Inner Thigh Sores

[neflio]

Hi,

For a while now, I've been getting these sores on my inner thigh around my groin.  They ONLY occur on my thigh, and they will form on both of them.  I've never had anything on the penis, shaft, or anything in that area, and they are very specifically on my legs (but still in this region).  I'm 21 years old and still having issues with acne (sadly) and I always assumed they were some type of pimples that happened to be behaving differently in this region due to different tissue types or something.  Let me describe them for you:

There is no clear fluid that is in them.  If they burst open, they bleed a significant amount.  They generally only burst open though from being rubbed against while I'm walking around.  I only get them one at a time, or rather they do not appear on clusters.  I've had them in multiple areas before at the same time.  Also, they have definitely occurred sometimes every few weeks, but then again so have the pimples I cant seem to get rid of in other places...  I have had really large ones sometimes, I think the biggest was a couple centimeters in diameter.  I don't quite know how to explain it but in the area they occur, it feels like the skin can be depressed deeper than normal, especially if they are large they go deeper.  They have left significant scars over time from all of them I have had.

I've looked a bit into Herpes but I have a feeling this is a skin problem not an STD.  Any guesses as to what this is?  I'm obviously too uncomfortable to see a dermatologist in person about it but depending on what you have to say I may try to push myself into going.

Thanks

[Alan Rockoff, MD]

You are describing bacterial folliculitis, not herpes.  You need antibacterial treatment, and can start by washing with an antibacterial soap (Dial, Hibiclens, no prescription needed), plus bacitracin or neosporin on individual spots (also over-the-counter.)  You have no reason to be embarrassed about showing this to a doctor, and in fact that's exactly what you should do, since you may benefit from a course of oral antibiotics.  Never pick or squeeze the spots.  Hot compresses may help when they're large.  Don't worry about this--just get it attended to.

Best.

Dr. Rockoff

[neflio]

Actually a couple centimeters sounds a bit large (I'm horrible at metric and had to look at a ruler).  I think the largest I've had was maybe one centimeter at the very most, and I still am not quite sure on that.  If you need any more information just ask.  Thanks again!