I’ve had this slightly tender but not outright painful lump under my left arm for a couple of months now. Up until recently, I’d only feel it when putting on deodorant.
Anyway, now it’s bigger, the pain is noticeable and constant (nothing overwhelming, but annoying), and it’s kind of reddish. Had the hubby check it out, and he says it’s too high to be a swollen lymph node (he knows about these things, being poz and all).
I’m thinking nasty, pus-filled abscess[sup]*[/sup]. I had one of these in the “cleavage” of my buttcheeks three years ago, and the doctors didn’t find it when I first went to have it checked out. It ruptured three days later, and the infection started spreding up my spinal cord, so I had to have an operation. So if it’s an abscess of sorts, I know from experience that they can go from “drainable in the E.R.” to “life-threatening septic blood infection - to the O.R., stat!” within days.
The other reason I think it might be something pus-filled is because I sometimes get weird pimple-type things in my armpits, but not surface ones - ones that are in or under the skin. They can be popped. (Gross, I know.) Perhaps this is one of those that’s just gotten out of control?
Paging Dr. Qadgop the Mercotan…
[sup]*[/sup] We really, really need a barf smiley. I think I might spearhead a campaign.
Hard to say over the net. See your doctor. Sooner rather than later if the pain becomes a problem.
But by your description, it does sound more like an abscess than a lymph node. No guarantees about that tentative guess, tho. While you’re waiting to see your doctor, use warm compresses to help bring it to a head. It makes incising and draining it easier, if that’s what’s needed to be done. And if that’s not what it is, it won’t do any harm.
Gosh, an armpit abscess. I haven’t seen one of those in at least a week now! Abscesses happen.
Have a happy weekend!
(I don’t barf at anything anymore. I will pinch my nose shut in the presence of gas gangrene, tho)
BTW, I opened your post because it reminded me of this poem by poet master Grunthos the Flatulent “Ode to a Small Lump of Green Putty I Found in my Armpit one Summer’s Morning”.
Boy, was I surprised to see my handle contained within the post.
I’ve had a similar tender lump in my right armpit for more than 5 years. the doc I went to back in the day said it was just a cyst and not to worry about it. He said the same thing for two years until I left that place of employment and didn’t have insurance. It’s still there and I guess I will have to live with it till it turns out to be cancer or something!
::grumble grumble stupid job with too expensive health insurance::
scott evil, I had the exact same thing (from the sounds of it). I forgot what it was classified as, but the doctor mentioned it can be life threatening. Anyways, when they cut it open, blood and pus was everywhere, but I felt much better.
The abscess I had above my butthole (which had nothing to do with anal sex, just FTR, but FYI it’s called a perianal abscess) was life-threatening, because as I mentioned, it ruptured both on the outside and inside of me, and CT scan showed that the infection was moving up my spinal cord. This is why they had to operate (not just lance and drain, but operate, general anesthesia, colonoscopy, and all) stat.
Thing is, my GP only practises on Mondays and Thursdays, and tomorrow’s a holiday. The provincial clinics (CLSCs) only take drop-in patients during weekly business hours (which is stupid). I have to decide whether to go to a clinic or an E.R. I might actually have less of a wait if I go to the E.R. of an English hospital. (Nothing against francophones, but the French hospitals in Montreal are third-world in quality of care.)
And, QtM, you’re my fave SDMB MD, so of course I will page you whenever there’s medical trouble!
Can you say “Hodgkin’s Disease” (cancer of the lymph glands) ???
Sure you can!
*Threadjack! *
Howcome so many people post serious medical questions of belated or immediate importance here instead of asking a real, live doctor or other trained medical professional???
Howcome these same people don’t post here when their house is on fire?
My guess? People are often afraid of doctors’ offices, waiting until the last minute to seek professional attention and hoping against hope that their problems are not serious. And I think people want to find out how serious their problems could be before taking action. My girlfriend always wants to know exactly what’s wrong with her before she makes an appointment - but go figure; she’s odd.
Because, buttcheek, it helps to have an idea of what might be wrong with you before you go to the doctor. If QtM had said “That could be really serious - get thee to emergency!” I would have. Other posters have come in and said, “Yeah, I’ve had that too, it was an abscess” - so that’s most likely what my problem is. And finally, getting medical care - immediate or otherwise - in the land of socialized medicine is a pain in the ass.
And last time I checked, QtM was a “real, live” doctor.
Well, that, and it can be a pain in the ass (abscess or no!) to get in to see a doctor. And if you go to the E.R. and it wasn’t life-threatening, your insurance may not cover it. If you even have insurance. Probably much faster–and definitely much cheaper–to bug the Docs on here.
C3, I have a major rash with whiteheads under my right arm - so I do think it’s a deodorant problem. I might just call my dermatologist and ask to see him, and see what deodorants are known to be less irritating.
I thought you said this one is in your armpit. The perianal one, yeah…
And, gluteus, you will note that in both this thread an others where his professional opinion is requested, Qadgop is quick to stress that his comments over the Internet are no substitute for an in-person visit to a physician IRL. We’re fortunate to have two full-fledged MDs on the board who are willing to share their professional expertise in the sole manner that this board permits – an assessment based on what can be communicated by posts. I for one am grateful for their presence and willingness to help. At least twice comments made by them (or their predecessor, MajorMD, a woman physician in the U.S. Army, who no longer posts here) to others have saved me the expense of an unnecessary medical visit.
Update: called my doctor’s answering service, and they’re going to try and page him, to have him call me. Hopefully, if he thinks it warrants immediate attention, he can call ahead at the ER so that I won’t have to wait as long.
I wouldn’t be this alarmed about an abscess if I hadn’t had the experience I did three years ago. They found nothing on a Wednesday (goddamn interns on their ER rotation) and sent me home with a prescription for Percocet, and told me to take sitz baths.
Three days later, it ruptured, and I had to be operated on within an hour.
I have sebaceous cysts all over. Get them in my armpit all the time. They stopped coming so much when I switched to antibacterial soap and also green tea deoderant.
If it’s painful it’s probably infected and/or in a really bad spot. Try putting a HOT (ie from the microwave, just enough to NOT burn yourself) wet compress on it and hold it there for a while. Might bring some goo out, might alleviate the pain.
I had to have surgery on one of mine. The doctor sent me right to a surgeon who sliced it open. Horrible foul smelling green goo came out and continued to come out for a while. Eventually they cut it out in surgery.
Oh, congratulations! You can translate Latin into English! :rolleyes:
“I’m not a doctor, but I post as one on the Internet.”
No offense meant to the “real, live” doctors, but, isn’t it a bit unethical to give medical advice over the web? I mean, without a webcam, webthermometer, webstethoscope, webtonguedepresser, etc…?
I still don’t understand your attitude, especially considering your story of a previous abscess exacerbating into a spinal infection!
Hey, it’s your funeral, though…
I’ll just refer you to Polycarp’s post. You’ll note that he and I have been around a lot longer than you.
Then should all web sites like WebMD be banned on the basis of being “unethical”? It’s not like QtM prescribed a course of treatment. He just said what it might be, based on his professional knowledge and experience, and suggested I put hot compresses on it until I saw my doctor. Let me refresh your memory (bolding mine):
