HealthCareMagic is now Ask A Doctor - 24x7 | https://www.askadoctor24x7.com

question-icon

What Causes Furunculitis?

default
Posted on Tue, 16 Aug 2016
Question: My husband has these white things that come out of his back after I shave it. I am now having the same problem. I never had it before I started to help him to remove them from his back. My house is infested by these things. They are on all our clothes. It's almost impossible to remove them. I think my dogs have it also. They have mites now. I was wondering if it came from the house we live in we moved here 1 1/2 years ago. The sprinkler system was leaking real bad. There was water for months prior to us moving into the house. I'm not sure if the other owners knew that they had a real bad leak. We are waiting for the results of a mold test from out side and indoors. We thought it might have happened from installing fiberglass insulation in the attic. It began to bother me right after they installed it. They blew it in ,I thought from the high pressure of blowing it into the attic it came downstairs thru our duct work. They didn't caulk around areas that would leak downstairs thru small cracks. I have Asthma and my husband has fibers in his lungs. He was exposed to agent orange years ago in Vietnam.We are so stressed out by all of it. I have exterminated my house twice and I have used hot shot bombs 4 or 5 times still no relief. It is ok for a shot time but then it begins to happen all over again. I want this gone. I hate the feeling of this on my body. Do you have any answers.
doctor
Answered by Dr. Dr. Nagamani N.G (6 hours later)
Brief Answer:
Looks like furunculitis.

Detailed Answer:
Hello,
Thanks for posting the query.
After going through your query and pictures attached, probable diagnosis is it could be fungal furunculitis.
I treat such patients with oral antibiotics and itracanazole.
Along with clotrimozole and mupirocin topical applications.
These medicines are available only on prescription hence recommend you to consult a local dermatologist.
In this issue prevention after complete treatment is very necessary to avoid recurrence.
I would suggest you to get the mold treatment for the house and the sprinkler systems repaired as this may increase the recurrence of asthma also.

Any query do get back.
Take care.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Priyanka G Raj
doctor
default
Follow up: Dr. Dr. Nagamani N.G (8 hours later)
What are the cause this type of fungus ?

It's all around my house. We just bought it less than 2 years ago. My husband became fatigue after moving into this house. The people who sold it to us had already moved out before selling it. I have a feeling it was in the attic when it was insulated it must have moved it to us in the house. I feel it was coming into the house prior due to how I was feeling during this time. I became ill around a year ago. I had the duct work cleaned last year . I felt as if I was becoming very sick . I could not figure out what the cause was. I also had to use my inhaler much more frequent. Should we move out of the house until it is addressed? We are not young people . Would this affect my sons also they visit me all the time. Can they catch it?

It seems to be affecting me more than my husband. I have these red things on my body that hurt it feels like a piece of glass in my body. I had one under my foot where the skin was open and dry. It was in bedded inside the crack of the skin. I had to steam and treat it until it came out of my foot. The other ones on my elbo and above my knee are very painful they last for at least 3 weeks sometimes more they have made scares on my body. I am not sure if my husband has had it for a while since he does not feel anything due to it. He does not have any of the ones I have. His come out of his pores but do not become inflamed. Mine usually come out with brown spots when they are red they become inflamed and very sore. Otherwise I don't feel them. It all started to after I had the liquid face lift.
Within a week my skin started to release little white things that looked like facial cream. I thought that the liquid lift was coming out thru my pores. During this time my husband had a problem in his ear he had a black piece of wax that needed to be removed by an eye ear and nose surgeon. Nothing was mentioned about an infection or a fungus. He also had a biopsy for skin cancer he has been dealing with for 2 years. He was exposed to agent Orange years ago in Vietnam.
I am not sure of any of these things that have affected our lives for the past 6 years. He is 100% disabled due to having only 30% hearing. It is considered to be caused by military. He has been denied for agent orange among many other issues he suffers from and has since leaving the Marines back in 1966. He was on many of the ships named on a list for agent orange. Things have been very stressful since buying this house. I am not sure what the cause of this fungus would be. Since I am the only one suffering. My husband thinks that he is ok. I personally think if he is infected then he has lived with it for many years . He was treated for liver flukes while in Thailand in 1962. Ironically it became unbearable after the Attic was insulated. It might have been the straw that broke the entire situation. It might not be the source I will know more when the Mold test comes back. The guy that did the test said he could feel something when he came into the house. I felt the same thing after living here for a while. My body became weaker all the time. It seem like I was becoming ill more frequently. That was why I had the duct work cleaned along with caulking the house we also shut off the sprinkler system a month after we moved into the house. We just had a new line added since we don't have many plants. Living here in the desert it gets very hot in the summer. I don't want to deal with dead plants. However I planted a few cactus in the back yard where we built a swimming pool where the water leaked 2 have already died within a few months after planting it. I'm very sorry about all the information but if I do not tell you all of it then you can not give me accurate or correct information. I need to have information that is going to help my husband and I to come to some type of conclusion. I can't continue to live with this I am miserable. I also have started to take vinegar lemon and water along with some extra vitamins for my brain due to brain fog I was getting a few months ago.

could you send me any further information on my issues. I have an appointment in the morning with a dermatologist. I hope I am able to get what I will need for relief from whatever it is I have. I would like to know if this could have happened from the liquid face-lift. along with some of the other things that might be the cause. I ordered an item from another country that could have been the source. I received a table from Hay-needle that had these things inside the screws that held it together. When I went on line to look this company up there were a few other people complaining about infested items they received from there company. it's been a very busy time for us buying the house having a pool built installing the new sprinklers plus many other things that have been happening in our house involving trying to lower our monthly gas and electric bills. If you could help me in any way by reading the many things that might have caused this problem I'd appreciate it if you know the source of these problems. Could my husband have been affected for year and not know about it?

I sent photos of the table with some type of bug or something that took the ride to my home the screws are filled with the same things on the table. This is what I saw when I opened the box with the table . I tried to find out if it came from another country. I happen to see them on eBay they were being shipped from another country. Could this be something being sent to the US by some crazy people out there?
doctor
Answered by Dr. Dr. Nagamani N.G (17 hours later)
Brief Answer:
Get the molds culture and sensitivity test done.

Detailed Answer:
Hello thanks for follow up.
If you are too much concerned that the molds in the home is making you very sick you can get the molds culture and sensitivity test done.
If you feel the health conditions which you are suffering from is only after shifting to this house then you can plan for a shift of house at your convenience.
Don't bother too much meet the dermatologist as early as possible to get a proper diagnosis done.

Take care.
Note: Hope the answers resolves your concerns, however for further guidance of skin related queries consult our Dermatologist.Click here to book a consultation

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Nagamani Ng
doctor
Answered by
Dr.
Dr. Dr. Nagamani N.G

General & Family Physician

Practicing since :2010

Answered : 1091 Questions

premium_optimized

The User accepted the expert's answer

Share on

Get personalised answers from verified doctor in minutes across 80+ specialties

159 Doctors Online

By proceeding, I accept the Terms and Conditions

HCM Blog Instant Access to Doctors
HCM Blog Questions Answered
HCM Blog Satisfaction
What Causes Furunculitis?

Brief Answer: Looks like furunculitis. Detailed Answer: Hello, Thanks for posting the query. After going through your query and pictures attached, probable diagnosis is it could be fungal furunculitis. I treat such patients with oral antibiotics and itracanazole. Along with clotrimozole and mupirocin topical applications. These medicines are available only on prescription hence recommend you to consult a local dermatologist. In this issue prevention after complete treatment is very necessary to avoid recurrence. I would suggest you to get the mold treatment for the house and the sprinkler systems repaired as this may increase the recurrence of asthma also. Any query do get back. Take care.