Impetigo

[Savannah]

I suffer with cystic acne from time to time. About 2 weeks ago I had about 3 spots pop up, one near my eye/top of nose and 2 at side of my mouth/chin They were the usual hard lumps, that balloon and sometimes get a yellow head. After 10 days of using TCP liquid and my Zineryt antibiotic topical acne treatment from GP they got little yellow heads on them that oozed yellow fluid. That happened over the weekend, they felt very swollen and sore.

I decided to see GP yesterday as I felt the ZIneryt wasn't helping at all, it was just drying them out even more. My GP said that they had a secondary infection, he thought the spots had become infected so gave me Fusidic acid cream. He asked if any of my children have impetigo, they haven't and he said it won't be that then, it will be my spots.

I went home and googled pictures of impetigo and the symptoms and scared myself that I had it after reading that in rare circumstances it can lead to septicemia. Trust me to go looking, I very rarely google as I know it can be dangerous, but I didn't think Impetigo was anything but a mild skin condition

The GP said in 2 days I should notice a difference, but I am seeing him next Monday if no better. I am just worried now it is impetigo, because why would he have asked if the children ahd it if he thought it was just my spots? My friends have had it in the past and they said my spots do not look like it as it is very itchy and the crusts are very hard and golden. Where as mine are raised red hard lumps that keep getting heads on them. Yes they go scabby but after using all the Zineryt and TCP liquid I thought it was just dry skin, as do my friends but I can' t help but worry why GP said that. They don't itch at all either, is that a good sign I don't have it?

I have a fear of blood poisoning so this has knocked my anxiety a bit.

Any words of wisdom?

[countrygirl]

Focus on the word RARE in blood poisoning from impetigo - as in any skin infection there is always the rare risk that you can get blood poisoning but it is extremely rare. I worked at a Dr and impetigo was quite a common disease amongst school children, the biggest problem was usually that they looked horrible and didn't want anyone to see them but I never heard of anyone getting ill from it, once scabies got into the surgery and the cleaner caught it and we all had to wear srugincal gloves for 2 weeks to stop anyone else catching it, I loved that one!

My son had cystic acne when he was teenager and we tried all sorts but nothing got rid of it completely and he had a couple of constant cysts on his nose which were a bit disfiguring then I found tea tree oil and we put the neat oil on the blind cysts twice a day and a week later the cysts burst and went away without leaving a mark. He then used to wash his face in very weak solution of tea tree oil every day and never had another cyst. Might be worth a try???? It certainly worked for him.

On blood poisoning you would know very quickly if you had this - my son got this from standing on a piece of grit in a changing room when he also had athletes foot and he got a huge abcess and was very ill with sky high temp and the shivers and two red lines started travelling up his leg from his foot - Dr knew straight away what is was and he was into hospital on an iv drip for 5 days and was fine (phew) but he was told that it was combination of athletes foot and a piercing injury and then wearing waterproof socks in his job that had caused the blood poisoning.

Unless there is an outbreak of impetigo at your childrens school then its almost certainly not this as your Dr says.

[Savannah]

Thank you Countrygirl, that is a ressuring reply.

I am such a worrier when it comes to septicemia.

Did your sons cystic acne ever weep yellow from them? sorry to ask. Mine swell up huge, and get little yellow heads on them and the stuff tries to ooze out. Not nice.

[countrygirl]

My sons spots/cysts were horrible and would take weeks to get a head on them and then when they burst it was yukky. He thankfully grew out of it by time he was in his late teens but I remember he had a terrible time of it from 12-15.

His was obviously hormonal - have you always had yours or is it something relatively new??

[Savannah]

I had slight spots when I was in my teens.

Then on and off throughout my life I've had the odd spot here and there, but as soon as I hit my thirties it started like this, cystic acne. I only get a few at a time but they end up pretty big and oozing yellow:-( I am now 32.

Thanks.