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Dermatology (Expert Forum)
if you can't tell me what this is, please rule out what it is not
Answered by
Alan Rockoff, MD - dermatology, Child Skin Problems
The Rockoff Dermatology Center
Brookline - MA
This forum is for questions regarding Dermatology issues, such as: skin rashes, acne, birthmarks, skin infections, rosacea, and general skin care.
if you can't tell me what this is, please rule out what it is not
by in a pickle, Jul 12, 2004 12:00AM
I am a 24 year old female. Since puberty, at about 13 years old, I have been breaking out in raised blisters in the radius of where my genital hair grows, especially labias. but never the anal area. It happened first during my first cycle; boils erupted everywhere. It was very painful and they probably lasted at least a month. I didn't tell anyone about the sores at the time due to fear and embarrasment.
I became sexually active at 21, almost 22 years old, and I am puzzled and scared because I haven't read or seen pictures of anything that describes what I'm going through.
I have these episodes still, but not nearly as bad as the first time. This last episode has not cleared and it has been at least five weeks from its onset. Any single blister usually begins with a generalized ache in my lower abdomen, followed by generalized swelling in my genital area coupled with the discharge that I have mentioned below. The genital pain and swelling zones into a pinpoint area where the swelling gets smaller and smaller until there is a raised blister instead of the generalized pain.
My genital area becomes swollen and it aches during these times when there is also a clear mucus-like, but odorless vaginal discharge. Also, I can feel a radiating pain in my lower abdomen during these episodes. I get about two to three blisters at a time and they resemble almost perfectly round blisters one gets after a burn or ant bite.They are sometimes close in together, but don't touch or overlap. If I touch one, an excrutuiating pain extends inward towards the center of my lower abdomen. They are the exact same color as the rest of my skin, and usually noticable only to the touch. They either 'just go down' or they ulcerate on their own. About three months ago, for the first time, there was the same bump on my upper thigh, a round, raised blister. It was not anywhere the genital area.
I had this evaluated by a doctor who quickly dismissed it as ingrown hairs or cellulitis and gave me a Rx for keflex. I didn't take the Rx b/c I was not satisfied with the Dx. My fiance does not have these symptoms and we've been together for almost three years.
Lastly- I am not on birth-control and I've never used tampons, in case that info may be helpful in ruling out some possible conditions.
The blisters seem to indicate an infection, but what kind? Is it even an infection at all? Viral? Can this affect fertility? Is it contagious? Is it treatable? Can one aquire a STD without engaging in sexual activities? IF you can't tell me what this is, PLEASE RULE OUT WHAT IT IS NOT.
Thanks for your time.
I became sexually active at 21, almost 22 years old, and I am puzzled and scared because I haven't read or seen pictures of anything that describes what I'm going through.
I have these episodes still, but not nearly as bad as the first time. This last episode has not cleared and it has been at least five weeks from its onset. Any single blister usually begins with a generalized ache in my lower abdomen, followed by generalized swelling in my genital area coupled with the discharge that I have mentioned below. The genital pain and swelling zones into a pinpoint area where the swelling gets smaller and smaller until there is a raised blister instead of the generalized pain.
My genital area becomes swollen and it aches during these times when there is also a clear mucus-like, but odorless vaginal discharge. Also, I can feel a radiating pain in my lower abdomen during these episodes. I get about two to three blisters at a time and they resemble almost perfectly round blisters one gets after a burn or ant bite.They are sometimes close in together, but don't touch or overlap. If I touch one, an excrutuiating pain extends inward towards the center of my lower abdomen. They are the exact same color as the rest of my skin, and usually noticable only to the touch. They either 'just go down' or they ulcerate on their own. About three months ago, for the first time, there was the same bump on my upper thigh, a round, raised blister. It was not anywhere the genital area.
I had this evaluated by a doctor who quickly dismissed it as ingrown hairs or cellulitis and gave me a Rx for keflex. I didn't take the Rx b/c I was not satisfied with the Dx. My fiance does not have these symptoms and we've been together for almost three years.
Lastly- I am not on birth-control and I've never used tampons, in case that info may be helpful in ruling out some possible conditions.
The blisters seem to indicate an infection, but what kind? Is it even an infection at all? Viral? Can this affect fertility? Is it contagious? Is it treatable? Can one aquire a STD without engaging in sexual activities? IF you can't tell me what this is, PLEASE RULE OUT WHAT IT IS NOT.
Thanks for your time.
Doctor's Answer
by Alan Rockoff, MD, Jul 12, 2004 12:00AM
, Jul 12, 2004 12:00AM
The only way to evaluate blisters is to see them. If you are not satisfied with your prior diagnosis, you need to consult a different doctor. (What is it, by the way, which dissatisfied you? Ingrown hairs doesn't sound so outlandish to me.) Please do not pick or squeeze or traumatize the lesions in any way, and show them to a doctor when they're fresh. Cultures and perhaps biopsies may be needed to clarify what these blisters are and why they're causing so much pain, which I cannot make any real sense of. All your questions are reasonable, but none of them can be answered until you know what you have. I'm sorry that I can't diagnose this sight unseen.
Best.
Dr. Rockoff
Best.
Dr. Rockoff
