# My body pulls an April Fools prank on me and I nearly die **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [April 3, 2012, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-body-pulls-an-april-fools-prank-on-me-and-i-nearly-die/617665 "2012-04-03T03:16:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2012, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-body-pulls-an-april-fools-prank-on-me-and-i-nearly-die/617665/1 "2012-04-03T03:16:00Z")
So, Saturday afternoon, I notice what appears to be an inflamed zit on the inside of my upper arm. I squeeze it a bit and get some pus out, and go about my day. It’s still sore, but I figure that’s a side effect of popping it and mostly put it out of my mind. Around two in the morning, I’m headed to bed at last and I peel off my shirt. I notice that the zit is large, an angry red color, and that two meandering red lines are spreading from it. Just a zit? April Fools! It’s a staph infection! Anyway, I drove myself to the ER, got some pills (that are so large they should be taken with a knife and fork) and now it’s just a little red speck on my arm. Apparently, I’m going to live. Still, if I hadn’t noticed it before I fell asleep, I might have been in some real trouble. Also, the whole time I was in the ER, all I could think was, “If I tell anyone about this today, they’re going to think its a massively tasteless prank.”. Which is why I waited 'til today to post this thread. ---
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2012, 4:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-body-pulls-an-april-fools-prank-on-me-and-i-nearly-die/617665/2 "2012-04-03T04:59:53Z")
Good god, and as if there weren’t enough ways of dying to worry about. Was it a zit that became infected after, or a manifestation of the infection? Glad you’re okay. ---
**Author:** ![audiobottle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/bc8723/32.png) [@audiobottle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/audiobottle)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2012, 5:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-body-pulls-an-april-fools-prank-on-me-and-i-nearly-die/617665/3 "2012-04-03T05:04:52Z")
Awww you popped it before going to the ER? You deprived some student/resident the joy of an I&D (incision and drainage). Nothing like sticking that scalpel in there and seeing all the pus ooze out. Glad to hear you got some good antibiotics though. Skin infections/cellulitis can be more serious than people think. ---
**Author:** ![Alice\_The\_Goon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Alice\_The\_Goon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alice_The_Goon)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2012, 5:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-body-pulls-an-april-fools-prank-on-me-and-i-nearly-die/617665/4 "2012-04-03T05:44:40Z")
See? In a lot of let’s-talk-about-my-huge-pimple threads, I will pop up and Debbie Downer that it’s not always a harmless pimple- sometimes it’s staph or mrsa. I just wanted to come in to say, “I told you so!” 😛 Glad you paid attention and got it taken care of. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2012, 6:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-body-pulls-an-april-fools-prank-on-me-and-i-nearly-die/617665/5 "2012-04-03T06:23:36Z")
> [@cmyk](#): > > Good god, and as if there weren’t enough ways of dying to worry about. > > Was it a zit that became infected after, or a manifestation of the infection? Glad you’re okay. I’m not sure what it originally was - I assumed “zit” because strange bumps on my skin that squirt pus when I squeeze them are usually zits, but this one never formed a proper head, so I’m not sure. Might have been an infected bug bite. The funny thing is, a couple weeks ago, a friend of my SO had a staph infection, and my SO (who’s a bit of a hypochondriac) has been convinced ever since that every twinge or cramp or ingrown hair is really a staph infection. Now that I got one, too, I’m afraid I may have permanently broken him. ---
**Author:** ![Rachellelogram](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rachellelogram/32/8689_2.png) [@Rachellelogram](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rachellelogram)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2012, 8:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-body-pulls-an-april-fools-prank-on-me-and-i-nearly-die/617665/6 "2012-04-03T08:02:02Z")
Can we call this thread an informal staph meeting? 🆒 Sorry to hear it! I’ve had a boil before in the area you referenced, and I did the exact same thing you did. Fortunately, it wasn’t staph in my case. But I’ll keep this in mind in case I ever get another one, and keep an eye on it for blood poisoning. :eek: ---
**Author:** ![billfish678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2012, 10:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-body-pulls-an-april-fools-prank-on-me-and-i-nearly-die/617665/7 "2012-04-03T10:16:46Z")
At least we know it wasn’t lupus 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Hypno-Toad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b2d939/32.png) [@Hypno-Toad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypno-Toad)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2012, 11:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-body-pulls-an-april-fools-prank-on-me-and-i-nearly-die/617665/8 "2012-04-03T11:01:39Z")
From now on, I will check for radiating red lines after I pop something. Getting old seems to equal getting paranoid. ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2012, 11:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-body-pulls-an-april-fools-prank-on-me-and-i-nearly-die/617665/9 "2012-04-03T11:12:27Z")
So where’s the pics? The videos? ---
**Author:** ![PunditLisa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/4af34b/32.png) [@PunditLisa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PunditLisa)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2012, 12:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-body-pulls-an-april-fools-prank-on-me-and-i-nearly-die/617665/10 "2012-04-03T12:17:15Z")
Hell, I thought you had a heart attack! Or, I don’t know, Dengue Fever. You had an infected zit that was treated before your entire arm was a mass of stinky, green, gangrenous flesh which had to be hacked off with a rusty saw without the aid of ether. Honestly, I haven’t been this disappointed since Geraldo Rivera opened Al Capone’s vault. ---
**Author:** ![Maiira](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f04885/32.png) [@Maiira](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maiira)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2012, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-body-pulls-an-april-fools-prank-on-me-and-i-nearly-die/617665/11 "2012-04-03T13:02:52Z")
I didn’t get a fun zit thing to pop when I got MY infection. _Pouts_ My ankle mostly just swelled the fuck up. I got some fun pictures out of it, though. ---
**Author:** ![MN\_Maenad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e95f7d/32.png) [@MN\_Maenad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MN_Maenad)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2012, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-body-pulls-an-april-fools-prank-on-me-and-i-nearly-die/617665/12 "2012-04-03T14:36:06Z")
I got a mysterious skin infection a couple of years ago that I thought at first was a bee sting, but the red discoloration started spreading and finally the trip to Urgent Care was needed. DH had his own stupid April Fools Day prank Sunday - took a tumble off his bike, got some road rash. My sympathies to you - it sucks when you can’t get any sympathy because everyone thinks you’re joking. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2012, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-body-pulls-an-april-fools-prank-on-me-and-i-nearly-die/617665/13 "2012-04-03T15:23:58Z")
> [@audiobottle](#): > > \ Skin infections/cellulitis can be more serious than people think. Anybody here who has read **Broomstick’s** threads about her Boils From Hell know differently. Glad you’re going to be okay, **Miller**. Whenever we have threads here about washing hands and worrying about infectious disease, there are always a contingent of people who like to tell us how they never wash their hands and lick public doorknobs regularly and they NEVER get sick. For the rest of us, a little precaution goes a long way. ---
**Author:** ![Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/le_ministre_de_l_au-dela/32/12181_2.png) [@Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Le_Ministre_de_l_au-dela)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2012, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-body-pulls-an-april-fools-prank-on-me-and-i-nearly-die/617665/14 "2012-04-03T16:38:21Z")
[Alban Berg](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alban_Berg), early 20th century composer who was a member of the New Viennese School of composition. > [@](#): > > Death > > Berg died in Vienna, on Christmas Eve 1935, from blood poisoning apparently caused by an insect-sting-induced carbuncle on his back. He had been reduced to near-poverty and it is said that to save money his wife carried out an ill-advised operation using a pair of scissors. Later he was taken to hospital, although too late to prevent the onset of blood poisoning. He was 50 years old. His story has made me ultra-cautious about what I do with zits. Scissors are right out. ---
**Author:** ![Sailboat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sailboat/32/461_2.png) [@Sailboat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sailboat)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2012, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-body-pulls-an-april-fools-prank-on-me-and-i-nearly-die/617665/15 "2012-04-03T18:11:01Z")
> [@Hypno-Toad](#): > > Getting old seems to equal getting paranoid. Old age is not for sissies. > [@Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](#): > > His story has made me ultra-cautious about what I do with zits. Scissors are right out. Also, you should fire Alan Berg’s wife. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2012, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-body-pulls-an-april-fools-prank-on-me-and-i-nearly-die/617665/16 "2012-04-03T19:26:13Z")
> [@billfish678](#): > > At least we know it wasn’t lupus 🙂 It’s _never_ Lupus. ---
**Author:** ![PandaBear77](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/edb3f5/32.png) [@PandaBear77](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PandaBear77)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2012, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-body-pulls-an-april-fools-prank-on-me-and-i-nearly-die/617665/17 "2012-04-04T04:03:07Z")
> [@Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](#): > > Scissors are right out. So is five. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2012, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-body-pulls-an-april-fools-prank-on-me-and-i-nearly-die/617665/18 "2012-04-04T22:03:25Z")
> [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > Whenever we have threads here about washing hands and worrying about infectious disease, there are always a contingent of people who like to tell us how they never wash their hands and lick public doorknobs regularly and they NEVER get sick. I’m actually part of that contingent. It’ll take more than a potentially fatal infection to change my mind, too. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![The\_Devil\_s\_Grandmother](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/74df32/32.png) [@The\_Devil\_s\_Grandmother](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Devil_s_Grandmother)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2012, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-body-pulls-an-april-fools-prank-on-me-and-i-nearly-die/617665/19 "2012-04-04T22:14:44Z")
Well, wash all the bed linens and towels with hot water and hopefully your SO will not be too worried to stay at your place. Staph loves to live on damp towels. ---
**Author:** ![purplehorseshoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/purplehorseshoe/32/2996_2.png) [@purplehorseshoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehorseshoe)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2012, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-body-pulls-an-april-fools-prank-on-me-and-i-nearly-die/617665/20 "2012-04-04T22:38:44Z")
> [@cmyk](#): > > …Was it a zit that became infected after, or a manifestation of the infection? Glad you’re okay. Glad you’re OK too - but I’ve been wondering about **cmyk** ’s question, and rather hoped someone had posted an answer. Is it common for staph infections to present like that, or did it it get a toehold, so to speak, when the OP opened up the pore to squeeze out the crud? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-body-pulls-an-april-fools-prank-on-me-and-i-nearly-die/617665.md?page=2)