Question: Hello, about five weeks ago I was picking at a small scratch on the left side bridge of my nose. Over the course of the next three days it became very red and swollen, my whole nose swelled up. I went to a dermatologist who said it was infected and prescribed sulfameth, but told me if it became more swollen to go to the ER, he did not want to risk the infection spreading to eyes or brain. The next morning my eyelids were swollen and cheeks were hard, I went to the hospital and they said it was a staph infection, a nasal swab was negative for mrsa (although it was not draining at that time so the drainage was never cultured. It is important to note that my newborn and I both had mrsa lesions directly after his birth in the hospital 7 months ago). They kept me overnight and I had iv's of both vancomycin and clindamycin..and then was sent home with ten days of oral clinda. My issue now is that the infection is essentially "gone" but I still have a non-painful lump at the site. It does not seem to be going down anymore. It is moveable but does not seem like it will ever drain, almost like scar tissue. It really bothers me. What are my options? Will it have to be surgically removed or could something like a steroid shot or fudicin cream help this?

Thank you very much. I went to see my dermatologist today and he concurred that it was likely a keloid scar. He injected it with a cortisone shot (I do not know the name/type). He said it will take one to two weeks for it to come down. I was hoping to see some results immediately, but in the last few hours it still looks the same- that is normal, correct?

Would ice packs or warm compresses help at all, or should I just leave it alone?

Thank you again for your help.