Elbow virus of sorts

[ljs00b]

About 7 years ago, I had a dreadful case of tonsillitis, with a very high fever.  I went to the doctor who prescribed strong antibiotics which eventually cleared it up.  However as the illness was going away, I developed a bizzar spot on my right elbow.  It started out as a very warm red circle about the size of a silver dollar, itching deeply.  After a few days it developed a large blister filled with puss.  This popped and the spot eventually healed and went away.  Until I got sick again.  And there it was again in the same manner as the first time.  As the years have progressed I continue to get these strange occurrences.  It doesn't always manifest the same way.  Sometimes I get a big, red, itchy circle but instead of turning into a blister it just goes away.  Most recently it comes as many small, itchy, red bumps that don't ever blister.  Always that same right elbow-never spreads anywhere else, always goes as mysteriously as it comes.  It no longer necessarily preceeds an illness, but occurs at strange times over and over again.  What is this and is there something I can do about this?

[Alan Rockoff, MD]

It sounds odd.  A guess would be that this is an allergic reaction to the antibiotic being used to treat the tonsillitis, but that's just a guess.  I suggest that you photograph these bumps when they come and show either the bumps or the photos to a skin doctor.  You might have to be seen on short notice, so that a skin test can be done when the bumps are fresh.  There isn't any other way I can think of to find out what this is.  You won't get the answer on the internet.

Take care.

Dr. Rockoff