bug bites? 3 on inner thighs, cluster on hairline at nape of neck

[minkin7]

i recently started staying at my parents house as i am helping them clean and update the space. the particular room i am staying in had 60 year old carpeting and i have been tearing it up in sections as i box things up and get rid of furniture. i have sciatica, so i always sleep with a pillow between my knees and i ended up with 2 matching bug bites on my inner thighs within a few days of staying here. they looked almost like pimples, but never yielded any discharge, just felt like hard bumps and eventually went away after treatment of neosporin on medical tape (i am allergic to bandage adhesive).

now i have a cluster of similar bumps (which i cannot see directly) on the back of my neck at the hairline specific to the left side. my mother looked at them and described them to me and it sounds exactly like what i saw on my legs.

none of these bumps were ever itchy, just painful and sensitive. i plan on scheduling a doctors appointment this week as i am now very much concerned about the situation, but i was wondering if anyone has experienced this before and can offer some advice until i can see my doc. i want to know if there is anything i should ask or tell him. i will try to get someone to take a picture for me so i can upload it. i tried and all i could get was a blurry shot of neosporin-soaked hair with red spots underneath.

[Bhupinder Kaur, MD]

Hello,
From your symptoms it looks like folliculitis. Folliculitis starts when hair follicles are damaged by friction from clothing or blockage of the follicle. In most cases of folliculitis, the damaged follicles are then infected with the bacteria Staphylococcus (staph).

Please keep the area clean and apply some topical antiseptics. Also wear loose-fitting cotton clothing and use an antibacterial soap or mild soap like dove. Avoid any kind of cosmetics. Topical antibiotics such as mupirocin or neomycin containing ointment are also useful. In case the symptoms persist then oral antibiotics may be needed. Please consult a dermatologist in that case.

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.