I have had re-occuring boils in certain places. My PCP told me because of the Auto-Immune disease...of course...it effects the whole body. These boils are very painful.
It is like my whole system is attacking itself and once one thing is over and done...something else comes up. (SMALL VENT)
I am feeling very drained. I can feel a FLARE coming on because of the infection in my body right now.
My husband had CA-MRSA. It is an certain type of STAPH infection that causes the skin to form sores. It is resistant to all antibiotics accept VACOMICIN and one other STRONG antibiotic. The doctors believe that I was the carrier of the MRSA, that it was in the area that I had surgery on and on my skin and that is how my husband got it. He was very sick from the MRSA and had to have surgery to remove the infected areas. Funny thing was that...I had surgery on an infected hair folicle one month prior to him getting sick. So, I guess all in all, I was the one carring it. My husband is as strong as an ox. He never gets sick...until this. Now...they just seem to keep coming back...at least on me. He hasn't had a break out for at least 8 months. I am afraid that this thing is never going to go away.
Has anyone gone through this? Roblyn I get something similar. You should see a dermatologist for a definite diagnosis. They need a clean, new one to do a biopsy. Your RD can do this as well. With me, they think it is vasculitis. But mine is not contagious. It is possible a good run of antibiotics might make it go away since your husband's was treated that way. You can try putting hot tea bags on them for some relief. Also, clean them with iodine and then put an anti-bacterial ointment on them. But the dermatologist is your best bet with getting a biopsy. RA can affect your skin because it is a system just like your eyes, heart and lungs. And it is horrible looking and painful. If you find out something else that works, let me know. Thanks Marisa & Deanna for your advice. I am have called the doctor and have an appt next week. Also...i have been washing up with a special soap and will be washing all my sheets and things once i get home tonight. Thanks again for all the advice...I am truly Grateful. just had something weird like that first they looked like bites got very itch then they turned bright red and then went away... well they came back in the same exact space.... so get sent to a dematologist but alas he said infected hair follicles.. ummmmmm ok if he said so but really I think he had no clue what they were..... they scared me just like alot of things are these days.... gosh Yes, we had this, passed it back and forth, and it got serious. (It can get much worse than just the boils) Even after we were both over it we both had to use a special antibiotic cream to cover the whole body, doing this multiple times over a few days, to help be sure it was gone. After this experience I became the queen of bleach. Now I will only use sheets and towels that can be bleached, and they get bleached all the time. The bathroom and kitchen get thoroughly bleached or antiseptic-ized. Bleach and cleaning fumes are not the best thing for you, but they're good for killing those awful "bugs". Regular cleaners and detergents may not be good enough. Good luck. This stuff is no fun. Crunchy, thanks for the background info on the bug and hospitals. I get wierd "sores" and I never got them before. I think it is the meds and the RA. I also am bad about showering with Brett not here
RK I am the queen of bleach too. I keep a diluted bottle near my kitchen sink. If I hand wash anything I use it, on the counters, floors, everywhere I can think of. Problem is -my sweet darling daughter is a slob and sometimes it worries me. She got some very bad habits in the mental hospital as they would always have a poor minimum wage worker clean up after the patients. I am trying to teach her but I need patience. I get mad and I don't want to lose my temper on pred, so much of it I overlook and talk to her about later. Now that my flare is subsiding, we can work on it more.
Yes I get them too.
I've had this problem once. I would get several boils at once. They would start out small and then two would become one huge boil. Very painful and the doc would have to lance them.
When you have them, you have to take extra steps to stop them. First of all, keep everything that you wear separate from the rest of the clothes. Wash them in hot water and make sure that you rinse them well too. The germs can live for up to 10 days on your clothes. Swab all areas that you have touch, when you have a outbreak, with one of those anti-baterial wipes. Wear disp. gloves when handling your soiled dressings and bag them for disp. Remember to keep the hands wash.
Make sure that you check yourself for broken skin as this is a way of the germs enter the body. This is good old infection control policy. Also make sure that you only use your shower washing clothes only once. It makes for a lot of laundry but will break the pathway for the germs.
Hope that it helps.
Marisa
Copyright ArthritisInsight.com