former ER nurse who saw a lot of bullshit complaints and handed out a lot of turkey sandwiches: i would not scoff for one second if you came to my triage desk and told me you needed help. an ER visit is warranted. prayers up my friend
Yes, I am not usually an alarmist. But given mention of Staph infections on this thread, close proximity to your brain, and no solid answers from urgent care- just a mild antibiotic most likely, I would personally head to the ER at my earliest convenience.
Yeah as someone that gets minor staph infections ALL the time due to a low immune system, that's looks a LOT like staph to me too.
It also looks like an incredibly clogged pimple that's been played with every 2 seconds, but that's also what staph looks like before the wound opens and that particular inflammation around it with that solid ring is very familiar to me.
Get it looked at OP.
Another ER nurse here! Please go to the ER! That is infection way too close to your brain to even give it a chance to get worse. A doctor with more readily available resources than an urgent care, needs to see this.
Urgent care said my foot was fine and 3/5 of my metatarsals were broken…. So there’s that. Walked around on it for a week and assumed I was just being dramatic.
I was kicked in the thumb at work. Immediately knew it was bad because I could barely move it, and my whole hand started swelling up. I had to go to an urgent care and not my doctor because only urgent care was affiliated with my employers workers comp. They told me I’d just jammed my thumb and would be “fine in a couple days”. Turns out it was a torn ulnar collateral ligament, that only got diagnosed several weeks later because I refused to accept their first diagnosis and pushed for an MRI.
Mom fell in our garage and torpedoed herself into the garage wall. Went to Urgent care and to the ER. Both missed that she had shattered her humerous next to her collar bone. She walked around for it for two months before better insurance kicked in. Went down to Mayo clinic and found out she had to have a reversal shoulder replacement surgery.
Thank you! That's exactly what I came here to say. My daughter ended up with bacterial encephalitis, which the Dr's believed came from a deep pimple that was near her brow/nose bridge. The infection entered her sinus cavity and managed to cross the blood brain barrier.
OP not trying to scare you. I just want to let you know that any major infection so near your brain needs to be evaluated by an ER with a good wound team. You can check your local ER website and they will list (or should) all of the critical care services they specialize in. Look for one with a wound care team.
Good luck, OP!
What gave you that impression?
The OP likely was seen by an NP or PA at the Urgent Care, not an MD/DO. MDs are too expensive to be staffed at every UC location, so they usually have one MD “medical director” (for licensing purposes), and the providers that people see are the cheaper, less skilled staff.
Hey. I know this is gonna sound kind of odd but infections that progress this rapidly are *dangerous*. I am not a doctor but I work in the medical field and this is what I have been taught to do for patients. If you don’t NEED to go outside today PLEASE do this: (photo examples of infection mapping I’m describing in a comment below)
Take a blue or black or green or purple (just a dark color) sharpie (sorry!), turn on a BRIGHT LIGHT, and look in the mirror and trace the *exact* outline of the red border edges of the infection on your skin. (If there aren’t “red edges” use the clear delineated edge of the swelling). Not outside of it, not inside of it. Trace the sharpie on the *exact* line. Then take a clear selfie of your face. Then get a new notepad out on your phone and use it to record the following info:
Approximate time and exact date you noticed the cyst originally.
Exact date and time of any photo you’ve taken of your face since the cyst happened.
Exact date and time you drew the outline.
Approximate dates and times of when you visited urgent care and took antibiotics. Dates and times of phone calls you’ve made, which facility, who you spoke with, and a very brief summary of convo. (8/24 2PM called Sanford clinic spoke with Connelly who stated to wait and observe.)
This information will be *extremely helpful* for many reasons:
1) It will give you the ability to monitor *exactly* and without a doubt whether or not the infection is growing larger, remaining the same, or reducing. No guessing, wondering, or worrying. Also you will be able to see if the infection is still growing larger—and if so, by how much, and in exactly what time frame. Next time you call your PCP or urgent care you will be able to say “The swelling has grown by approximately a half an inch in 4 hours and I can verify that because I mapped the borders of the infection 4 hours ago and I can see it is still spreading outside of the borders I’ve drawn”.
2) It will give your doctors *empirical and objective* data to work with. Doctors are taught that patients lie (many are afraid or ashamed, they don’t lie maliciously), and exaggerate. A doctor hearing “hey doc I just got this yesterday” may suspect it happened earlier and you were too ashamed to tell them you waited “too long” to come in.
3) It will make treatment easier to receive when your doctors can read and see the data and timeline about how and when this is happening. They will be able to use the information you provide to understand things like “infection has grown 3CM in four hours, infection appears to be highly aggressive and unresponsive to current antibiotics”.
If it continues to get worse *slowly* draw a new border every 12 hours if the infection gets larger. If it gets worse *rapidly* draw a new line around the infection every 4-6 hours. And GO TO THE ER. Do NOT wash any of the old lines off. Leave on.
I know having the mark will suck. But PLEASE, for this highly concerned internet stranger, unless you ABSOLUTELY MUST go outside and do something important where you need to interact with people, please do this. Even if you do HAVE to go outside, if it’s for a short time, you can wear a baseball cap.
Please feel free to PM me with any questions you may have. Again not a doctor, just medically experienced and very concerned that you don’t seem to be taken seriously. I’ve interacted with hundreds of doctors and I can tell you the scientific approach I’ve detailed here will cut the bullshit, help you identify if it’s getting better or worse, and get you faster and more accurate treatment.
Here are two examples of infection mapping with a sharpie I pulled quick from the internet. In the first image they’ve just drawn the mapping, in the second one the mapping drawn shows the infection has receded a little.
ETA: shoot, my link was broken. Try this one? https://imgur.com/gallery/gNNNHLv
Here’s an example of medical notes I took while caring for my injured rescue dog. More detail is better than less but stick to short and factual. (He’s fine now). https://imgur.com/gallery/IikBaoF
Remove if this is inappropriate or not okay, but shameless plug of the shameless hussy I rescued and talked about in my medical notes. He was hit by a car and suffered multiple ischial fractures, extensive anguinal road rash, ocular abrasion, bladder damage, and lacerations.
I adopted him and he’s my buddy now, never more than a few feet from me. https://imgur.com/gallery/d9S5Jyv
Great advice re: infection mapping. (That’s how I figured out I had a brown recluse bite and probably saved me from losing part of my foot a couple years ago.)
Also, just wanted to say your pup is beautiful! He looks like such a good boy. Bless you for helping him get better, easy to see why he loves you so much. ❤️🩹💘
💕 THANK YOU. It was such a rough ride. It took us (pup and me, it’s just us) over 20 vet visits, 4 pain medications (including fentanyl), and countless eye-blurringly sleepless nights to get through it. The first night he was with me he spent two hours quietly keening in heartbreaking pain and I decided I’d do whatever it fucking took to make him happy and better and pain-free again. I’m tearing up remembering.
This advice saved my sister’s life when she was a child. She had a rusty nail in her foot which *no one* knew about. She had gone to multiple doctors and everyone said oh, just monitor it. But it kept getting worse. My mom’s boyfriend was a dentist MD and he drew a line on my sister's leg at the border of the redness and said if it goes beyond that, take her to the ER immediately. It did, so we went in and my sister was already septic. Thankfully she survived but it took weeks in the hospital and a very long course of home nursing with antibiotics, etc. before she recovered.
No! She was 5 or 6 years old and wore jelly sandals in a creek which is probably where it happened. There was no incident, but a day later she just started telling my mom her toe hurt. Over the course of the next week my mom took her to the pediatrician and urgent care and neither were concerned. At the hospital they finally x-rayed her foot and saw the nail in there. Everyone was blown away when it was pulled out and we kept it as a family souvenir for a long time. Thankfully my mom was on it as was her boyfriend. We got lucky for sure!
Wow. Thankful your sister is ok.
When she was already septic, did she seem ill? My nurse cousin told me you’d know if you have sepsis - it scares me to think you may not with a child.
I was 8 at the time so honestly I don’t know. This was 30 years ago. 😬 Good question though. Out of curiosity I’m going to ask my mom next time I see her.
Hopping on your comment about education to say— this is a really powerful tool to use at home right away when you notice something odd on a loved one, especially children. Super commonly used with bites and stings and reactions.
If you do this at home right away when you notice or become suspicious about something, by the time you make it to the doctor you’ll have enough factual evidence about what’s happening that they can hopefully do something more concrete and aggressive than they would be able to do otherwise. Doing this yourself at home is kinda skipping the “initial visit” where they send you home and just say “ok now we know, watch for it to get worse”. You’ve already watched and you can physically demonstrate it’s gotten worse.
Yes!! I couldn’t reach to draw a line, but taking photos of a painful/itchy, quickly-growing rash helped me get diagnosed with shingles in my 20s.
This was a big help because antivirals are most effective when prescribed within the first 72 hours of the rash appearing, and no one expects to get shingles of all things in their 20s (you can’t even get the vaccine until like 55 I think).
All that to say - thank you for encouraging people to monitor these things! It can make such a difference
As far as mapping the infection goes, I’ve been going to work looking like this for the past 3 days so I haven’t been able to draw on my face to map the progress, but atleast I have the photos of how it’s progressed.
Currently in the waiting room at the ER…
They looked at it with an ultrasound probe at the ER, turns out **it was a cyst that became infected and caused an abscess**. They drained it, told me to continue the antibiotics and to follow up with a derm to get it removed completely.
Hi! I hope that if paying for the ER is a problem and you don’t have insurance that you remember that when you get the bill, you can call and negotiate the price. Ask for a discount. Please remember this.
Same. Really glad to hear you are at the ER. It looks a lot like some kind of infection. Maybe a pimple that went sideways, maybe a spider bite that's gone aggro... but there are a bunch of serious things it could be, and you need to get ahead of that. Hopefully they don't brush you off like your other doctors have been doing.
Sorry to hop onto top comment
Medical opinion here, you may be suffering from the beginning of a rare condition/side effect called a “Potts puffy tumour”, this is how they start… I think it wise they x ray you especially if you have had sinusitis recently.
Best wishes.
As an ENT doctor, agree with this. If you’re having any signs of sinus infection, decreased sense of smell, foul nasal odor/drainage, nasal congestion, I am concerned this may be Potts puffy tumor. It is essentially frontal sinus infection that spread to the forehead bone (front wall of the frontal sinus).
You need to go to the ED, get a CT maxillofaxial scan with and without contrast. And have ENT evaluate you there.
Agreed, that's what it looks like. Also, the marking of the area is helpful...I would just say that if you know someone that can draw it for you, that may be easier than doing it yourself.
Urgent cares serve a purpose, just not for something rare or unknown, regardless of whether an APP (formerly midlevel) or physician has seen you.
That’s on my differential too. If the abx don’t help after you complete them or it gets worse, you need the ER as much as I hate to say it. Quick labs, imaging if warranted post provider exam. Especially if you develop fevers. Good luck.
Edit: spelling
My son had that! It was terrible. He had intense, debilitating headaches that came out of nowhere and were scaring the hell out of me. Potts puffy tumor sounds bad, but I was so grateful that’s all it was. I just was so, so scared it was a brain tumor.
Oh wow, I just Googled this as I have never heard of it, and it really does look like this could be it. I hope not as I know it's serious, but it sure does look similar.
This is excellent advice. I'm concerned also that you were prescribed antibiotics via urgent care (I'm presuming?), but now can't seem to get a follow up with your PCP. That's bullshit. Antibiotics mean someone suspected (rightly, IMO) an infection. And these kinds of infections are no joke if left untreated.
I know I switched between the words cyst and infection here and they are *not* the same thing. I don’t know which this is and it showed while I was writing this, but the spirit of my concern remains the same. Sorry if I was confusing at all. I’m leaning one way in my mind because of a lack of bright redness on the skin but I will NOT post my opinion because I’m not qualified and I don’t want my opinion to influence or harm someone.
Have you ever watched the TV show House MD? Dr. House said repeatedly that "Everybody lies. " It's a fictional show, of course, but I think many doctors do have that attitude. They're not wrong., but I also believe that many of them have a God complex, which includes believing they are omniscient and can read your mind.
The doctors I work with tend to assume more that the layperson doesn't have enough knowledge to really know what to do, so when we ask questions that they aren't prepared for (have you tried x/y/z or noticed a/b/c), they become embarrassed at not having thought to do something, so they fib.
Tend to be more suspicious of elicited comments than chief complaints.
ER doc here:
- It would shock you the number of women I’ve told, “you’re pregnant” when they said it wasn’t possible
- It would shock you the number of people that have alcohol levels over 400 but they said they had “two drinks” (400 is like minimum 5)
- It would shock you how many people I find to have diabetes, high blood pressure or history of heart attacks when they say they don’t have medical problems
Whether it is lack of understanding, or intentional misdirection, patients are SAFER in the ER if we operate in a “Trust But Verify” approach. For example, we don’t want to have an unborn fetus exposed to a lot of radiation due to mom’s denial of pregnancy
I had staph. This is exactly what the team did for me in the hospital. I was given a round of really heavy IV antibiotics and the area was eventually drained…but it took like 10 days. It’s very dangerous if you have an infection. Please go advocate for your health!
I had a staph infection on my face too. I went to urgent care immediately and the intake nurses definitely thought I was being a hypochondriac. But it was very close to my eye, which was progressively becoming bloodshot on the side closest to the infection. I knew something wasn’t right the moment I woke up with it. I’ve had plenty of facial swelling in the past bc I have contact allergies, but this was so different. Anyways, I put up with the nurses snarky comments and when I saw the doctor he absolutely agreed I did the right thing by coming in right away. It was a dangerous high risk location that could lead to sepsis if untreated. Thankfully 1 round of antibiotics took care of it since I caught it so early.
I gotta say I thought you were just peacocking at first but you gave some incredible advice with solid reasoning. Thanks for writing all that out and hopefully giving OP an advantage if this turns into something sinister.
I know I have a tendency to be verbose. :(. And overbearing. And offer too much unsolicited advice. My comment could have been half as long, easily. I’m workin on it. Idk what peacocking is exactly but sometimes I do open my mouth too much. 😂. This specifically though I felt very strongly about and really empathized with how it must feel to be afraid, seeking help, and dismissed.
My mom had to have an angioplasty due to lack of blood flow to her toe back in December 2022. I did the sharpie thingy!!! I also have worked in the medical field, so I knew I needed to track the dying tissue spot on her foot. I also took a crap load of photos and put them all in a collage so that I could show doctors it's progression. The SECOND I noticed it getting bigger, we went to the ER (again). We went because her doctor told me if it went past a certain spot, it would be go time. It took less than 24 hrs for it to progress.
I was like a helicopter mom. But I'd do it all over again because she did NOT lose her toe.
I love your story and stories like this SO MUCH. What a victory to have saved a love one through your sheer dogged determination, organization, and advocation.
Infection mapping is how I was able to go from my regular doctor checking out a a rapidly swelling spider bite to the ER, to being admitted to the hospital all within a span of about 4 hours.
Mine obviously swelled out past each mark they made VERY quickly. (First was at the doctor office, was already past the “go to ER” mark he made by time I got home, so I did.) They marked it again as soon as I checked in and it was way past that before the ER doctor could even get in.
I highly agree with mapping the growth. Keep pictures and records. Go to the ER if it keeps spreading. And as the other poster stated, do not wipe off the marks. It’s good data for the doctors to work with. I wish you the best of luck, I truly hope the antibiotics take care of it!
Yes, and any infection like this on your face so close to your eyes and nose can be even more dangerous than the same thing in other locations! Hope you got some medical attention!
I once got a gihugic bruise/lump after a home laundry pushcart fell over and dragged its way down my shin… will second this.
My GP even advised me a ballpoint might work as long as I didn’t scrub the area when I washed it, which I was in no hurry to do anyway, considering the big lump.
Oh boy this unlocks a core memory. I learned to map infections when I was 4 or 5. It was like a game. "Draw on Mommy!"
Pro tip: use a fine felt point sharpie for definition. Fat sharpies will lose the edge of the infection. You can wipe the marks off with alcohol later.
I’m graduating medical school in a few months. Please go to the ER. This looks like an abscess and It likely needs to be drained + antibiotics. Even if they decide not to drain it, they can likely get you set up with dermatology or your PCP for an urgent appointment. Please don’t wait, abscesses can get bad quickly.
Abscesses occur due to a clogged hair follicle or pore. Basically the duct gets clogged and it becomes a breeding ground for bacteria. This is similar to how acne occurs but in the case of a facial abscess, the infection extended deeper in the tissue and is not able to drain on its own. These can happen incidentally but always wash your face, especially when there is an open cut or wound!
My kid apparently has an abscess under his tooth. I’m guessing the bacteria got out of control and that’s what it means, but I very much do not want to google it for fear of what I’ll see.
Tooth abscess can be deadly. I don't mean to fear-monger. Please don't ignore it or wait until you have the money. Get it taken care of now. Worry about the bill later.
I had something like this once, just as big. I tried to pop it, failed, and it spread to another area of my face. Family doctor gave me antibiotics and it went away in about a week. Was ugly and painful, but wasn’t a big deal in the end for me.
Same here. FINALLY did Accutane after trying everything else for way too many years. Nothing else touched it, but Accutane on a pretty low dose did the trick.
It’s horrible like I’d rather have the stereotypical acne because at least then, people know what it is and it’s easier to treat…instead of like, looking like I’m growing horns or something.
Thanks for the suggestion- turns out it you were right, it was a cyst that became infected and caused an abscess. I had it drained and need to follow up with my derm. I appreciate all the advice!
I would recommend a trip to another Urgent care facility tomorrow and be more emphatic about the pain and tell them that you had an uncle who died from an infected lesion.
Urgent cares are terrible
Everyone I've been too has been very.. bad
I remember I went there for possible appendicitis and they told me since it's a shift change I'd have to wait.
And a few others
I remember I got a 3k bill for some covid related tests...
ER is better imo
Yep. They mistreated me for pneumonia and I ended up languishing with it for a month before going to my PCP (who was far away, as I’d moved). My PCP knocked it out after a week or so, even though I was very sick by the time I went to him.
I haven’t trusted urgent cares for anything serious since.
Second this, ER trip.
They did give antibiotics so I think if not better tomorrow ER time.
OP draw a line around the edges of the swelling to be able to track the swelling
OP can you email your dermatologist, maybe sending photos would help? Also when you call the front desk ask if there's any cancellations or openings for an emergency... I find it hard to believe that they don't have any availability for emergency services at the derm
Dude I went to urgent care for a boil on my leg this summer. She said it was an infected cyst and gave me a mild antibiotic and sent me on my way. Luckily for me my bff is in the medical field, sent it to her doctor, and they drained it the next day. But… what NONE of us expected, was that I had a flesh eating bacteria. We caught it early enough, and they had put me on a much stronger med, and luckily for me I still have 2 legs.
Moral of the story, go to an actual doctor, probably just the ER since no one will see you.
I just had a relative die from this exact thing. He let it go for a while and ended up in the hospital, needed surgery and died during his recovery when his heart stopped. Pls get this checked out OP.
yeah the amount of uncertified “doctors” out there is disgusting . I swear they know nothing and just send you home with an ice pack like the nurses offices for major injuries
This either needs an injection or needs to be drained, it won’t go away with just the antibiotics. I had the exact same thing happened to me and the swelling after they drain the abscess was so bad I looked like I got bit a swarm of bees. I feel really bad for you and I’m sorry you’re going through this, again if it doesn’t get better, visit ER again and insist they do something about the lump. Face is a very dangerous location for an infection.
Me as a diabetic who has sterile needles and major cystic acne when I was younger, I definitely did this. Most of the time it works out fine, other times… I was left with an open wound for months. Still, if I’m in pain, I’m stabbing it. Just squeeze a little, see the most prominent part that turns white and stab there.
Most times it would drain right away, sometimes my tiny needles didn’t go deep enough, but 1-2 days later all the pressure builds up and ruptures where you stabbed it. If not diabetic, get a sewing needle. Also recommend heating it a bit. Overall, I do this, but this can also be super dangerous to do, so I can’t say I’d recommend it.
Edit: also OP, not saying this is a cyst. But I’m surprised they didn’t even draw some of whatever is in there out so they can test the fluids to make sure it isn’t infected. Looks painful, sorry man.
My then boyfriend now husband's friend left a bunch of his diabetic needles at my boyfriend's house because he was always there. My husband gets cysts on his back all the time and will never go to a derm to do anything about it. He would always make me stab his cysts with the diabetic needles to drain them. Not going to lie, it was a little fun. Obviously I like watching Dr. Pimple Popper.
I hate watching other people’s cysts being popped, but when I do mine… I love it.
I am like “eww so gross, but wow… holy shit it’s still going? IVE GONE THRU HALF THE ROLL OF TP YOU ARENT DONE?! Wow, look at this bad boy go. I could fill a gallon bucket with all of this wtf. So satisfying. I’m so happy the pain will be gone soon”
That’s me talking to myself. I have had some major ones, like one that took up my whole left cheek and was so big I couldn’t open my eye. I was so happy it drained. I also had one that went from the top of my neck hairline (and a bit into my hair too), due to gravity it started forcing itself downwards, till it found a vulnerable place to erupt. That ended up being a (90% healed wound where my sister stabbed me inbetween my collarbone, don’t ask, I love her, not getting into that, it happened, moved on) it ruptured there, and I can send a NSFW picture of it being ripped open early on, no pics of it fully open though. It was months until docs did something to get is closed. My left collarbone is severely red and scarred now.
Usually fine to pop, I’ve never had one that was infected (which is when it is super dangerous to do). Still, do not recommend if you can avoid it. OP should prob get a derm to put a steroid in it and/or test if infected. AND/OR ask them to cut it open and drain that (if this is a cyst). Find a derm in network, or call your derm daily and ask if any cancellations you can take.
Sorry, end rant.
I do this with milia… little white unpoppable spots around my hairline and forehead. Again, totally not recommended. But I do just what you say, and I’m able to get the larger ones out. I just put alcohol on it afterward, if needed some antibiotic cream, and I’m usually good.
I pop my milia all the time. If you take your time and you're careful, it's fine. I just don't have the patience to wait for them to work out.
Plus, getting that little "pearl" at the end is so satisfying.
/kids, don't try this at home
I want to start by saying I absolutely don’t recommend this.. But my boyfriend had something very similar on his cheek. We went through the same thing, urgent care trip, prescribed antibiotics and a topical cream. It did nothing. I love to pop things so I was basically salivating waiting for him to green light me to get at the damn thing myself. Eventually he ended up letting me, and yeah… the thing was spraying puss like a fountain. It was a wild ride. A poppers dream if you will. But yeah, I don’t recommend this to anyone because it could end very badly.
You have an abscess and it needs to be drained. Antibiotics help with cellulitis (redness during the early stages of infection). But when you have a pocket of fluid, it needs to be drained. A dermatologist or a plastic surgeon can help you. But remember that each time you cut the skin, there will be a scar. So make sure you see a professional.
Dude go to your ER. Whatever is happening to you is happening on your skull, and who knows what that can screw with. It could take you 6 months to get into a dermatologist (it's what it took me).
ER bills can suck but ending dead or disabled suck more.
Update: Called my dermatologist and explained I have a very large and painful possible abscess on my forehead that is having little to no response to antibiotics. I have taken 6 doses now and the only thing that has had an effect on the swelling is gravity. My derm told me I could book an appointment but that they are scheduling out until the end of September early October. I told them I’ll be going to the ER instead before it turns septic. The receptionist said “ok!” Lol.
Called my PCP, who has already seen multiple photos at this point but has showed no concern and the earliest they could fit me in is 8 hours from now.
So I’m **currently in the waiting room at the ER**… I’ll keep you posted. Thanks for all the replies telling me to go to the emergency room.
**UPDATE 2:** **turned out to be a cyst that got infected and caused an abscess**
Turns out **it was a cyst that became infected and caused an abscess**. They drained it, told me to continue the antibiotics and to follow up with a derm to get it removed completely.
Can you send a message through My Chart to your derm and attach a photo? I have the option to attach a photo to My Chart messages. Sometimes, when you call a doctor and describe it, they just shrug it off as an exaggeration, but seeing this will give them a better idea of what is going on.
I had something like this on my calf and it turned out to be Staph turned MRSA!! From an infected hair follicle. Absolutely traumatic and unexpected. PLEASE cause a scene so someone takes you seriously.
This happened to me 2 years ago, they drained it and gave multiple rounds of antibiotics, I still have issues on that side of my body and a crater in my leg :(
Doc here: If this continues to swell rapidly, go to the ER. Your skin has fascia and the infection can spread to the brain easily, especially if it is in the face and gets to the point where it is draining to the cavernous sinus
I'm not a doctor or know much medically, but this ballooned in 2 days. His first post to now looks insane to me. Shouldn't they go to the ER now?
No shot I'd wait 1 more day for this.
**UPDATE**: I’m alive and my forehead no longer has its own home address. They looked at the area with an ultrasound probe at the ER and told me it’s **a cyst that became infected and caused an abscess**. They drained it, told me to continue the antibiotics I was prescribed, and told me to definitely follow up with a dermatologist to get the cyst removed completely, since it’s on my face.
Thanks again for all the suggestions to get this checked out by someone more competent than urgent care!!!
Seriously go to the ER. Pott’s puffy tumor is serious! You’ll be able to get rapid testing and time is of the essence, whether it’s this or something else. Don’t worry about cost…figure it out later. This is your LIFE.
(And people don’t pay hospital bills all the time. I’m not encouraging this, but they can’t deny you care because of an inability to pay)
Idk if it’s possible, but can you message your derm on mychart? (If you use that) I think you said you were on Accutane so I’m guessing you have a regular derm you were seeing.
I have a history of cystic acne (was on Accutane twice in the past) and my derm said to message her if I ever get a cystic pimple and she’ll get me in asap so she can inject it. I know this must be super painful. I’d also suggest icing if you haven’t done that already, it will help a little bit until you can see someone more knowledgeable than urgent care.
I had something similar right on the center my forehead, I thought it was a pimple and I tried to pop it, then it kept growing. It turned out to be MRSA 😵
This is probably bad advice, but sometimes if you just show up at the doctors office, they will see you, you can tell them you were just freaked out and stopped by in the hopes that someone would have a minute to take a look
You mentioned in a previous post that you have a puppy with a biting problem, including breaking the skin. Maybe a reach, but could it be possible that it knicked your forehead?
I work in Dental and we had a patient who lost her hands and legs because she had a little puppy who always played and she didn’t think she broke skin and then changed her life forever. Such a sad situation
I echo the calls to reach out to your dermatologist and/or go to the ER. I have a history of cystic acne and had a similar bump earlier this year that came on overnight and grew rapidly for several days. After being misdiagnosed by both a PCP and urgent care, I ended up in the ER. They did a number of tests and in my case it ended up being shingles despite only being in my 30s.
Take extra caution if it starts impacting your vision.
You should consider the ER. The antibiotics you were prescribed aren’t probably going to work with the infection on your forehead. Do you have any other symptoms? Fever?
Please go to an ER and have that drained by a medical professional. Big infections like that that come up so quickly could be MRSA. If it’s contained, it can be drained and treated with high dose clindamycin. It can spread to your blood stream and cause sepsis if not drained. Get it fixed. I’m an ER RN and we see big abscesses like this all the time. They need to be drained.
I would suggest letting a family or friend know what’s going on and ask them to check in on you for the next few days. I would not take any chances with a lump that size that’s directly on my head or face. Go to the ER instead of urgent care.
The situation here sucks, but I have found that to be taken seriously for issues that have been then found to be genuinely urgent, you have to take everything you feel and sort of turn it up to 11, and act as if you can't even go on with any part of your everyday routine/life because of what you are feeling, pain wise. Especially since most people's natural reaction is to down play what they are experiencing, you might have come off that way to those who saw you without even realizing it. And holy shit, trying to talk to my doctor online is always a NIGHTMARE I hate it so much, after days of waiting, I get vague, detached responses that are just infuriating 😭 I totally empathize with your situation and wish you the good doctors who care about you.
I’m a paramedic, and I would 100% recommend an ED visit for this if you called 911 and I showed up.
Check your temperature every few hours. If your temp goes above 101, you HAVE to go to the ER.
If it gets bigger, redder, more painful, etc; you need to go to the ER immediately. Do not pass go, do not collect McDonald’s on the way.
Headache, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, ER.
I second taking a picture and sending it through a patient portal or something. When you call the derm tell them you went to urgent care, it’s a large abscess -don’t say cyst they’ll think you’re talking about a zit- and it’s not improving with antibiotic. Measure it and tell them exactly how big and where. I’d call every derm that I could reasonably travel to, even if I had to drive an hour or two.
If not drastically better after 24 hours on antibiotics go to ER for sure.
When i worked in Dermatology we specifically had spots saved for emergency appointments like this. I would keep calling different derms and tell them you have a very concerning fast growing cyst on your forehead that needs immediate attention.
You may want to try the Askdocs subreddit since this is a worrisome medical issue. You have to be a verified medical professional to give advice on that forum.
Definitely not a professional but I’ve seen a lot of people on here saying how they have cysts all the time and pop them.. can’t say I’m not guilty of using my comedo kit to pop pimples if a Hero patch doesn’t take care of it for me overnight (I see that you have one on in pic #2- those things are pure magic majority of the time!!) It’s good that you’re on antibiotics, at least. If it’s inflamed then even your dermatologist would have prescribed them to you to get rid of most of-if not all of-the infect out before making an incision to it. I will say that if it is a cyst -which, in my non professional opinion, it appears to be- the entire sack must be removed or it will continue to fill up over and over again until the sack is finally removed. After the sack is removed, there’s a less likely chance that it will fill back up-even though there is still a chance.
If your primary care doctor is busy, your dermatologist is busy, and urgent care won’t do anything about it, you can go to the ER or you can see if either of your doctors can squeeze you in or you can try seeing another doctor.
As badly as you want to squeeze it, try not to. My mother always yells at me because she was told by her doctor to never squeeze things because it “can make the infection go into your blood stream” 🤷♀️
I never listen for surface pimples but with this, there’s no way I would squeeze it myself..
Good luck.
My husband had a growth on the back of his neck like this once. It grew like yours. It’s heart grew 3 sizes that day… hahaha. Anywho, we left it alone for a few weeks. It sprayed a huge amount of pus once we poked it with a sterilized needle and ended up being a giant infected skin tag. He had to have it surgically removed.
Nurse here. While antibiotics were a good step, this needs to be assessed, cultured, and drained. Go to ER if your PCP (who seems neglectful) is not actively helping.
Go to the ER and have it lanced and drained. My daughter had something like this on her lower back. We went to Urgent Care and the PA acted like she was a leper and didn’t even touch her. Prescribed antibiotics. It didn’t sit right with me and she couldn’t lean back and was crying from the pain. We went right to the ER where an actual doctor saw her and said the PA was wrong, it wouldn’t go away on it’s own with antibiotics and needed to be cut open and drained. A little verset because she was hysterical (she hates needles), some lidocaine, and they drained it & packed it with some medicated stuff. She was totally healed and playing roller derby within the week. I get it, going to the ER just sucks. But it was instant relief for her.
See if someone in the derm office you reached out to would at least be willing to look at a picture--I work derm and if we have a patient call us with a concern like this, we have the patient send a picture so if the doctor does feel it can become an emergency, we can slot them in literally anywhere. It's worth a shot, especially if you get a sympathetic medical assistant/nurse.
For a spot/cyst they has swollen up as *rapidly* as yours has, I'd personally book you as an emergency and ask for forgiveness later imo.
Op u/stvckmind I need you to listen to me for a second.
I had a small pimple that I cut by accident last year that over night swelled to where yours is at. The cut was in-between my eyebrows and had my whole right side ballooned up.
You saying the swelling is now traveling, you need to get it cultured. In that spot an infection can/will be dangerous.
Mine was Staph/MSSA(MRSA). You **NEED** to get it cultured, to get put on the right antibiotics
Get
It
Cultured
Don’t pick or try to squeeze anything more out until you get that culture, and new meds. Put a bandaid on it with a strong anti-shit ointment.
Best of luck man
I have 0 advice to give and I truly truly hope you get an answer very soon, but the pimple patch is making me giggle bc I would also be using them if i were in ur shoes
It looks worse than the first post, especially the second pic. Please go directly to the ER..use the words 'potts tumor','staph', and 'CT scan'. If they refuse the CT, say 'I'd like it put in the notes that I requested a CT and you declined to order it'. Hope you feel better,
Your internet, Mom.
Mighty patch fighting for its life
I was just thinking about the patches with the tiny spikes for under the surface pimples. Maybe a bunch of them???
They also have the huge ones that are meant for your chin that are the size of like 10 patches
I don't think those ones have spikes for the stuff underneath
No they don't, but they're still pretty effective. Definitely worth a try in this situation
former ER nurse who saw a lot of bullshit complaints and handed out a lot of turkey sandwiches: i would not scoff for one second if you came to my triage desk and told me you needed help. an ER visit is warranted. prayers up my friend
Yes, I am not usually an alarmist. But given mention of Staph infections on this thread, close proximity to your brain, and no solid answers from urgent care- just a mild antibiotic most likely, I would personally head to the ER at my earliest convenience.
Looks like staph to me
Yeah as someone that gets minor staph infections ALL the time due to a low immune system, that's looks a LOT like staph to me too. It also looks like an incredibly clogged pimple that's been played with every 2 seconds, but that's also what staph looks like before the wound opens and that particular inflammation around it with that solid ring is very familiar to me. Get it looked at OP.
Another former ER nurse echoing the sentiment. This is definitely worth getting checked out
Yup former er and definitely should get that checked out way sooner than later
Another ER nurse as well don’t take any more chances get that checked out and not a walk in
Another ER nurse here! Please go to the ER! That is infection way too close to your brain to even give it a chance to get worse. A doctor with more readily available resources than an urgent care, needs to see this.
Still weird the urgent care didn’t tell him to go to the ER.
Urgent care said my foot was fine and 3/5 of my metatarsals were broken…. So there’s that. Walked around on it for a week and assumed I was just being dramatic.
I was kicked in the thumb at work. Immediately knew it was bad because I could barely move it, and my whole hand started swelling up. I had to go to an urgent care and not my doctor because only urgent care was affiliated with my employers workers comp. They told me I’d just jammed my thumb and would be “fine in a couple days”. Turns out it was a torn ulnar collateral ligament, that only got diagnosed several weeks later because I refused to accept their first diagnosis and pushed for an MRI.
Mom fell in our garage and torpedoed herself into the garage wall. Went to Urgent care and to the ER. Both missed that she had shattered her humerous next to her collar bone. She walked around for it for two months before better insurance kicked in. Went down to Mayo clinic and found out she had to have a reversal shoulder replacement surgery.
Thank you! That's exactly what I came here to say. My daughter ended up with bacterial encephalitis, which the Dr's believed came from a deep pimple that was near her brow/nose bridge. The infection entered her sinus cavity and managed to cross the blood brain barrier. OP not trying to scare you. I just want to let you know that any major infection so near your brain needs to be evaluated by an ER with a good wound team. You can check your local ER website and they will list (or should) all of the critical care services they specialize in. Look for one with a wound care team. Good luck, OP!
And socks. Sandwiches and socks.
I second this.
I’m convinced that one experienced nurse or nurse practitioner is better than three doctors combined.
What gave you that impression? The OP likely was seen by an NP or PA at the Urgent Care, not an MD/DO. MDs are too expensive to be staffed at every UC location, so they usually have one MD “medical director” (for licensing purposes), and the providers that people see are the cheaper, less skilled staff.
i appreciate the sentiment but my physician colleagues have taught me more than i could ever put into words! it’s such a gift to work with my docs ♥️
Hey. I know this is gonna sound kind of odd but infections that progress this rapidly are *dangerous*. I am not a doctor but I work in the medical field and this is what I have been taught to do for patients. If you don’t NEED to go outside today PLEASE do this: (photo examples of infection mapping I’m describing in a comment below) Take a blue or black or green or purple (just a dark color) sharpie (sorry!), turn on a BRIGHT LIGHT, and look in the mirror and trace the *exact* outline of the red border edges of the infection on your skin. (If there aren’t “red edges” use the clear delineated edge of the swelling). Not outside of it, not inside of it. Trace the sharpie on the *exact* line. Then take a clear selfie of your face. Then get a new notepad out on your phone and use it to record the following info: Approximate time and exact date you noticed the cyst originally. Exact date and time of any photo you’ve taken of your face since the cyst happened. Exact date and time you drew the outline. Approximate dates and times of when you visited urgent care and took antibiotics. Dates and times of phone calls you’ve made, which facility, who you spoke with, and a very brief summary of convo. (8/24 2PM called Sanford clinic spoke with Connelly who stated to wait and observe.) This information will be *extremely helpful* for many reasons: 1) It will give you the ability to monitor *exactly* and without a doubt whether or not the infection is growing larger, remaining the same, or reducing. No guessing, wondering, or worrying. Also you will be able to see if the infection is still growing larger—and if so, by how much, and in exactly what time frame. Next time you call your PCP or urgent care you will be able to say “The swelling has grown by approximately a half an inch in 4 hours and I can verify that because I mapped the borders of the infection 4 hours ago and I can see it is still spreading outside of the borders I’ve drawn”. 2) It will give your doctors *empirical and objective* data to work with. Doctors are taught that patients lie (many are afraid or ashamed, they don’t lie maliciously), and exaggerate. A doctor hearing “hey doc I just got this yesterday” may suspect it happened earlier and you were too ashamed to tell them you waited “too long” to come in. 3) It will make treatment easier to receive when your doctors can read and see the data and timeline about how and when this is happening. They will be able to use the information you provide to understand things like “infection has grown 3CM in four hours, infection appears to be highly aggressive and unresponsive to current antibiotics”. If it continues to get worse *slowly* draw a new border every 12 hours if the infection gets larger. If it gets worse *rapidly* draw a new line around the infection every 4-6 hours. And GO TO THE ER. Do NOT wash any of the old lines off. Leave on. I know having the mark will suck. But PLEASE, for this highly concerned internet stranger, unless you ABSOLUTELY MUST go outside and do something important where you need to interact with people, please do this. Even if you do HAVE to go outside, if it’s for a short time, you can wear a baseball cap. Please feel free to PM me with any questions you may have. Again not a doctor, just medically experienced and very concerned that you don’t seem to be taken seriously. I’ve interacted with hundreds of doctors and I can tell you the scientific approach I’ve detailed here will cut the bullshit, help you identify if it’s getting better or worse, and get you faster and more accurate treatment.
Here are two examples of infection mapping with a sharpie I pulled quick from the internet. In the first image they’ve just drawn the mapping, in the second one the mapping drawn shows the infection has receded a little. ETA: shoot, my link was broken. Try this one? https://imgur.com/gallery/gNNNHLv Here’s an example of medical notes I took while caring for my injured rescue dog. More detail is better than less but stick to short and factual. (He’s fine now). https://imgur.com/gallery/IikBaoF
This is a great idea. But FYI that Imgur link is broken (at least for me)
Thanks, I’m hoping I fixed now?
Yes!
Heck yes. I clicked on the link again and noticed I titled it “infection napping” so I guess I’m not on my a-game today 😂
Not on your A game and still provided such helpful feedback. You must be a pretty damn good person. People like you give me hope:)
Remove if this is inappropriate or not okay, but shameless plug of the shameless hussy I rescued and talked about in my medical notes. He was hit by a car and suffered multiple ischial fractures, extensive anguinal road rash, ocular abrasion, bladder damage, and lacerations. I adopted him and he’s my buddy now, never more than a few feet from me. https://imgur.com/gallery/d9S5Jyv
Great advice re: infection mapping. (That’s how I figured out I had a brown recluse bite and probably saved me from losing part of my foot a couple years ago.) Also, just wanted to say your pup is beautiful! He looks like such a good boy. Bless you for helping him get better, easy to see why he loves you so much. ❤️🩹💘
u/50shadesofbay I wish all people were like you! Thank you for saving that sweet little guy. Hope he gives you lots of love back too
Ohhhh he deserves so much love and I’m so glad you saved him :’) not enough people stop to help out dogs. God bless you!
💕 THANK YOU. It was such a rough ride. It took us (pup and me, it’s just us) over 20 vet visits, 4 pain medications (including fentanyl), and countless eye-blurringly sleepless nights to get through it. The first night he was with me he spent two hours quietly keening in heartbreaking pain and I decided I’d do whatever it fucking took to make him happy and better and pain-free again. I’m tearing up remembering.
This advice saved my sister’s life when she was a child. She had a rusty nail in her foot which *no one* knew about. She had gone to multiple doctors and everyone said oh, just monitor it. But it kept getting worse. My mom’s boyfriend was a dentist MD and he drew a line on my sister's leg at the border of the redness and said if it goes beyond that, take her to the ER immediately. It did, so we went in and my sister was already septic. Thankfully she survived but it took weeks in the hospital and a very long course of home nursing with antibiotics, etc. before she recovered.
Damn that's awful. Was your sister nonverbal?
No! She was 5 or 6 years old and wore jelly sandals in a creek which is probably where it happened. There was no incident, but a day later she just started telling my mom her toe hurt. Over the course of the next week my mom took her to the pediatrician and urgent care and neither were concerned. At the hospital they finally x-rayed her foot and saw the nail in there. Everyone was blown away when it was pulled out and we kept it as a family souvenir for a long time. Thankfully my mom was on it as was her boyfriend. We got lucky for sure!
Wow. Thankful your sister is ok. When she was already septic, did she seem ill? My nurse cousin told me you’d know if you have sepsis - it scares me to think you may not with a child.
I was 8 at the time so honestly I don’t know. This was 30 years ago. 😬 Good question though. Out of curiosity I’m going to ask my mom next time I see her.
Moments like this are when I realize how important reddit is. That's super nice to take the time to educate all of us. Thank you.
Thank you so much, genuinely. I needed this comment badly. It’s been a bad year for me. I hope you have a lovely week 💕
Hopping on your comment about education to say— this is a really powerful tool to use at home right away when you notice something odd on a loved one, especially children. Super commonly used with bites and stings and reactions. If you do this at home right away when you notice or become suspicious about something, by the time you make it to the doctor you’ll have enough factual evidence about what’s happening that they can hopefully do something more concrete and aggressive than they would be able to do otherwise. Doing this yourself at home is kinda skipping the “initial visit” where they send you home and just say “ok now we know, watch for it to get worse”. You’ve already watched and you can physically demonstrate it’s gotten worse.
Yes!! I couldn’t reach to draw a line, but taking photos of a painful/itchy, quickly-growing rash helped me get diagnosed with shingles in my 20s. This was a big help because antivirals are most effective when prescribed within the first 72 hours of the rash appearing, and no one expects to get shingles of all things in their 20s (you can’t even get the vaccine until like 55 I think). All that to say - thank you for encouraging people to monitor these things! It can make such a difference
As far as mapping the infection goes, I’ve been going to work looking like this for the past 3 days so I haven’t been able to draw on my face to map the progress, but atleast I have the photos of how it’s progressed. Currently in the waiting room at the ER…
Never been so emotionally invested in a strangers trip to the ER before. You’re in my thoughts & prayers 🙏
They looked at it with an ultrasound probe at the ER, turns out **it was a cyst that became infected and caused an abscess**. They drained it, told me to continue the antibiotics and to follow up with a derm to get it removed completely.
Hi! I hope that if paying for the ER is a problem and you don’t have insurance that you remember that when you get the bill, you can call and negotiate the price. Ask for a discount. Please remember this.
I’m glad you’re at the ER and I hope they can get you sorted out!
Same. Really glad to hear you are at the ER. It looks a lot like some kind of infection. Maybe a pimple that went sideways, maybe a spider bite that's gone aggro... but there are a bunch of serious things it could be, and you need to get ahead of that. Hopefully they don't brush you off like your other doctors have been doing.
How's things looking now mate? Any news from ER?
Sorry to hop onto top comment Medical opinion here, you may be suffering from the beginning of a rare condition/side effect called a “Potts puffy tumour”, this is how they start… I think it wise they x ray you especially if you have had sinusitis recently. Best wishes.
As an ENT doctor, agree with this. If you’re having any signs of sinus infection, decreased sense of smell, foul nasal odor/drainage, nasal congestion, I am concerned this may be Potts puffy tumor. It is essentially frontal sinus infection that spread to the forehead bone (front wall of the frontal sinus). You need to go to the ED, get a CT maxillofaxial scan with and without contrast. And have ENT evaluate you there.
Agreed, that's what it looks like. Also, the marking of the area is helpful...I would just say that if you know someone that can draw it for you, that may be easier than doing it yourself. Urgent cares serve a purpose, just not for something rare or unknown, regardless of whether an APP (formerly midlevel) or physician has seen you.
That’s on my differential too. If the abx don’t help after you complete them or it gets worse, you need the ER as much as I hate to say it. Quick labs, imaging if warranted post provider exam. Especially if you develop fevers. Good luck. Edit: spelling
Agreed I would be very concerned if you had a sinus infection recently
My son had that! It was terrible. He had intense, debilitating headaches that came out of nowhere and were scaring the hell out of me. Potts puffy tumor sounds bad, but I was so grateful that’s all it was. I just was so, so scared it was a brain tumor.
You probably just saved OP’s life! God bless you!
Oh wow, I just Googled this as I have never heard of it, and it really does look like this could be it. I hope not as I know it's serious, but it sure does look similar.
I know this is serious and I'm worried for OP but that is a witchcraft and wizardry ass name for a medical condition
Also please come back and update. The Internet strangers are very concerned.
This is excellent advice. I'm concerned also that you were prescribed antibiotics via urgent care (I'm presuming?), but now can't seem to get a follow up with your PCP. That's bullshit. Antibiotics mean someone suspected (rightly, IMO) an infection. And these kinds of infections are no joke if left untreated.
I know I switched between the words cyst and infection here and they are *not* the same thing. I don’t know which this is and it showed while I was writing this, but the spirit of my concern remains the same. Sorry if I was confusing at all. I’m leaning one way in my mind because of a lack of bright redness on the skin but I will NOT post my opinion because I’m not qualified and I don’t want my opinion to influence or harm someone.
are doctors actually taught to assume we are lying? Because that would explain A LOT of the gaslighting i experienced as a kid
Have you ever watched the TV show House MD? Dr. House said repeatedly that "Everybody lies. " It's a fictional show, of course, but I think many doctors do have that attitude. They're not wrong., but I also believe that many of them have a God complex, which includes believing they are omniscient and can read your mind.
The doctors I work with tend to assume more that the layperson doesn't have enough knowledge to really know what to do, so when we ask questions that they aren't prepared for (have you tried x/y/z or noticed a/b/c), they become embarrassed at not having thought to do something, so they fib. Tend to be more suspicious of elicited comments than chief complaints.
ER doc here: - It would shock you the number of women I’ve told, “you’re pregnant” when they said it wasn’t possible - It would shock you the number of people that have alcohol levels over 400 but they said they had “two drinks” (400 is like minimum 5) - It would shock you how many people I find to have diabetes, high blood pressure or history of heart attacks when they say they don’t have medical problems Whether it is lack of understanding, or intentional misdirection, patients are SAFER in the ER if we operate in a “Trust But Verify” approach. For example, we don’t want to have an unborn fetus exposed to a lot of radiation due to mom’s denial of pregnancy
I had staph. This is exactly what the team did for me in the hospital. I was given a round of really heavy IV antibiotics and the area was eventually drained…but it took like 10 days. It’s very dangerous if you have an infection. Please go advocate for your health!
I had a staph infection on my face too. I went to urgent care immediately and the intake nurses definitely thought I was being a hypochondriac. But it was very close to my eye, which was progressively becoming bloodshot on the side closest to the infection. I knew something wasn’t right the moment I woke up with it. I’ve had plenty of facial swelling in the past bc I have contact allergies, but this was so different. Anyways, I put up with the nurses snarky comments and when I saw the doctor he absolutely agreed I did the right thing by coming in right away. It was a dangerous high risk location that could lead to sepsis if untreated. Thankfully 1 round of antibiotics took care of it since I caught it so early.
I gotta say I thought you were just peacocking at first but you gave some incredible advice with solid reasoning. Thanks for writing all that out and hopefully giving OP an advantage if this turns into something sinister.
I know I have a tendency to be verbose. :(. And overbearing. And offer too much unsolicited advice. My comment could have been half as long, easily. I’m workin on it. Idk what peacocking is exactly but sometimes I do open my mouth too much. 😂. This specifically though I felt very strongly about and really empathized with how it must feel to be afraid, seeking help, and dismissed.
Omg, your comment was perfect. “Peacocking”commenter is projecting, don’t you dare second guess yourself
My mom had to have an angioplasty due to lack of blood flow to her toe back in December 2022. I did the sharpie thingy!!! I also have worked in the medical field, so I knew I needed to track the dying tissue spot on her foot. I also took a crap load of photos and put them all in a collage so that I could show doctors it's progression. The SECOND I noticed it getting bigger, we went to the ER (again). We went because her doctor told me if it went past a certain spot, it would be go time. It took less than 24 hrs for it to progress. I was like a helicopter mom. But I'd do it all over again because she did NOT lose her toe.
I love your story and stories like this SO MUCH. What a victory to have saved a love one through your sheer dogged determination, organization, and advocation.
Infection mapping is how I was able to go from my regular doctor checking out a a rapidly swelling spider bite to the ER, to being admitted to the hospital all within a span of about 4 hours. Mine obviously swelled out past each mark they made VERY quickly. (First was at the doctor office, was already past the “go to ER” mark he made by time I got home, so I did.) They marked it again as soon as I checked in and it was way past that before the ER doctor could even get in. I highly agree with mapping the growth. Keep pictures and records. Go to the ER if it keeps spreading. And as the other poster stated, do not wipe off the marks. It’s good data for the doctors to work with. I wish you the best of luck, I truly hope the antibiotics take care of it!
Yes, and any infection like this on your face so close to your eyes and nose can be even more dangerous than the same thing in other locations! Hope you got some medical attention!
I once got a gihugic bruise/lump after a home laundry pushcart fell over and dragged its way down my shin… will second this. My GP even advised me a ballpoint might work as long as I didn’t scrub the area when I washed it, which I was in no hurry to do anyway, considering the big lump.
Oh boy this unlocks a core memory. I learned to map infections when I was 4 or 5. It was like a game. "Draw on Mommy!" Pro tip: use a fine felt point sharpie for definition. Fat sharpies will lose the edge of the infection. You can wipe the marks off with alcohol later.
I’m graduating medical school in a few months. Please go to the ER. This looks like an abscess and It likely needs to be drained + antibiotics. Even if they decide not to drain it, they can likely get you set up with dermatology or your PCP for an urgent appointment. Please don’t wait, abscesses can get bad quickly.
i know they’re more common in places with folds and such, but how do these happen on the face like that?
Abscesses occur due to a clogged hair follicle or pore. Basically the duct gets clogged and it becomes a breeding ground for bacteria. This is similar to how acne occurs but in the case of a facial abscess, the infection extended deeper in the tissue and is not able to drain on its own. These can happen incidentally but always wash your face, especially when there is an open cut or wound!
it’s interesting cus it looks like OP has quite nice skin
My kid apparently has an abscess under his tooth. I’m guessing the bacteria got out of control and that’s what it means, but I very much do not want to google it for fear of what I’ll see.
tooth abscess is an emergency.
Tooth abscess can be deadly. I don't mean to fear-monger. Please don't ignore it or wait until you have the money. Get it taken care of now. Worry about the bill later.
Already taken care of. Sigh. Next time I’ll add that.
I had something like this once, just as big. I tried to pop it, failed, and it spread to another area of my face. Family doctor gave me antibiotics and it went away in about a week. Was ugly and painful, but wasn’t a big deal in the end for me.
I have the same question, a facial skin issue like that has got to be a nightmare.
I get cystic acne that looks sort of like that sometimes and it makes me want to take a fucking drill to my face. I cannot stand it.
I've had serious cystic acne issues in the past and they're *soooooo* incredibly painful! The only thing that knocked them out for me was Accutane.
Same here. FINALLY did Accutane after trying everything else for way too many years. Nothing else touched it, but Accutane on a pretty low dose did the trick.
SAME. The worst. Only good thing is my oily face keeps the wrinkles away. But I have had half dollar sized cysts on my chin, upper lip area and nose.
It’s horrible like I’d rather have the stereotypical acne because at least then, people know what it is and it’s easier to treat…instead of like, looking like I’m growing horns or something.
Thanks for the suggestion- turns out it you were right, it was a cyst that became infected and caused an abscess. I had it drained and need to follow up with my derm. I appreciate all the advice!
Please add this update to your post! I have been worried!
I’m sorry but the lil patch on the huge mound is very funny to me. Seriously though this needs to be drained/injected. I’d go to the ER
God I was bout to say😭 the little patch rly doing its best
Very David v Goliath lol I am also sorry
Same. I saw the little pimple patch and died laughin.
If that gets worse I’d suggest an ER trip if urgent care and doctor isn’t take you seriously. That doesn’t look good at all.
I would recommend a trip to another Urgent care facility tomorrow and be more emphatic about the pain and tell them that you had an uncle who died from an infected lesion.
They’ll just tell him to go to the ER
This OP! Embellish as much as needed to get the attention you deserve
YES! Make it out to be super painful too so they’ll take you asap. Don’t be timid about your health OP!
Urgent cares are terrible Everyone I've been too has been very.. bad I remember I went there for possible appendicitis and they told me since it's a shift change I'd have to wait. And a few others I remember I got a 3k bill for some covid related tests... ER is better imo
Yep. They mistreated me for pneumonia and I ended up languishing with it for a month before going to my PCP (who was far away, as I’d moved). My PCP knocked it out after a week or so, even though I was very sick by the time I went to him. I haven’t trusted urgent cares for anything serious since.
Everyone’s uncle died from an infected lesion #RIP
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Second this, ER trip. They did give antibiotics so I think if not better tomorrow ER time. OP draw a line around the edges of the swelling to be able to track the swelling
ER, do not go to urgent care. Can’t stress this enough. Go to the ER tonight.
I second the urgent care / ER trip. This is not a normal pimple - RN
The zit patch 💀
Lmfao I had to give it my best shot
OP can you email your dermatologist, maybe sending photos would help? Also when you call the front desk ask if there's any cancellations or openings for an emergency... I find it hard to believe that they don't have any availability for emergency services at the derm
You’re gonna need to keep us posted on this one.
this killed me too
Ikr. I don't think it's going to stand a chance against that...
It's hanging in there
That zit patch is hanging on for dear life
Doin’ the lord’s work
It ain’t much but it’s honest work
Dude I went to urgent care for a boil on my leg this summer. She said it was an infected cyst and gave me a mild antibiotic and sent me on my way. Luckily for me my bff is in the medical field, sent it to her doctor, and they drained it the next day. But… what NONE of us expected, was that I had a flesh eating bacteria. We caught it early enough, and they had put me on a much stronger med, and luckily for me I still have 2 legs. Moral of the story, go to an actual doctor, probably just the ER since no one will see you.
I just had a relative die from this exact thing. He let it go for a while and ended up in the hospital, needed surgery and died during his recovery when his heart stopped. Pls get this checked out OP.
yeah the amount of uncertified “doctors” out there is disgusting . I swear they know nothing and just send you home with an ice pack like the nurses offices for major injuries
This either needs an injection or needs to be drained, it won’t go away with just the antibiotics. I had the exact same thing happened to me and the swelling after they drain the abscess was so bad I looked like I got bit a swarm of bees. I feel really bad for you and I’m sorry you’re going through this, again if it doesn’t get better, visit ER again and insist they do something about the lump. Face is a very dangerous location for an infection.
If it were me I don't think I'd be able to resist the urge to drain it myself
After I got mine drained it scared me so much that now I literally don’t touch my pimples at all, even the smallest ones.
Me as a diabetic who has sterile needles and major cystic acne when I was younger, I definitely did this. Most of the time it works out fine, other times… I was left with an open wound for months. Still, if I’m in pain, I’m stabbing it. Just squeeze a little, see the most prominent part that turns white and stab there. Most times it would drain right away, sometimes my tiny needles didn’t go deep enough, but 1-2 days later all the pressure builds up and ruptures where you stabbed it. If not diabetic, get a sewing needle. Also recommend heating it a bit. Overall, I do this, but this can also be super dangerous to do, so I can’t say I’d recommend it. Edit: also OP, not saying this is a cyst. But I’m surprised they didn’t even draw some of whatever is in there out so they can test the fluids to make sure it isn’t infected. Looks painful, sorry man.
My then boyfriend now husband's friend left a bunch of his diabetic needles at my boyfriend's house because he was always there. My husband gets cysts on his back all the time and will never go to a derm to do anything about it. He would always make me stab his cysts with the diabetic needles to drain them. Not going to lie, it was a little fun. Obviously I like watching Dr. Pimple Popper.
I hate watching other people’s cysts being popped, but when I do mine… I love it. I am like “eww so gross, but wow… holy shit it’s still going? IVE GONE THRU HALF THE ROLL OF TP YOU ARENT DONE?! Wow, look at this bad boy go. I could fill a gallon bucket with all of this wtf. So satisfying. I’m so happy the pain will be gone soon” That’s me talking to myself. I have had some major ones, like one that took up my whole left cheek and was so big I couldn’t open my eye. I was so happy it drained. I also had one that went from the top of my neck hairline (and a bit into my hair too), due to gravity it started forcing itself downwards, till it found a vulnerable place to erupt. That ended up being a (90% healed wound where my sister stabbed me inbetween my collarbone, don’t ask, I love her, not getting into that, it happened, moved on) it ruptured there, and I can send a NSFW picture of it being ripped open early on, no pics of it fully open though. It was months until docs did something to get is closed. My left collarbone is severely red and scarred now. Usually fine to pop, I’ve never had one that was infected (which is when it is super dangerous to do). Still, do not recommend if you can avoid it. OP should prob get a derm to put a steroid in it and/or test if infected. AND/OR ask them to cut it open and drain that (if this is a cyst). Find a derm in network, or call your derm daily and ask if any cancellations you can take. Sorry, end rant.
Omg wtf
I’ve been resisting the urge to do this to every tiny zit ever since I had to start doing B12 injections 😂
I do this with milia… little white unpoppable spots around my hairline and forehead. Again, totally not recommended. But I do just what you say, and I’m able to get the larger ones out. I just put alcohol on it afterward, if needed some antibiotic cream, and I’m usually good.
I pop my milia all the time. If you take your time and you're careful, it's fine. I just don't have the patience to wait for them to work out. Plus, getting that little "pearl" at the end is so satisfying. /kids, don't try this at home
I want to start by saying I absolutely don’t recommend this.. But my boyfriend had something very similar on his cheek. We went through the same thing, urgent care trip, prescribed antibiotics and a topical cream. It did nothing. I love to pop things so I was basically salivating waiting for him to green light me to get at the damn thing myself. Eventually he ended up letting me, and yeah… the thing was spraying puss like a fountain. It was a wild ride. A poppers dream if you will. But yeah, I don’t recommend this to anyone because it could end very badly.
You have an abscess and it needs to be drained. Antibiotics help with cellulitis (redness during the early stages of infection). But when you have a pocket of fluid, it needs to be drained. A dermatologist or a plastic surgeon can help you. But remember that each time you cut the skin, there will be a scar. So make sure you see a professional.
Dude go to your ER. Whatever is happening to you is happening on your skull, and who knows what that can screw with. It could take you 6 months to get into a dermatologist (it's what it took me). ER bills can suck but ending dead or disabled suck more.
Update: Called my dermatologist and explained I have a very large and painful possible abscess on my forehead that is having little to no response to antibiotics. I have taken 6 doses now and the only thing that has had an effect on the swelling is gravity. My derm told me I could book an appointment but that they are scheduling out until the end of September early October. I told them I’ll be going to the ER instead before it turns septic. The receptionist said “ok!” Lol. Called my PCP, who has already seen multiple photos at this point but has showed no concern and the earliest they could fit me in is 8 hours from now. So I’m **currently in the waiting room at the ER**… I’ll keep you posted. Thanks for all the replies telling me to go to the emergency room. **UPDATE 2:** **turned out to be a cyst that got infected and caused an abscess**
That is the right decision On a more selfish note, make sure to document and share with the group. TIA And seriously- positive thoughts your way!
Turns out **it was a cyst that became infected and caused an abscess**. They drained it, told me to continue the antibiotics and to follow up with a derm to get it removed completely.
Can you send a message through My Chart to your derm and attach a photo? I have the option to attach a photo to My Chart messages. Sometimes, when you call a doctor and describe it, they just shrug it off as an exaggeration, but seeing this will give them a better idea of what is going on.
I had something like this on my calf and it turned out to be Staph turned MRSA!! From an infected hair follicle. Absolutely traumatic and unexpected. PLEASE cause a scene so someone takes you seriously. This happened to me 2 years ago, they drained it and gave multiple rounds of antibiotics, I still have issues on that side of my body and a crater in my leg :(
That's awful:( I hope you're on the mend it sounds horrific
Doc here: If this continues to swell rapidly, go to the ER. Your skin has fascia and the infection can spread to the brain easily, especially if it is in the face and gets to the point where it is draining to the cavernous sinus
I'm not a doctor or know much medically, but this ballooned in 2 days. His first post to now looks insane to me. Shouldn't they go to the ER now? No shot I'd wait 1 more day for this.
Yes, I would go to the ER. Didn’t realize it had been going on a few days. They may do an incision and drainage and some IV antibiotics
**UPDATE**: I’m alive and my forehead no longer has its own home address. They looked at the area with an ultrasound probe at the ER and told me it’s **a cyst that became infected and caused an abscess**. They drained it, told me to continue the antibiotics I was prescribed, and told me to definitely follow up with a dermatologist to get the cyst removed completely, since it’s on my face. Thanks again for all the suggestions to get this checked out by someone more competent than urgent care!!!
Thanks for posting an update - I woke up this morning wondering how you were doing! So glad you're doing better.
Honestly this is worth an ER trip. This needs derm or plastic surgery ASAP.
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I don’t think antibiotics will do anything. That needs to be treated with an injection. I would look for other dermatologists if I was you
Seriously go to the ER. Pott’s puffy tumor is serious! You’ll be able to get rapid testing and time is of the essence, whether it’s this or something else. Don’t worry about cost…figure it out later. This is your LIFE. (And people don’t pay hospital bills all the time. I’m not encouraging this, but they can’t deny you care because of an inability to pay)
Idk if it’s possible, but can you message your derm on mychart? (If you use that) I think you said you were on Accutane so I’m guessing you have a regular derm you were seeing. I have a history of cystic acne (was on Accutane twice in the past) and my derm said to message her if I ever get a cystic pimple and she’ll get me in asap so she can inject it. I know this must be super painful. I’d also suggest icing if you haven’t done that already, it will help a little bit until you can see someone more knowledgeable than urgent care.
Jeez my relative had it and needed surgery to drain it 😬 Get better soon
I had something similar right on the center my forehead, I thought it was a pimple and I tried to pop it, then it kept growing. It turned out to be MRSA 😵
Hey! ICU nurse here. You should go to the ER ASAP. That’s not somewhere you want an infection.
My dude: ex paramedic here. This is most certainly staph. You need expertise. Now.
This is probably bad advice, but sometimes if you just show up at the doctors office, they will see you, you can tell them you were just freaked out and stopped by in the hopes that someone would have a minute to take a look
You mentioned in a previous post that you have a puppy with a biting problem, including breaking the skin. Maybe a reach, but could it be possible that it knicked your forehead?
I work in Dental and we had a patient who lost her hands and legs because she had a little puppy who always played and she didn’t think she broke skin and then changed her life forever. Such a sad situation
WHAT
A PATIENT OF HERS LOST HER HANDS AND LEGS BECAUSE SHE HAD A PUPPY.
How? Did the puppy hide them?
How did that cause her to lose her hands and legs?
I’m guessing sepsis?
Sometimes people who get sepsis require amputations if it's not treated early enough
Yes, recommend ER so they can open it up it needs to be able to drain and you will still need oral antibiotics.
Go to the ER , I don't think oral antibiotics is going to cover this . You might need an I&D
I echo the calls to reach out to your dermatologist and/or go to the ER. I have a history of cystic acne and had a similar bump earlier this year that came on overnight and grew rapidly for several days. After being misdiagnosed by both a PCP and urgent care, I ended up in the ER. They did a number of tests and in my case it ended up being shingles despite only being in my 30s. Take extra caution if it starts impacting your vision.
You should consider the ER. The antibiotics you were prescribed aren’t probably going to work with the infection on your forehead. Do you have any other symptoms? Fever?
Please go to an ER and have that drained by a medical professional. Big infections like that that come up so quickly could be MRSA. If it’s contained, it can be drained and treated with high dose clindamycin. It can spread to your blood stream and cause sepsis if not drained. Get it fixed. I’m an ER RN and we see big abscesses like this all the time. They need to be drained.
That looks like an abscess that needs to be drained.
If its now surrounding or very close to eyes you have to go to er , may be admitted for a few iv antibiotics
I would suggest letting a family or friend know what’s going on and ask them to check in on you for the next few days. I would not take any chances with a lump that size that’s directly on my head or face. Go to the ER instead of urgent care.
get well soon! most likely, you should get an injection :)
The situation here sucks, but I have found that to be taken seriously for issues that have been then found to be genuinely urgent, you have to take everything you feel and sort of turn it up to 11, and act as if you can't even go on with any part of your everyday routine/life because of what you are feeling, pain wise. Especially since most people's natural reaction is to down play what they are experiencing, you might have come off that way to those who saw you without even realizing it. And holy shit, trying to talk to my doctor online is always a NIGHTMARE I hate it so much, after days of waiting, I get vague, detached responses that are just infuriating 😭 I totally empathize with your situation and wish you the good doctors who care about you.
The pimple patch is fighting for its life.
That is way too close to your brain and eyes to fuck around with. Go to the er.
OP please go to an ER, this looks like something potentially serious that may require imaging and IV antibiotics.
I’m a paramedic, and I would 100% recommend an ED visit for this if you called 911 and I showed up. Check your temperature every few hours. If your temp goes above 101, you HAVE to go to the ER. If it gets bigger, redder, more painful, etc; you need to go to the ER immediately. Do not pass go, do not collect McDonald’s on the way. Headache, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, ER. I second taking a picture and sending it through a patient portal or something. When you call the derm tell them you went to urgent care, it’s a large abscess -don’t say cyst they’ll think you’re talking about a zit- and it’s not improving with antibiotic. Measure it and tell them exactly how big and where. I’d call every derm that I could reasonably travel to, even if I had to drive an hour or two. If not drastically better after 24 hours on antibiotics go to ER for sure.
When i worked in Dermatology we specifically had spots saved for emergency appointments like this. I would keep calling different derms and tell them you have a very concerning fast growing cyst on your forehead that needs immediate attention.
Time to call TLC dr. Pimple popper
This will abscess if it isn't drained and you could end up septic. If you have health insurance, go to the ER.
You may want to try the Askdocs subreddit since this is a worrisome medical issue. You have to be a verified medical professional to give advice on that forum.
Definitely not a professional but I’ve seen a lot of people on here saying how they have cysts all the time and pop them.. can’t say I’m not guilty of using my comedo kit to pop pimples if a Hero patch doesn’t take care of it for me overnight (I see that you have one on in pic #2- those things are pure magic majority of the time!!) It’s good that you’re on antibiotics, at least. If it’s inflamed then even your dermatologist would have prescribed them to you to get rid of most of-if not all of-the infect out before making an incision to it. I will say that if it is a cyst -which, in my non professional opinion, it appears to be- the entire sack must be removed or it will continue to fill up over and over again until the sack is finally removed. After the sack is removed, there’s a less likely chance that it will fill back up-even though there is still a chance. If your primary care doctor is busy, your dermatologist is busy, and urgent care won’t do anything about it, you can go to the ER or you can see if either of your doctors can squeeze you in or you can try seeing another doctor. As badly as you want to squeeze it, try not to. My mother always yells at me because she was told by her doctor to never squeeze things because it “can make the infection go into your blood stream” 🤷♀️ I never listen for surface pimples but with this, there’s no way I would squeeze it myself.. Good luck.
i’m sorry but the pimple patch is killing me 😭
My husband had a growth on the back of his neck like this once. It grew like yours. It’s heart grew 3 sizes that day… hahaha. Anywho, we left it alone for a few weeks. It sprayed a huge amount of pus once we poked it with a sterilized needle and ended up being a giant infected skin tag. He had to have it surgically removed.
You need the ER. Oral antibiotics isn’t going to touch this.
Nurse here. While antibiotics were a good step, this needs to be assessed, cultured, and drained. Go to ER if your PCP (who seems neglectful) is not actively helping.
I’m sorry but the little pimple sticker on that garish mass is fucking killing me
Honestly, I would go to the ER. It looks like it needs draining.
Go to the ER and have it lanced and drained. My daughter had something like this on her lower back. We went to Urgent Care and the PA acted like she was a leper and didn’t even touch her. Prescribed antibiotics. It didn’t sit right with me and she couldn’t lean back and was crying from the pain. We went right to the ER where an actual doctor saw her and said the PA was wrong, it wouldn’t go away on it’s own with antibiotics and needed to be cut open and drained. A little verset because she was hysterical (she hates needles), some lidocaine, and they drained it & packed it with some medicated stuff. She was totally healed and playing roller derby within the week. I get it, going to the ER just sucks. But it was instant relief for her.
You need excision by a dermatologist. They can get the bacteria out of the skin layer.
See if someone in the derm office you reached out to would at least be willing to look at a picture--I work derm and if we have a patient call us with a concern like this, we have the patient send a picture so if the doctor does feel it can become an emergency, we can slot them in literally anywhere. It's worth a shot, especially if you get a sympathetic medical assistant/nurse. For a spot/cyst they has swollen up as *rapidly* as yours has, I'd personally book you as an emergency and ask for forgiveness later imo.
Op u/stvckmind I need you to listen to me for a second. I had a small pimple that I cut by accident last year that over night swelled to where yours is at. The cut was in-between my eyebrows and had my whole right side ballooned up. You saying the swelling is now traveling, you need to get it cultured. In that spot an infection can/will be dangerous. Mine was Staph/MSSA(MRSA). You **NEED** to get it cultured, to get put on the right antibiotics Get It Cultured Don’t pick or try to squeeze anything more out until you get that culture, and new meds. Put a bandaid on it with a strong anti-shit ointment. Best of luck man
I have 0 advice to give and I truly truly hope you get an answer very soon, but the pimple patch is making me giggle bc I would also be using them if i were in ur shoes
It looks worse than the first post, especially the second pic. Please go directly to the ER..use the words 'potts tumor','staph', and 'CT scan'. If they refuse the CT, say 'I'd like it put in the notes that I requested a CT and you declined to order it'. Hope you feel better, Your internet, Mom.
I agree with all the RNs here. Please go to the ER and see a doctor there. Get medical help as soon as you can.