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What Causes Pimples On Torso While Being On Muciprocin For Recurrent Boils?

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Posted on Tue, 2 Sep 2014
Question: I'm the mom of a 2nd grader who has mild eczema periodically on knees, shins, thighs, back and wrists. I treat with Locoid Lipocream and it always heals quickly.
He had a note sent home from his school in late May 2014 stating that a Kindergartener had an MRSA diagnosis and that they were taking cleaning precautions all over the school. They said to keep all children's wounds covered with bandages. My son had a bad fall just one day earlier and badly scraped his knee on the sidewalk as well as his arms and face. The school nurse and I were very diligent about keeping his wounds covered. He healed up well, but a week later I noticed a skin-colored boil on his forearm, no where near any of his old wounds, show up one day. I assumed he got bit by an ant. It got slightly bigger the next day, but overall it stayed the same color, shape and size for 3 weeks. Then suddenly it became inflamed and pus-filled, with redness all around it and hot to the touch. I took him to a dermatologist and he said it was a boil that had become infected. He gave me mupirocin ointment 2% to put on it. I then told him about the note from the school about MRSA and he said if the mupirocin didn't work, to try Topicort, which he gave me two sample tubes. The boil took a while to get better, and it was very deep. When the pus drained it left a crater about half the diameter of a dime. I kept it covered with band-aides and treated twice a day. He woke up a week after the dermatologist visit with what we thought was a spider bite on his thigh. We left it alone because it wasn't seeping. That night it was twice as big, inflamed and pus filled. We treated it with mupirocin the first day and then Topicort when no change was seen by the next morning. It erupted tons of pus from deep down. I kept it covered and treated and it improved but left a crater again.
I noticed that I had several tiny painful pimples that had red all around them and were warm to the touch on my lower leg. I had shaved the day before. I began to take MRSA precautions at that point. Diluted bleach baths for me and my son, washing sheets twice a week and never wearing the same clothing again or using the same towels again. All washed in diluted bleach. My son got another red pus filled bump on his opposite thigh and this one was very bad. The warm-to-the-touch redness on the second day had reached down around his thigh toward his inner thigh. It was very deeply inflamed. I took pictures. We went back to the dermatologist and got more ointments and a skin wash. He was skeptical that my bumps, which numbered in the 20s, were MRSA, but gave me a 30 day oral antibiotic for MRSA. It was EXPENSIVE! After my sons third bump finally responded to the ointment over three days and improved, he didn't have any others for three to four weeks. I kept having a few here and there on my hair follicles but after taking the antibiotics, on day 20 I also stopped having any pimples come up on my legs. I finished the antibiotics and though that was that.
Then August 1st, my son got a skin-colored boil on his side. It was the same color and size as the first one he had on his inner arm. I put ointment but didn't cover it. Then he got a mid-sized pimple near his belly button two days later that was inflamed. I treated with ointment and began bleach cleaning and washing again. I got 2 small pimples on my legs again, treated and covered them and they are slowly healing (it's been 7 days). Two more pimples showed up on my legs yesterday. But the biggest issue is that my son has about 15 new pimples this evening, randomly all over his torso and back of his neck. My question is what can I do about prevention that I'm not already doing, and do you think this is really MRSA or something else maybe? Thank you!
doctor
Answered by Dr. Johny Chacko (2 hours later)
Brief Answer:
Recurrent furuncles

Detailed Answer:
Hello,

Welcome to healthcare magic.

I have gone through your detailed history.

I understand that your son has been having recurrent boils which are responding to topical mupirocin. And you had similar lesions and were on an oral antibiotic.

I do not think that pus was taken for a culture test at any point in time. It would have helped to identify the organism and to confirm if it is MRSA.

Now, your son has got pimples all over his torso and neck. From your description, I do not think they could be boils.

Could you please upload clear pictures of the current lesions so that I can assess better? Do take 1 of the entire torso so that I can see its distribution and few close ups.

Has he had chicken pox before?

Does he have any fever now?

Do get back with the clarifications and pictures.

Regards,
Dr. Johny Chacko
Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
doctor
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Follow up: Dr. Johny Chacko (32 hours later)
He has not had a fever in the last few weeks and does not currently have a fever. He has never had chicken pox. How can I send these pictures to you? Is there an upload option that I cannot see on this website? If not, email would be easiest, can you give that out?
doctor
Answered by Dr. Johny Chacko (15 hours later)
Brief Answer:
Could be Chicken pox

Detailed Answer:
Hello,

I have seen the clinical pictures that you have uploaded.

He has multiple tiny papules and papulo vescicles on his trunk.

I would consider the diagnosis of Chicken pox.

The 2 nd possibility is a folliculitis. This is an infection of the hair follicle opening and could occur with a background of previous bacterial infections. However, it does not present with so many lesions in a single crop. So chicken pox would be my 1 st diagnosis.

I would suggest you to take him to your GP for confirmation and isolation if required.

You could apply calamine lotion 2-3 times a day on the lesions. Let him have rest and have plenty of fluids.

Hope this helps you.

Take care.

Regards,
Dr. Johny Chacko

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
doctor
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Follow up: Dr. Johny Chacko (7 hours later)
Thank you. We have taken him to an Urgent Care facility because he awoke yesterday morning with 20 more breakouts. Some of the two-day-old lesions had dried up, but two of them were larger and more pus-filled. He has not been itchy at all, but the number of lesions was concerning. The Urgent Care doctor also concluded that folliculitis was the diagnosis and gave a 10 day prescription antibiotic of Sulphatrim suspension as well as an ointment to lightly put in his lower nasal cavity for staph inside the nose (to prevent recurrence on skin). We are watching him closely to make sure he has no reaction. We have cleaned high-touch surfaces with Lysol spray and washed sheets and towels in hot water and small amounts of bleach. The Urgent Care doctor has said to not treat the lesions with Topicort ointment. and that if he is itchy to put Cortizone cream to prevent spread by itching. Do you agree with this? Also, he said to stop covering with bandages unless they are seeping. Do you agree as well? Thank you again for your opinion!
doctor
Answered by Dr. Johny Chacko (22 minutes later)
Brief Answer:
Folliculitis

Detailed Answer:
Hello,

I am glad you were able to get medical help soon.

To answer your queries, I would not advise you to apply Topicort cream or cortisone cream. They ate steroid creams which is in fact contraindicated in presence of an infection. In case he has itching
, you can give him Benadryl orally at bedtime.

Do not cover the lesions. It would not allow faster healing and will macerate the skin.

Hope this helps you.

Regards,
Dr. Johny Chacko
Note: Hope the answers resolves your concerns, however for further guidance of skin related queries consult our Dermatologist.Click here to book a consultation

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
doctor
Answered by
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Dr. Johny Chacko

Dermatologist

Practicing since :2005

Answered : 1916 Questions

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What Causes Pimples On Torso While Being On Muciprocin For Recurrent Boils?

Brief Answer: Recurrent furuncles Detailed Answer: Hello, Welcome to healthcare magic. I have gone through your detailed history. I understand that your son has been having recurrent boils which are responding to topical mupirocin. And you had similar lesions and were on an oral antibiotic. I do not think that pus was taken for a culture test at any point in time. It would have helped to identify the organism and to confirm if it is MRSA. Now, your son has got pimples all over his torso and neck. From your description, I do not think they could be boils. Could you please upload clear pictures of the current lesions so that I can assess better? Do take 1 of the entire torso so that I can see its distribution and few close ups. Has he had chicken pox before? Does he have any fever now? Do get back with the clarifications and pictures. Regards, Dr. Johny Chacko