Pimple with Black center

My little brother is 8 years old and he has pimple like bumps on his bottom and down his legs. It has a little black center that looks like a blackhead and then its yellow around the black dot and then its red around the yellow. Which is swelling. We took him to the doctor and they gave him cortisone cream to put on it. Also, they gave him antibiotics. When the cortisone and antibiotics were stopped the bumps came back.

I know that cortisone is not good for anyone let alone a child.

If you know what this is and can help me that would be great. What can i do to get these bumps gone?

It has been coming and going over a year now. Also it is extremely painful.

Thank you in advance.

[Bhupinder Kaur, MD]

Hello,
Two possibilities are coming to my mind from these symptoms. First possibility is of boils caused by by infection of the hair follicle by staph aureus. Bacterial skin infections can be spread by shared cosmetics or washcloths, close human contact, or by contact with pus from a boil or carbuncle.

The second possibility is of impetigo. Impetigo is caused by streptococcus (strep) or staphylococcus (staph) bacteria. A culture of the skin or lesion usually grows the bacteria streptococcus or staphylococcus.

I would suggest you to get a culture sensitivity of the discharge from the bumps or a biopsy done to confirm the diagnosis. It is very difficult to precisely confirm a diagnosis without examination and investigations and the answer is based on the medical information provided. For exact diagnosis, you are requested to consult your dermatologist. I sincerely hope that helps. Take care and please do keep me posted on how you are doing.