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Warning: This post is a bit gross and I'll be talking in detail about a lip infection, so if you don't want to read about that, stop now!
Hi everyone, I recently had a problem with my lip where I would get blisters that wouldn't go away. This all started about a month and a half ago. At its worst, my upper lip was covered in these little pimples that would leak pus and eventually turn into large yellow-orange blisters. I had a bizarre orange crust over my entire upper left lip several times. It would appear to heal but always come back. I went to the doctor's 3 times and was always brushed off. The first two times they told me it was cold sores, and the last time she told me it was contact dermatitis. I knew it was something more because I've never had anything like this before - An endless cycle of irritation -> blisters -> crusty sores and "healing" .... Only to start all over again.
The 3rd doctor told me it wasn't cold sores and that was an incorrect diagnosis. She said it was probably just contact dermatitis and not to worry. But the night after the last visit I had a disgusting orange crust form over my upper lip again, so I called the doctor back. Suddenly she seemed interested and said it was probably staph infection. I don't know how they could make this diagnosis over the phone when I was just there in person, but alright, let's try it out. She said I probably got staph from having chapped lips and bacteria got in. She gave me an antibiotic ointment (muiprocin) and I've been using that 2x a day for 6 days now. It seems to be working and I haven't gotten any new sores or blisters for days. Here's a pic from yesterday: Imgur: The most awesome images on the Internet As you can see, it isn't fully healed and I still have a lot of dry skin and some tiny "whitehead pimples" that could potentially turn into sores. But it's much better than it was.
Still, it's not completely gone and I'm getting nervous because I know staph infection can be very persistent. I get paranoid and worry it might be MRSA or something. You hear all these stories about people in hospitals dying from staph so it seems very worrisome. The doctor reassured me that it was nothing serious and said that if it's not gone in 2 weeks to call back. But I'm having a lot of anxiety about this. Like I said, the muiprocin seems to be working and it's definitely better than it was, but still not fully healed.
At this point it's only noticeable if you look really close. It's easy to see when wet, but when it's dry you can hardly tell there's anything there.
How long should this take to fully heal? I know it's very rare, but I'm scared of it spreading to the blood or something crazy. Has anyone else ever dealt with staph before, especially in such a strange place? How can I avoid reinfecting myself and make sure this nasty infection goes away for good?
You have impetigo and need a round of oral antibiotics to go with the mupirocin ointment. This can be a complication of cold sores but it might also have been misdiagnosed initially.
You have impetigo and need a round of oral antibiotics to go with the mupirocin ointment. This can be a complication of cold sores but it might also have been misdiagnosed initially.
Yeah, that's what I thought it was too. I think tomorrow I'll call up and try to find a different doctor that will see me. I hate to take antibiotics if I don't have to, but if the cream isn't enough I don't mind
You have impetigo and need a round of oral antibiotics to go with the mupirocin ointment. This can be a complication of cold sores but it might also have been misdiagnosed initially.
Impetigo can be healed very naturally. I had it as a child. I was to wash my hands, then wash the impetigo, get it soggy, and peel off the scab. It hurts, but plain old air will kill it. Cremes keep it moisturized and allow the scab to keep it nice and safe. Blot it dry and toss that washcloth into a place it won't be touched, as it's very contagious. Take care not to spread it further on your face, too. I've had it a couple of times as an adult and this method works very quickly. When it happens to me it's due to blowing my nose too much. It's essentially caused by filth, and of course snot is full of filthy bacteria! blowing the nose over and over dries and cracks the skin and lets the bacteria in. I use tissues with lotion to prevent such.
The original post was over a year ago, so I suspect the problem has been resolved by now.
Impetigo is usually caused by either strep or staph, including possibly antibiotic resistant staph. If you suspect you have it, it would be best to see a doctor, get a culture done, and take the antibiotic that the culture results predict will work.
Cold sores are indeed caused by herpes, and that can be diagnosed with appropriate testing and treated with antiviral medication. Herpes sores can be infected with bacteria, too, and sometimes become impetigo, at which point it needs to be treated.
Treatment of either herpes or impetigo lowers the risk of spreading it, either to other areas of your own body or to another person. it's best not to mess around with DYI medicine with either.
I have had a growing mass of sores that weep, itch and when dry my lip cracks and then bleeds. I also was told I had cold sores but had never had one before and didn't have contact with anyone to get it. After trying conjuntivis cream given from one pharmicist that didn't work to cold sore cream from another. I went back to my doctor told him what had been happening. The same symptoms as yours and he did a couple of swabs. The results came back that I have a staph infection and he immediately put me on antibiotics and mupirocin. Hoping this horrid mess on my top lip (today has started on my bottom lip) will go away. I have had an aweful 5 weeks.
I have the same infection on my bottom lip. I've gone to numerous doctors to no avail. Two doctors took a culture and I do have staph after ruling out herpes I.
I am using Mupirocin but it burns. It also makes my lip look worse, as said above, it looks "better" when dry! For a while I used Manuka oil which seemed to work for awhile, but after about 6 weeks, I had another breakout.
I've made an appointment to see a dermatologist AGAIN. This is SO irritating and embarrassing! If anyone else has had this issue, have you been cured for good?
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