Bumps

[davidp604]

I've had these bumps, maybe acne, on my butt for most of my life......what is the cause of these bumps? I also have rosacea. How do I treat this problem or cure it? Is it a dietary issue? Should I see a specialist?

[Bhupinder Kaur, MD]

Hello,

Your symptoms are suggestive of boils. A boil is a furuncle (larger bump) that is round, tender, pus-filled and raised on the skin. A carbuncle is when a bacterial infection spreads and other boils are formed.

For immediate relief, you can apply a hot compress to the area or take a sitz bath by sitting in a tub of warm water about 6 or 8 inches high for about 20 minutes. Also, after shower gently pat dry your buttocks. Keep the area clean by washing with an antibacterial soap. Also wipe the region down with alcohol or an antiseptic solution, such as Betadine, to try to prevent the infection from spreading. Changing your clothes, sheets, towels, and washcloths daily and washing them in extremely hot water can also help prevent the infection from spreading.pls don’t squeeze these boils as they may then lead to scarring.

Hope it helps.Take care and pls do keep me posted on how you are doing.

[BhumikaMD]

Hi,

Nothing can be said with  surety without having a look at the lesions.

This seems to be a case of folliculitis from your description. Folliculitis is the inflammation of one or more hair follicles.

Folliculitis of the buttocks is common and unimportant.  You might try putting an antibiotic ointment like bacitracin or neosporin in your nostrils every night for a month, because staph germs hang out there and sometimes "seed" other body parts.  Do not pop these lesions.

This condition is commonly seen from the friction caused by wearing tight clothing.

Folliculitis starts when hair follicles are damaged. In most cases of folliculitis, the damaged follicles are then infected with the bacteria Staphylococcus (staph).

They appear as pimples or pustules located around a hair follicle, usually preceded by or associated with itching skin.

You can treat this with topical antiseptic ointment which is adequate for most cases.
Topical antibiotics such as mupirocin or neomycin containing ointment can also be applied on the bumps to hasten the resolution.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Folliculitis

It would be advisable to consult a skin specialist for your symptoms and a proper clinical examination.

Let us know if you need any other information and post us on how you are doing.

Regards.