Is there a doctor in the house?

[tessaesque]

I need some advice on a bruise-like spot that has been getting bigger over the last week. I'm thinking it MIGHT be a bite of some kind, but I'm really not sure. Any dermatologists or nurses or whatever interested in giving me a non-binding opinion?

 

[Medusa]

l can suggest you see a doctor tess

 

[lizzie]

I'm not a doctor, but if you can post a pic, I'll try to take an educated guess.

 

[the_recruit]

Just don't use webmd

 

[tessaesque]

Going to the doctor isn't really easy for me. I work 830-530 in a very affluent part of town, and my PCP is about 40 minutes from my office. I'm new, so I don't have any PTO available. I am WILLING to go to the doctor, but I want to make sure it's really necessary first, since I (1) won't get paid for time off, and (2) will get all kinds of crap from my boss for taking time.

 

[lizzie]

Going to the doctor isn't really easy for me. I work 830-530 in a very affluent part of town, and my PCP is about 40 minutes from my office. I'm new, so I don't have any PTO available. I am WILLING to go to the doctor, but I want to make sure it's really necessary first, since I (1) won't get paid for time off, and (2) will get all kinds of crap from my boss for taking time.

HOw about a minor emergency clinic? Around here, it will cost around 60 dollars, but they usually get you in and out pretty quickly, and they are open after regular business hours.

 

[tessaesque]

HOw about a minor emergency clinic? Around here, it will cost around 60 dollars, but they usually get you in and out pretty quickly, and they are open after regular business hours.

That's an option if absolutely necessary. My insurance would require a $50 co-pay, but those places aren't very thorough in my experience. They're good for easy stuff like strep and bronchitis, but beyond that they're kind of doofy.

 

[lizzie]

That's an option if absolutely necessary. My insurance would require a $50 co-pay, but those places aren't very thorough in my experience. They're good for easy stuff like strep and bronchitis, but beyond that they're kind of doofy.

I'm one of those people who would rather pay the 50 dollars, than drive 45 miles to my pcp, and pay the 25 dollar co-pay, just for the convenience. :lol:

 

[Stewart]

Could be haematona. It's hard to go with considering how little you've given us. Probably easier to go to a doctor.

 

[TiredOfLife]

Use topical antibiotics on it and draw a circle around it with a pen. If it gets bigger in 24 hours, go in, you have a Staph infection.

 

[Excon]

Don't take any chances. Go in and get it checked out.
Especially if it looks like any of the photos in the following links.

Spider bites


Tick bites

 

[ChrisL]

Just don't use webmd

Ha-ha! That's hilarious!

 

[tessaesque]

I googled images of spider bites and MRSA and it doesn't look like any of those. It started off small and pink like an ant bite, but it's gotten slightly bigger and a darker red over the last few days. There's no head, no enlarged pores, no visible puncture spots of any kind. I was advised by the lovely Lizzie that it might just be an allergic reaction or irritation of some kind, so I'm going to buy some cortisone cream tomorrow and see if that does anything for it. If no change by Monday I'll go to a doctor.

 

[humbolt]

You might want to point out to your ass hole boss that should it develop into something more, you'll be missing a lot more time than a cursory doctor's visit would require.

 

[spud_meister]

I need some advice on a bruise-like spot that has been getting bigger over the last week. I'm thinking it MIGHT be a bite of some kind, but I'm really not sure. Any dermatologists or nurses or whatever interested in giving me a non-binding opinion?

Ask Hiswoman, she's a medical type.

 

[Lutherf]

Well, if it looks like this - http://top-10-list.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/bubonic-plague.jpg it' could be Bubonic plague.
Ebola looks like this - http://gudhealth.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/ebola-hemorrhagic-fever.jpg

If those don't help then......go to a doggone doctor!!!! Are you seriously considering a medical diagnosis from some yahoo on the internet?! Have you never used the internet?

Seriously kid, what you're looking for here is what you want to hear not what you need to hear. If you're really concerned about whatever it is then get yourself to a damned professional. Nobody here, regardless of expertise, can give you any more than a "looks like a.." or "sounds like it might be...." and if you choose to treat yourself based on just that you're a damned fool. You'd probably be better off just not doing anything if you're not going to see a professional in person.

 

[Gipper]

*puts on latex gloves*

Yup, I'm a doctor. Go into exam room 1, get naked, and wait for me.

 

[TheGirlNextDoor]

*puts on latex gloves*

Yup, I'm a doctor. Go into exam room 1, get naked, and wait for me.

Doctor Love died with KISS.

 

[Gipper]

Doctor Love died with KISS.

You're not a member of the KISS army? *gasp*

 

[Red_Dave]

l can suggest you see a doctor tess

I can suggest universal healthcare.

 

[Gipper]

I can suggest universal healthcare.

I don't think she wants to wait 3 months to have it looked at.

 

[Manc Skipper]

I googled images of spider bites and MRSA and it doesn't look like any of those. It started off small and pink like an ant bite, but it's gotten slightly bigger and a darker red over the last few days. There's no head, no enlarged pores, no visible puncture spots of any kind. I was advised by the lovely Lizzie that it might just be an allergic reaction or irritation of some kind, so I'm going to buy some cortisone cream tomorrow and see if that does anything for it. If no change by Monday I'll go to a doctor.

If you're going to a pharmacy for the cream, ask the pharmacist's advice. When you mentioned bruising, getting bigger, it sounded like a broken blood vessel leaking into the skin, but dark red doesn't sound like a bruise. If you have no other symptoms, then allergy/irritation seems more likely.
I'm a nurse, but in mental health. How do you feel about this spot/rash?

 

[lizzie]

If you're going to a pharmacy for the cream, ask the pharmacist's advice. When you mentioned bruising, getting bigger, it sounded like a broken blood vessel leaking into the skin, but dark red doesn't sound like a bruise. If you have no other symptoms, then allergy/irritation seems more likely.
I'm a nurse, but in mental health. How do you feel about this spot/rash?

Quoted for humor! :lol:

 

[tessaesque]

If you're going to a pharmacy for the cream, ask the pharmacist's advice. When you mentioned bruising, getting bigger, it sounded like a broken blood vessel leaking into the skin, but dark red doesn't sound like a bruise. If you have no other symptoms, then allergy/irritation seems more likely.
I'm a nurse, but in mental health. How do you feel about this spot/rash?

It's gotten much better since I started using a cortisone cream on it, so I think Lizzie was spot on when she suggested it looked like an irritation/rash. It never HURT, and never got that purple-y bruise color...and now that it's fading you can see some little spots that more closely resemble the rash you get w/an allergic reaction.

Honestly, I think it was related to the laundry detergent we were using. As a kid I had a reaction to Tide and just recently used it for laundry when my idiot roommate insisted on buying it because it was on sale. I was all-over itchy most of the time until the most recent laundry day, when we switched back to a "free" detergent w/o the dyes and perfumes.

 

[lizzie]

Honestly, I think it was related to the laundry detergent we were using. As a kid I had a reaction to Tide and just recently used it for laundry when my idiot roommate insisted on buying it because it was on sale. I was all-over itchy most of the time until the most recent laundry day, when we switched back to a "free" detergent w/o the dyes and perfumes.

That could very well be. My husband was always sensitive to laundry detergents that had enzymes in them, so I spent almost thirty years buying wonderful smelling detergent for my clothes, and plain old non-scented, no-enzyme detergent for his. :lol: