isn't as bad as Flagreen's poop thread. :lol:

 

[Will Rickards]

Please stop sharing. Now.

I thought I would scare off most with the title: Zit woes.
You may be one of those who likes to look at the disgusting stuff too aye?

 

[Mercutio]

I had a cyst at the base of my spine, also. It was surgically removed, but the scar left my ass crack about 3 inches longer than it should be.
It's really quite embarassing.

 

[Fushigi]

I had a cyst at the base of my spine, also. It was surgically removed, but the scar left my ass crack about 3 inches longer than it should be.
It's really quite embarassing.

Nah, it's just <some deity>'s way of telling you to quit computers and become a plumber. :lol:

 

[Will Rickards WT]

Wanna see a picture?

 

[jtr1962]

Since we're all talking about unattractive growths on the skin, I might as well talk about a problem I've been having for the past few years. It's not as bad as some of the previous things in this thread but if you're easily grossed out don't read any further. Every summer for about the past three or four years I've ended up with a rash. It's started on my underarms. Whenever I sweat, it gets itchy. By mid-summer between sweating and scratching, which prevents any healing, the entire region of my underarms is raw and red. When it gets really bad from further scratching it'll start oozing clear liquid like a healing burn does. It's excrutiating painful, especially when it starts to heal and crusts over. In fact, it generally itches so much when healing that I'll scratch it to the point that it's back to it's previous state. Generally it won't heal completely until a few weeks after the cool weather comes, and I'm not sweating any more. This adds yet another reason for me to hate summer. I've never had this problem until the last few years. I'm at a loss to explain it.

This year it was the worst I've ever seen it. Besides my underarms, my arms ended up pretty red in spots for a week or two, as well as some other parts which I don't care to discuss (use your imagination). Basically, any part of me which was touched often by my hands got a lesser version of whatever it is. Nothing worked to either stop it or ease the pain. I tried bactracin, corn starch, powder, noxzema, toothpaste, and a few other things I don't remember. Most did nothing, some made it worse, especially bactracin, which seemingly provided a perfect growth medium for it. My brother, who knows about drugs from working in a pharmacy, suggested hydrocortisone cream. This finally stopped the itching, which in turn allowed everything to eventually heal. Good thing as well because I was at my wits end by the time I told him about the problem. My underarms burned like hell and my aforementioned unmentionable parts were swollen to about twice the normal size. It was so painful all I could do was lie down and eventually pass out from the pain. It took about two weeks for everything to mostly heal. With the hydrocortisone cream I can control this now so at most it's a slight red area on my underarms. Next summer when it starts again I'll immediately apply the cream.

As I said, I have no idea what this is. Nothing has changed in my diet or hygiene to explain it, other than eating less meat than I used to. However, the diet change started way before this problem. I'm thinking maybe I got something when I went down to the WTC ruins three years ago. I can't think of anything else.

As for zits, other than maybe a very occasional ingrown hair I just never got them, even as a teenager.

 

[Buck]

This is an amazing thread. Sorry, but I have nothing to share. However, a smile of humor came to my face after reading all of these. . . er . . . interesting issues, then sechs reply, and finally, JTR's signature.

 

[Fushigi]

JTR, it's possible you're becoming allergic to your own sweat. I would strongly suggest you get tested for allergies when this starts to happen next year. It could also easily be a fungal infection. If it's that serious, you should really see a doctor about it.

Unless it is an environmental change that you could alter yourself, that is. Did you change deodorant, cologne, or laundry detergent brands, for instance? Start wearing clothes with only certain fabric blends? An interaction between your sweat & anything that gets close to your body is a possibility.

Hydrocortisone cream is a wonderful thing. I occasionally get dry, itchy ear canals. A little cream applied via Q-tip before bedtime clears it right up. Stops the itching & the flakiness. My otolaryncologist recommended it.

BTW, I had noticed allergies slowing getting worse over the years. Mine were generally sinus reactions. I narrowed it to molds as it always got worse right after it rained. Over the years the OTC sinus drugs became less and less effective. Finally, this past spring was unbearable so I got tested to confirm the mold allergy. My reading for most allergens was < 1.5; my mold reaction was 215. Ouch. So now I've got an Allegra prescription that I take whenever I think it's going to act up. I minimize it's use as I can't stand being a slave to a drug. I've also heard that many allergies are a reaction to a loss of certain enzymes in your body and that taking apple cider vinegar pills can re-introduce the enzyme. Dunno if it'll work but the pills are cheap enough so I'm giving it a try.

 

[jtr1962]

It could also easily be a fungal infection. If it's that serious, you should really see a doctor about it.

I seriously thought about doing that this summer. As I said, it was almost unbearable until I tried the hydrocortisone cream. As long as that keeps it under control, I should be OK until I find the cause.

Did you change deodorant, cologne, or laundry detergent brands, for instance? Start wearing clothes with only certain fabric blends? An interaction between your sweat & anything that gets close to your body is a possibility.

I pretty much eliminated any of those causes. I wear the same types of clothes I've been wearing-mostly cotton. I've long been allergic to fragrances of any kind so I avoid colognes entirely, use soaps like ivory, baby shampoo, use hand lotions without fragrance, and don't use deodorant at all (don't worry-I wash often enough that nobody tells me anything ). I've shaved the hair off my underarms for as long as I've had it (usually I do this once or twice a week), so there's no changes there. It's way more sanitary doing that. I look forward to the day when it thins out or I can afford to remove it for good via laser. My mom's lucky in that regard-with whatever hormonal changes menopause brought she also no longer has any underarm hair.

What you said about mold may be a possibility. Although I'm embarrased to admit this on a public forum a good portion of my house, including most of the basement, is a pigsty with junk everywhere. In the basement my father has his "possessions" mostly in cardboard boxes stacked in piles with papers and other stuff interspersed. Parts of the basement occasionally get flooding and the boxes get wet. I imagine there's all kinds of mold growing down there. Also, occasionally our towels sometimes stay wet and end up smelling like mildew. I change them right away but unless they're washed in bleach (which nobody except me does) the mildew spores remain. I'm sure on some level this is fungal related, but I can't pin it down to a specific cause yet.

 

[Will Rickards]

I had a rash on my chest that I would get in the summer mostly.
It was a fungal infection. A little fungal cream and a couple of weeks later it was gone without a trace of ever coming back. I had it for like 3 years before I went to the dermatologist.

 

[Will Rickards]

Pictures as links so not to gross everybody out
Before it got too bad
A couple days later
After surgery the hole full of puss