Wound That's Not HEALING

[Melogrl]

It all started out, as what I remember a small little, what looked to me like a wart and it itched really bad.  I thought it was just a little rash.  I scratched it constantly.  It's located right on my chest/neck area, between the two bones of my neck.  After a week, it grew into a small dime sized leison on my neck.  At this point it was just oozing, oozing and ozzing liquid (Yellow or white), and it was itchy.  The surface of my skin is FLAT, no bumps or anything.  It's just a wound on my skin.  It's really embarassing, so I've been using a Band-Aid on top of it because I don't want anyone to see it when I'm working.  After a couple of days it just got really crusty and yellow.  I went to my dermatologist and he diagnosed it as Herpes.  He was trying to figure out what it looked like before, how it got to this stage, and I explained to him the best as I could, as I did to you.  I said to myself, "Herpes on the neck?"  At this point it's about two weeks in and it just hasn't healed.  It will crust over and everything looks fine but u will see some ooozing.  I try my best to let it get air, as recommend by the doctor.  My dermatologist recommended that I used Bacatracin.  But that just didn't work!!!!!  I had called him back, and I had told him that I then started getting little bumps on my (hands, front of hands, the middle finger and little bumps on the front legs and now stomach.  Oh, and arms, but not too many there).  I have about 10 bumps on my left hand and five bumps on the oother, very sporatically.  They ITCH SOO MUCH!!!.  I have it on my legs, bottom of my back feet.  On my hands they just scab and ozze tooooo.  But they are small and itchy, like white heads almost.  At this point the dermatologist recommended that I use  Hydrocortizon 1%, and that didn't work.  THE HYDROCORTIZON WAS ONLY RECOMMENDED FOR MY HANDS, FEET, ETC).  I finally went to my doctor and he looked at the wound/rash on my neck and he said "That doesn't look like Herpes."  He said that looks like a bacteria infection.  My doctor then gave me an antibiotic called Cephalexin 500 mg, for ten days.  I have been taking for five days now and I've noticed results on the second day.  I went, today, to clean it with perioxide water and I went and put Caladril, the pink bottle thinking that it just might stop the itching and it JUST MADE IT WORSE!!!!!!!! The wound has gotten bigger.  It's like fleshy skin.  When the wound starts ozzing it comes out in small dots.  I'm just soo confused as to what I have, and I need a cure!!!!!!!    Do you have a name for it????  Any suggestions? ????  Right now it's dry, and it has left a very ugly mark on my neck.  I will be going back to my doctor tomorrow and maybe he can give me a cream.   Please Help!    

[Alan Rockoff, MD]

No, I don't think it's herpes.  I think you might have a superficial bacterial infection, but mostly what I think you have is anxiety and the habit of picking and scratching yourself.  If you do pick and scratch, you simply must stop.  That way your doctor can diagnose you properly and make you better.  From what you've written, I have no doubt that you can be completely cured.

Best.

Dr. Rockoff

[Alan Rockoff, MD]

No, I don't think it's herpes.  I think you might have a superficial bacterial infection, but mostly what I think you have is anxiety and the habit of picking and scratching yourself.  If you do pick and scratch, you simply must stop.  That way your doctor can diagnose you properly and make you better.  From what you've written, I have no doubt that you can be completely cured.

Best.

Dr. Rockoff