Painful sores

[aasch]

Quite frequently I have been getting these painful sores or blisters on my face that take quite some time to heal. They start out as hard very painful red bumps and eventually become open-sores 1.5cm in diameter. They have mostly shown up on the left-hand side of my face and neck, primarily around the jaw line on my face. As the bumps progress, some swelling below the skin occurs as if it were an infection.

At first, I thought it was just adult acne or infected hairs, but just the other day I woke up and had what looked like a painless/itch-less 'butterfly rash' on the opposite side of my face that went away as the day progressed. Are these signs of lupus?

I have tried all sorts of facial cleansers, acne treatments, even tea tree and cedar oil with no avail!

[Bhupinder Kaur, MD]

Hello,
These can be due to cystic acne, infected hair follicles or even the possibility of rosacea needs to be ruled out. Rosacea is a cutaneous disorder of the central part of the face , such as forehead, cheeks, nose and chin. Pimples or acne are sometimes included as part of the definition.

I suggest to get it examined from a dermatologist. It is very difficult to precisely confirm a diagnosis without examination and investigations and the answer is based on the medical information provided. For exact diagnosis, you are requested to consult your doctor. I sincerely hope that helps. Take care and please do keep me posted on how you are doing.

[teko]

It could be anything from a staph infection of the skin to something called
Erythema multiforme ! The most common predisposing infection is Herpes simplex, but bacterial infections and fungal diseases are also implicated. It has been shown that Herpes simplex virus eradication and even prophylaxis (with acyclovir) can prevent recurrent erythema multiforme eruption. It usually clears up without treatment, but it would be a good idea to get it looked at to see exactly which it is.