Cystic acne

[EatTheRich]

I had cystic acne for so long I had roaccutane 3x and it had gone but it's back now with vengeance!

My saving grace is that it's on my neck in my hair line but it hurts so much. Can I do anything about it? How do I pop them?

Gp said to try a cream but it doesn't work because of my hair.

It's so sore that's just one part of my neck, it goes from each ear all the way across the nape of my neck. Upwards maybe an inch or 2. I've probably got 40 cysts in that area, they're all massive under the skin, some have separate heads, some are the size of a 50p piece and have many heads on 1 cyst. I have to have my hair up for work and it's so embarrassing!

Staph infection I've got antibiotics (different ones) I can go to work because my hat covers my head entirely I had just moved it to take a bad photo!

Oh good, at least you’ve got antibiotics.

I made her swab it too so we know exactly what this is! I'm so glad I saw her. Even if 111 did insist that I went to the covid hub because I had a temp

Excellent it looked very staphy to me!!! That should clear up quickly now!!!!!! Hope it doesn’t recur. Well done for persevering, these were clearly not “just spots”. So pleased for you.

@brokenspoon I'm so glad I posted this as I really would have just listened to the gp! I'm on clindamycin now as I have a penicillin allergy.

Hurray for you! Should clear up in a few days. Magnificent crusts will start falling off and clear skin will reveal itself underneath!

My armpit is extremely sore today, there's like a lump in there and the lymph node in my neck is big too, is this because of the covid vaccine I had on Friday or do we think its scalp ick related? I'm calling in sick today because it's still oozing pud even though it's less so and more crusty now it's also spread a bit further down my neck so it would t be covered by my theatre hat

Hi, I would ring your GP and report these systems. It might just be part of the process or related to the COVID vaccine, but I occasionally staph infections can get really very bad (and some infections can be resistant to antibiotics - don’t know about staph ones). So do keep a close eye. Have you got a temperature?

You poor thing, OP! That looks excruciatingly painful :-( As others have said, I hope you can see another GP if necessary, for a referral to a dermatologist. This definitely needs to be sorted out for you

How are you feeling now OP? Did you call the GP about your lymph nodes????

@mcdog yes I've got a blood test today, it's golfball sized and so sore. My head is a bit more scabby today so that's a relief. The gp said my immune system must just be shot to shit because I've just finished a 2 week course of doxycycline and metronidazole for retained products.

Oh I’m so sorry, that will knock you back a lot. It’s not unusual to crash after really traumatic events.

Oh blimey, sorry to hear that :( I hope you start feeling better soon, you've had a rough ride of it.

It could be Hidradenitis suppurativa, you should mention it to your go, although many don't know about it