Armpit lumpyness

[simonp]

It's a skin infection.

So I got told off for wearing a polyester base layer (yes I cycled to the doc's).

Suggestions are:

 - use a sensitive deodorant

 - cotton (!!!)

I'm against cotton.  When I suggested merino wool I was told cotton.

Any ideas.  Cotton will give me hypothermia.

[clarion]

I rode wearing cotton for many years.  Needs layering, and can be a mite cold if wet.

But surely merino would be even better?

[mike]

silk?

[LEE]

Merino is a better defense against bacteria than cotton (wool allergy may be a problem of course)

[Tom M]

Sure it's not bubonic plague?

[toekneep]

You haven't got any 'flu symptoms have you?

[simonp]

You haven't got any 'flu symptoms have you?

That would be my LEFT armpit. 

[hellymedic]

Are there definite signs of a skin infection, like red pussey spots?
Are the lumps just in the skin of the armpit?
Keep an eye on those lumps.
Do your pits get very sweaty?  

Silk is a good, if pricy suggestion.
M&S do some cotton blend 'thermal' undies which may sort of satisfy all parties...
...or not, like all compromises.

Other thoughts;
avoid all anti-perspirants
wash wash wash dry
wear synthetics only for cycling and cotton at other times
make sure detergents are thorughly rinsed from clothes

A random thinker

[Charlotte]

The infection will spread.  99.9% of the population will die within 72 hours and the rest will be left to cope with the harsh reality of a post-apocalyptic world.

Sorry  

[Eccentrica Gallumbits]

*coughs a bit*

[Tiger]

This certainly looks to me like an initial misdiagnosis - you should always get a second opinion. Did your GP take a biopsy? I very much doubt it - typical NHS. Always insist.
Take extreme care with any lymph gland swellings under the arms - they are usually an associated secondary symptom of other problems. In your case I suspect early symptoms of lachmaniasis. A hatching of parasitic eggs within the lymph system itself. You will find similar swellings in the groin which is where the queen may well reside. Sterile needles into the swellings should kill any eggs before they hatch.
Is it fungal?

[simonp]

This certainly looks to me like an initial misdiagnosis - you should always get a second opinion. Did your GP take a biopsy? I very much doubt it - typical NHS. Always insist.
Take extreme care with any lymph gland swellings under the arms - they are usually an associated secondary symptom of other problems. In your case I suspect early symptoms of lachmaniasis. A hatching of parasitic eggs within the lymph system itself. You will find similar swellings in the groin which is where the queen may well reside. Sterile needles into the swellings should kill any eggs before they hatch.
Is it fungal?

Who needs cyberchondria with you do to all the hard work?

 

[Zoidburg]

This certainly looks to me like an initial misdiagnosis - you should always get a second opinion. Did your GP take a biopsy? I very much doubt it - typical NHS. Always insist.
Take extreme care with any lymph gland swellings under the arms - they are usually an associated secondary symptom of other problems. In your case I suspect early symptoms of lachmaniasis. A hatching of parasitic eggs within the lymph system itself. You will find similar swellings in the groin which is where the queen may well reside. Sterile needles into the swellings should kill any eggs before they hatch.
Is it fungal?

Tiger

You tried that routine with me and I didnt believe you either

Do you specialize in tropical medicine or just trying to give people unfunny concerns about a condition usually contracted by forestry workers in continental North America?

[Clare]

It's probably a staph infection, I had that in both pits for about 9 months in total. Started as a lump in my right armpit which got christened Rupert, just as that exploded statisfatorily all over the shower cubicle at an unnamed backpackers I got two more in the other armpit, they were called Lachlan and Elizabeth (children of Rupert), they went with antibiotics, then I got another Rupert and so it went on. I had about 5 months of  tablets, a number of breast checks and a diabetes test before returning to Britain and being told by my doctor that I was having no more antibiotics and they would go away of their own accord. They did eventually.


Anyway, main advice I got was keep it all clean, wear natural fabrics, don't use anti-perspirant (that one got ignored a few times) and don't shave.

As an aside mine never showed up as red pussey lumps, they were just lumps until they exploded, when they became a mess.

[Marj]

[
[/quote]

Who needs cyberchondria with you do to all the hard work?

 
[/quote]

They all aim to please 

[toekneep]

It's probably a staph infection, I had that in both pits for about 9 months in total. Started as a lump in my right armpit which got christened Rupert, just as that exploded statisfatorily all over the shower cubicle at an unnamed backpackers I got two more in the other armpit, they were called Lachlan and Elizabeth (children of Rupert), they went with antibiotics, then I got another Rupert and so it went on. I had about 5 months of  tablets, a number of breast checks and a diabetes test before returning to Britain and being told by my doctor that I was having no more antibiotics and they would go away of their own accord. They did eventually.


Anyway, main advice I got was keep it all clean, wear natural fabrics, don't use anti-perspirant (that one got ignored a few times) and don't shave.

As an aside mine never showed up as red pussey lumps, they were just lumps until they exploded, when they became a mess.

Very interesting, I'm just going to have my dinner now. Thanks. 

[Wowbagger]

A staph infection? What, as in a dog?

[Tiger]

This certainly looks to me like an initial misdiagnosis - you should always get a second opinion. Did your GP take a biopsy? I very much doubt it - typical NHS. Always insist.
Take extreme care with any lymph gland swellings under the arms - they are usually an associated secondary symptom of other problems. In your case I suspect early symptoms of lachmaniasis. A hatching of parasitic eggs within the lymph system itself. You will find similar swellings in the groin which is where the queen may well reside. Sterile needles into the swellings should kill any eggs before they hatch.
Is it fungal?

Tiger

You tried that routine with me and I didnt believe you either

Do you specialize in tropical medicine or just trying to give people unfunny concerns about a condition usually contracted by forestry workers in continental North America?

Hmm - 2 cases in quick succession - it is spreading.  Lupus?

[hellymedic]

This certainly looks to me like an initial misdiagnosis - you should always get a second opinion. Did your GP take a biopsy? I very much doubt it - typical NHS. Always insist.
Take extreme care with any lymph gland swellings under the arms - they are usually an associated secondary symptom of other problems. In your case I suspect early symptoms of lachmaniasis. A hatching of parasitic eggs within the lymph system itself. You will find similar swellings in the groin which is where the queen may well reside. Sterile needles into the swellings should kill any eggs before they hatch.
Is it fungal?

Tiger

You tried that routine with me and I didnt believe you either

Do you specialize in tropical medicine or just trying to give people unfunny concerns about a condition usually contracted by forestry workers in continental North America?

If he specialised in tropical medicine, he'd be able to spell 'leishmaniasis' rather better...

[simonp]

This certainly looks to me like an initial misdiagnosis - you should always get a second opinion. Did your GP take a biopsy? I very much doubt it - typical NHS. Always insist.
Take extreme care with any lymph gland swellings under the arms - they are usually an associated secondary symptom of other problems. In your case I suspect early symptoms of lachmaniasis. A hatching of parasitic eggs within the lymph system itself. You will find similar swellings in the groin which is where the queen may well reside. Sterile needles into the swellings should kill any eggs before they hatch.
Is it fungal?

Tiger

You tried that routine with me and I didnt believe you either

Do you specialize in tropical medicine or just trying to give people unfunny concerns about a condition usually contracted by forestry workers in continental North America?

If he specialised in tropical medicine, he'd be able to spell 'leishmaniasis' rather better...

Sounds like some kind of obsession with bondage to me.

[annie]

This certainly looks to me like an initial misdiagnosis - you should always get a second opinion. Did your GP take a biopsy? I very much doubt it - typical NHS. Always insist.
Take extreme care with any lymph gland swellings under the arms - they are usually an associated secondary symptom of other problems. In your case I suspect early symptoms of lachmaniasis. A hatching of parasitic eggs within the lymph system itself. You will find similar swellings in the groin which is where the queen may well reside. Sterile needles into the swellings should kill any eggs before they hatch.
Is it fungal?

Tiger

You tried that routine with me and I didnt believe you either

Do you specialize in tropical medicine or just trying to give people unfunny concerns about a condition usually contracted by forestry workers in continental North America?

If he specialised in tropical medicine, he'd be able to spell 'leishmaniasis' rather better...

Sounds like some kind of obsession with bondage to me.

[duncan]

I have a couple of times had red itchy slighlty raised patches of skin appear under my arms, which was apparently a fungal infection. The various anti-fungal creams I got prescribed made it go away for a bit, but then it would reappear afterwards despite me carrying on using the creams for several weeks after the symptoms had gone.

Since the doctor said it liked warm and moist conditions, I eventually decided to make life difficult for it and waxed my armpits (in a post anti-fungal cream lull, not with the big red raised patches in place, that would hurt, and might make things worse, I suspect). After that, no sign for years.

Lumpy sounds disturbing though!

Duncan

[Tiger]

This certainly looks to me like an initial misdiagnosis - you should always get a second opinion. Did your GP take a biopsy? I very much doubt it - typical NHS. Always insist.
Take extreme care with any lymph gland swellings under the arms - they are usually an associated secondary symptom of other problems. In your case I suspect early symptoms of lachmaniasis. A hatching of parasitic eggs within the lymph system itself. You will find similar swellings in the groin which is where the queen may well reside. Sterile needles into the swellings should kill any eggs before they hatch.
Is it fungal?

Tiger

You tried that routine with me and I didnt believe you either

Do you specialize in tropical medicine or just trying to give people unfunny concerns about a condition usually contracted by forestry workers in continental North America?

If he specialised in tropical medicine, he'd be able to spell 'leishmaniasis' rather better...

Sounds like some kind of obsession with bondage to me.

This sort of infighting and mudslinging brings serious professional internet medical advisors into disrepute - undermining the trust we have built up with patients who rely on our advice. It is not at all helpful, and could cost lives.

[Valiant]

For fecks sack just amputate the upper body already. It'll make it all go away

[kyuss]

You need to keep an eye on these. I've had cysts in my armpits before, one in each over the past 2 or 3 years. They start out just little lumps but within 24 hours can became excruciatingly painful. The first one grew to the size of a golf ball within an evening and I was red and in pain down to my elbow. I ended up being kept in hospital for 48 hours with that one. It happened again in the other armpit a year later, but thankfully I spotted it early (pain only down to the tricep) and was out within the day after having it removed and given a huge dose of antibiotics (though I did have to go back to the hospital later that evening because of the alarming amount of blood still seeping from the wound). Having cyst wounds packed with gauze every 2 days for 2-3 weeks is totally 'Not Fun™'. Still, I think myself lucky it was my armpits as I've heard they are quite common on the barse.