Bacteria, Fungus?

[deejah]

pardon the lengthy post

symptoms

small red spot on neck soon grew larger than a quarter, then another near by, then another on the other side of the neck

they seem to be growing and spreading and have a yellow or white center, that appears to take up about half the space inside

there is little to no pain or itching and they look more pussy and wet then dry and scaly

after talking to a few pharmacists and using an anti bacterial cream,

two things happened

1 - i had a blinding flash of light that i had been handling a thai kitten closely to my neck a week or two before and right after, broke out in a large bright red bumpy rash on my neck, which subsided in about 24 hours

a few days or so after that these awful spots started to appear and grow

2 - i googled rash images and text and the rashes and descriptions seem to fall more under ringworm than bacteria

i am not so sure why the pharmacists mostly think bacteria but one did ask me if i handled any pets! BRAVO

i do not think Fucicort can treat fungus so i may switch soon

the other bcteria cream suggested was bactroban (might that treat fungus or only bacteria)

fucicort insert says it will not address fungus

though when i was a kid i was told they are the same infections (jotch itch)

any and all helpful input welcome

i really do think i go this from the kitten because of the previous rash and location,

this is uncommon i think but most probable, unless the spots are neither bacterial or fungal

oddly there is little itching or pain perhaps due to the location

a doctor may be in order

though most small maladies can be self addressed

thanks

[phaethon]

It may just be tropical acne - keep the area clean and as dry as possible. when I shower I wash my neck with a little head and shoulders shampoo which seems to help.

[Naam]

i had been handling a thai kitten closely to my neck

please describe kitten

[harrry]

i had been handling a thai kitten closely to my neck

please describe kitten

A nice furry pussy I am sure.

[Sheryl]

Would help to see a picture.

There is usually some itching with ringworm. Also some scaling-like appearance.

Anyhow no harm in trying clotrimazole cream, available in countless brand names and cheap. Do not get one that contains clotrimazole plusbetamethasone, a steroid, just clotrimazole by itself.

[lopburi3]

Is betamethasone use in an occasional use cream really an issue? And why? It would not appear to be the enough exposure to be a sex change or performance enhancing issue so it must be something else? Have used Betnovate-N cream in the past for cuts and doctor panicked and said the same thing "steroid" but did not explain.

[dddave]

I had a similar infection on my foot recently and used QUADRIDERM cream which I have used successfully in the past for sores. Once again, It did the trick within days.

It has anti-fungal, anti-bacterial and anti-inflammatory ingredients and is available at most local pharmacy's: about B150 for a 15G tube.

Edited December 2, 2011 by dddave

[deejah]

great replies mostly thanks

i would be happy to describe the CAT

if i was certain it was a serious request

at first i was going to use only fucidern but took fucicort which has coritcosteriod

perhaps it is the steriod that is helping now

though you advise against

so now at least i have a few diagnostic options:

tropical acne came up in my search at first

but i did not know acne could be so large!

and in my life acne has rarely been a problem or issue

and did not sound or look right

regarding anti dandruff shampoos

in the past

i did have crusty and flaky issues with my scalp, eyebrows, and eyelashes

selineium suflide shampoo (boots) cleared that up after one washing

miracle stuff!!!!!

really not sure if i should try that on my neck

but might be worth a shot

QUADRIDERM

sounds like the best since it covers so many bases

@ddave any idea how and why you got rash/infection?

did you have one or more than one spot?

i am almost convinced it was that little CAT i held so close for so long

it liked to cuddle around my neck

i know it is rare but possible to get ringworm this way

plus the allergic reaction (huge rash allover my neck) after was a literal RED flag

though a coincidence it could be

thanks for the great responses

most helpful indeed

great forum as usual

i will try to upload pics of my neck

though a few online pics of ringworm look almost identical

except mine might have larger yellowish/whitish inner circles

[deejah]

a few days on fucicort

seems to be doing the trick

god bless the pharmacists and the nurses

as i dont care much for the docs

thanks all again

[Apache704]

Had the same thing only on my upper legs. I think it was ringworm. Round red with whitish center and spread quickly. I used Starda.B anti-inflammatory drug, which contains 10.0 mg. Clotrimazole, Betamethasone 1.0. I have a dog and I could have contacted it from her. Spread the cream over the infected area and after a few days you will notice it disappearing. Worked for me.

[deejah]

it seems to be clearing up

itching just a bit

but if ringworm the anti bact fucicort i am using would/should not help

unless it is simply responding to the steriod

and/or going away on its own

or was a bacterial infection after all

Sheryl

why did/do you advise against Betamethasone?

that is something i am still wondering about

thanks all again

Edited December 4, 2011 by deejah

[seekingfriends]

i had been handling a thai kitten closely to my neck

please describe kitten

ring worm .

[sunspun]

certainly sounds like ringworm, and it's common to get it from kittens in thailand. especially during the rainy season when everything is moist. last year everyone in our family got it (and i mean EVERYONE) though for some reason i had more spots and it lasted longer on me that anyone else :/ i used several different kinds of creams and none seemed to really work, with the exeption of a little green ointment called key peung. it's very hard to get out of the house though, so make sure everything is washed washed washed! i had a friend come visit 2 months later and ended up getting it from somewhere in the house she was not impressed!

[deejah]

yeah well the really strange thing is

it is responding to an anti bacterial cream fucicort

which clearly states it is not for fungus

soooo

it is either ringworm and it is the steroid that is clearing up the symptoms

or it is getting better on its own (unlikely if ringworm, no?)

or it is not ringworm, but bacteria

sure as heck looks like ringworm in the pics i have seen

once again

when i was younger with jock itch

the stuff i read said fungus and bacteria were the same

but now i read this is not the case

also it does not itch much if at all

but maybe because it is kind of a dry area, the neck

thanks for the input

i am simply happy it is getting better and i don't still look like i have been attacked by a horde of vampires

oh and the cat connection for me was brilliant

i just did not make the connection for over a week

but i am sure because after that kitten snuggled both sides of my neck

i broke out BIG TIME in an aweful huge red rash for a night

plus the cat looked a bit mai sabai

and well the spots appeared on both sides of my neck a few days later

pretty sure it was the cat

and i still am piqued why it is advisable not to use the Betamethasone

(for a couple of weeks)

[Sheryl]

Betamethasone and all other steroids act by suppressing the body's inflammatory response. In cases where there is no infection present and the rash is of a purely allergic/inflammatory nature this is fine, in fact the best approach. However where infection is the underlying cause, the steroids will temporarily reduce the symptoms without curing the underlying infection and in fact may worsen the underlying infection especially if of a fungal nature.

Since you indicated the rash resembled ring worm, that is why I recommended against betamethasone...you risk making things worse in the long run.

Now that you have already used it and seem to be improving there are 3 possibilities:

1. You had a bacterial infection sensitive to the fusidic acid component of fucicort - unlikely based on your description

2. You did not have an infection at all but rather an allergic/inflammatory response to the cat: something i the cat's fur or possibly fleas if the cat had any - from your description, very possible, in which case the cream will work and the problem will stay gone when you discontinue it.

3. You had an underlying, probably fungal, infection and the rash is being temporarily suppressed by the betamethasone component of the fucicort...in which case once you stop the cream it will return with a vengance and likely worse than before.

[deejah]

Betamethasone and all other steroids act by suppressing the body's inflammatory response. In cases where there is no infection present and the rash is of a purely allergic/inflammatory nature this is fine, in fact the best approach. However where infection is the underlying cause, the steroids will temporarily reduce the symptoms without curing the underlying infection and in fact may worsen the underlying infection especially if of a fungal nature.

Since you indicated the rash resembled ring worm, that is why I recommended against betamethasone...you risk making things worse in the long run.

Now that you have already used it and seem to be improving there are 3 possibilities:

1. You had a bacterial infection sensitive to the fusidic acid component of fucicort - unlikely based on your description

2. You did not have an infection at all but rather an allergic/inflammatory response to the cat: something i the cat's fur or possibly fleas if the cat had any - from your description, very possible, in which case the cream will work and the problem will stay gone when you discontinue it.

3. You had an underlying, probably fungal, infection and the rash is being temporarily suppressed by the betamethasone component of the fucicort...in which case once you stop the cream it will return with a vengance and likely worse than before.

great

how can i thank you? :jap:

[peergin]

Why not go and see a dermatologist? I'd recommend Dr. Siri who is widely regarded as one of the best doctors in Thailand. His clinic is on the Eastern leg of the square moat (in Chiangmai) about 100 m North of the Montri Hotel. The Montri Hotel is located at Tapae Gate.

[lopburi3]

Actually it seems to have been re-branded as "Hotel M".

[dddave]

QUADRIDERM

sounds like the best since it covers so many bases

@ddave any idea how and why you got rash/infection?

did you have one or more than one spot?

sorry my reply very late. I believe I got the rash from polluted flood water after a torrential rain a few years ago. I had no way to avoid walking thru it and the rash developed on one foot within days; probably bacterial. It did develop a "Ringworm" like appearance.

I was very happy my area stayed dry during the recent floods.

Edited December 12, 2011 by dddave

[deejah]

well

it must have been ringworm

switched from anti bacterial cream to quadederm

and it started to clear up

it is possible i did not apply properly

i failed to apply twice a day sometimes

and it never completely went away

but did get much better

at one point i started to get little red spots all over my face

(might have been unrelated allergy or something)

SCARY looking

NOW where there were two big red splotches that i think were ringworm

there are lumps a tiny bit sore developing under the skin!!!!!

ideas:

allergic reaction to cream

carcinogenic reaction to cream

parasite underneath skin

ingested carcinogen which attacked a vulnerable site

or something else

a completely unrelated coincidence???

seems highly unlikely

i did see two thai doctors briefly

one said nothing one said cyst

one of them said not to TOUCH them

touching it does seem to aggravate the appearance

now getting hard to shave my neck

getting more scared now

[Sheryl]

Most likely just clogged pores/sebaceous glands from the cream leading ti inflammation -- essentially the same process that occurs in adolescents when they get acne.

ANy medication in cream form does unfortunately tend to clog pores. Just leave it alone, keep your face clean but use a gentle soap only, and let it resolve on its own.