Open Sores

[stansplan]

Can any one help me with finding out what is going on with my skin. I have been dealing with this issue for about 6 years. I've always been a picker. Scabs would form and I would pick them but new scabs would form and eventually I would heal. Then about 6 years ago my wounds would turn into open sores. Not every wound but a lot of them. Most started as acne but also some would start just from a scrap or cut. I went to a dermatologist and she just said it was my fault and I needed to talk to someone. She gave me no advise and never tested me for anything. Since then I have been tested for every STD under the sun, all negative. 10 years ago I did not have this problem so this leads me to believe something has changed. That trip to the dermatologist has left me timid about showing or talking about it to another doctor. She was quite rude and never considered that there was even a problem. I thought it was just something I had to deal with and get used to. Then recently my girlfriend has been having similar open sores. They look exactly the same as what I have had. We have been together for 5 years and this is just appearing on her skin now. I have added images I took this morning of a sore on my leg. They always look like this after I take a shower. The sore always has a whitish spot in the middle ....kind of like a little nub. If any one can offer any kind of advise that would be great.

[Sunniemurf]

I live in Baltimore, MD. I am 52 and female.  I bought a boat last summer of 2008 and  cruised around the Chesapeake Bay all last summer.  By Novemberof 2008, I started with an intense itching on my hands that erupted into long water blisters.  As the blisters dried up, they left crusty tracks or scars .  Then I felt an insane itch on my shoulders neck and thighs that erupted into blisters and open sores.  I have truly  suffered painful sores when scratched or disturbed by a washcloth.for over a year now.  I did not use the boat last year nor did I get near the bay but these damned blisters won't heal.  I went to Patient First and the MD there said I was "hurting myself for attention"!!  I was so humiliated!  I went there to get help and instead he wanted to give me a phone number!  I made an appointment with the dermo and she took a biop of two of the blisters and she said she cound NOT find anything wrong with me. (as I stood in front of her bleeding and oozing into a million little round baidaids).I have itched, scratched, bled, oozed, and hid my once beautiful skin under long sleeves all summer.  I don't know what to do.  Any advise is greatly appreciated.  Sunnie

[Bhupinder Kaur, MD]

Hello,
Two possibilities are coming to my mind. First it can be carbuncles or abscess and second possibility is of herpes sores.Boil or carbuncle are caused by infection of the hair follicle by staph aureus. Bacterial skin infections can be spread by shared cosmetics or washcloths, close human contact, or by contact with pus from a boil or carbuncle.
Most individuals have no or only minimal signs or symptoms from HSV-1 or HSV-2 infection. When signs occur, they appear as blisters. The blisters break, leaving tender ulcers (sores) that may take two to four weeks to heal the first time they occur.

The only way of ruling it out is by getting yourself tested for genital herpes. Laboratory tests include: culture of the virus, direct fluorescent antibody (DFA) studies to detect virus, skin biopsy, and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to test for presence of viral DNA. I sincerely advise you to consult a dermatologist and get it ruled out. Please relax as all people are not the same. You can consult a dermatologist who is more tolerant at listening and diagnosing the problem.
Hope it helps. Take care and please do keep me posted on how you are doing or if you have any additional doubts. Kind regards.