facial skin rash

[Trv]

3 or 4 days ago I began to develop a skin rash on my face. Small red blisters, they weep a small amount of clear fluid. Not painful.

I am in good health, with no previous medical conditions. I am surprised to get this.
I am teaching in rural Thailand and there is no medical immediately available.

Any clues would be useful. Do I need to see a Dr urgently? Or just wait till it goes away? Or spread something on my face?

[Trv]

All good now. :)

[jemma116]

That's good to know.  The antibiotic is killing off the bacteria.

Sometimes you can get impetigo when the immune system is low.  So ensure you have a good healthy diet and not too much stress in your day.

Ensure you wash your hands after using the toilet and before eating food and don't touch your face,

[Trv]

On the road to recovery. My lesions (ick) are less pronounced, and getting smaller. Ahhh medicine.

[Trv]

Thanks. I am on the right track. I should have mentioned that the Dr's English was not great (but she was cute, as were the nurses in their bright yellow uniforms). In these situations I am always concerned about the possibility of a major miscommunication (birth control pills!).

$3? This was 100 Baht in Thai money. This was a public hospital, open to all locals. A day harvesting sugar cane will earn you 500-800 baht. A good tip is 10-20 baht. So, not overly expensive for locals (those that have work or have money).

Additionally, though I did not check, it is often the case that a foreigner is charged more. I got rabies innocs a few years back. This cost me 800 baht (as opposed to $500 in Australia), but it is free to locals.

This is not widely known, but the Thai government does not pay much in the way of drug company royalties. It gets away with this as a sizeable % of the world drug supply is manufactured in Thailand, and Thailand is a good and long standing US ally.

[jemma116]

As you have been prescribed with an antibiotic, that is a good thing and hopefully it will clear up the infection.  You should notice an improvement in a few days.    Dicloxacillin is used is used to treat skin infections.  Do make sure that you go to see the doctor for a follow up as she requested.

You have a bacterial infection, and it needs treating.  
Being given an antibiotic (cream or tablets), taking you 20 mins and a cost of $3 sounds pretty good to me.

I don't know the value of $3 in Thailand, but hope that is not very expensive.

Glad that you went to the hospital, saw a doctor and was prescribed with an antibiotic.

Best wishes.

[Trv]

Thanks for the advice. The state of play is:

Today, I made the trek to a village hospital on my bike on a bumpy road. The dr diagnosed this as a bacterial infection, and gave me antibiotics: Dicloxacillin, 250mg. 20 capsules, taken 4 times a day, and requested I revisit on Tuesday for a followup. I asked about cream, but she (the dr) told me that there was no cream available, apart from a steroidal, which was not advisable.

How does that sound?

Apparently, this is common in this part of Thailand, most people get it when young.

On the flip side, the entire process, including meds (they gave me a bag of paracetamol as well), came to $3, and took 20mins.

[jemma116]

You will need to get an antibiotic cream to treat the infection.

Follow the advice I gave you to stop it spreading.

Wishing you a speedy recovery.

[Trv]

That's it exactly. Thanks.

[jemma116]

Having seen your picture, it looks like it may be impetigo.  I presume the spots burst, crust over and then weep?

If this is impetigo, it is very contagious.  So do not share pillows or towels and try not to touch the spots.  

You would need an antibiotic cream to treat impetigo.