complications of skin infections?

[Ramelle]

I have been struggling for over a year now with chronic intense pain in my jaw on the bottom left side.  There have been times when the pain traveled down my neck and even into my chest as well as up the left side of my cheek area.  I thought it was TMJ until it went away on a course of Amoxicillin I took for a sinus infection.  It came back and I spent the next year trying to convince a doctor that it was not TMJ, and had improved on antibiotics.  Finally, six weeks ago, my fourth attempt at an ENT diagnosed me with an infected submandibular gland, although we have been unable to confirm anything because nobody in my area does sialagrams.  Anyway, I have had inflamed red patches under my jaw pretty much in the same area where the pain is for a very long time.  Sometimes I also get eruptions on the other side of my jaw, and then I seem to have some pain on that side as well. I have a lot of facial hair that I pluck and a dermatologist I saw a a year or so ago said they were infected ingrown hairs and gave me a prescription for Doryx.  I tried to take it at the time it was prescribed, but found it made the jaw pain significantly worse so I stopped after a couple of days.  The ENT who diagnosed my gland problem put me on Cefex which I took for eight weeks.  It helped significantly, but did not completely eradicate the pain.  In addition those infected patches of skin remained, so when I stopped the Cefex I started taking the one Doryx at night.  I've been taking it for about a week now and am getting some improvement in the red patches,although it's quite slow.  Much to my surprise, the Doryx actually seems to be having an impact on what remains of the jaw pain.  My question is could the infected skin be the source of my jaw pain or is it likely that the infected gland caused the infected skin?  It takes six months or more to get into a dermatologist in my city and I didn't continue with the one I was seeing because the jaw pain issue was consuming so many visits to doctors trying to get it addressed I didn't have time/energy to deal with anything else.  If it is possible that the infected skin is the cause of my problem and if more aggressive treatment than the Doryx would be warranted I would drive to another city to see a dermatologist.  
Thanks for any advice.

[Alan Rockoff, MD]

I may be wrong, but it seems to me that the key to your problem may be your statement, "I have a lot of facial hair that I pluck."  Although skin inflammation in the area could conceivably come from something else, plucking hairs will almost certainly cause local inflammation, redness, and swollen glands underneath the skin that antibiotics will help up, to a point anyway.

Even if plucking is not at the root of your problem, leaving the hair alone is bound to help, and will make it much easier for the dermatologist to diagnise when you actually get to see one.  (Six months!!??)

I advise you to leave the hair completely alone (bleach or shave them if you muct), apply a topical antibiotic daily like bacitracin or neosporin (OTC), and see a skin doctor in whichever city you can.

Best.

Dr. Rockoff