Recurring Abscesses - Cause? Help?

[wild fire child]

My DH is apparently very prone to abscesses. In the past year and a half he has had one on his pubic mound, two on fingers, two in his armpit, one in the crease of his butt, and one on his kneecap (under psoriasis). Before that he had both big toenails ingrown for two years with open wounds the entire time and puss coming and going, until they performed surgery. He had already had surgery for this problem, but it reversed itself.

For three of the abscesses he has gone to the doctor and gotten Keflex. I've made sure he took all of the pills, I set alarms so we would remember. A fourth he got abx for but only took a day and a half of pills, the rest he hasn't gone to the doctor for. For one the doctor lanced it, one we caught early enough that the abx took care of it before it was big, but the rest have drained or burst.

I know that 7 abscesses in that short a time is too many, but I don't know enough to suggest what might be wrong, or how to fix it. His mom thinks he has a bacteria or infection in his blood, but she thinks everything is an infection and inflamed scraped knuckles need a round of abx . I lean towards over-colonization of a bacteria on his skin, but again I'm just grasping at straws.

[Missa]

My husband has also had to deal with this. He has gotten a peri-anal abcess in the same spot at least 8 times and another one nearby twice. They appear right on his butt cheek and kinda in his crack (ugh, it's so embarressing for him, I feel horrible). They are quite literally a pain in the a**. He's had them lanced, a few times they have burst and also he's had some clear with abx. Last May it was so bad he had to have IV abx everyday for a week. Not fun at all.

My mother-in -law is a nurse and she thinks that the infection is never totally clearing which leaves a bit in there to flare up whenever.

He also deals with chronic ingrown toenails, I think next time we may just opt to have part of the nailbed "killed" so the nail will be more narrow. He's had the ingrown nails fixed at least three times so he's about sick of it. Right now he has a very tender lump on the back of his head/neck. Looks like some sort of abcess to me but I don't know. He goes into the doctor again on Thursday.

I'm really at a loss, I don't know what to do for him. It's been 8 years of infections and it's really wearing him out. I wish I knew what to do.

[Rebecca]

There's a disorder that affects the apocrine glands (sweat glands in the armpit and groin) called hidradenitis suppurativa. It causes those painful boils and is hard to treat but his doctor should be able to help.

[sbgrace]

I've never heard of what Rebecca mentioned--it sounds treatable I really hope that is it. I would assume they have cultured for staph?

[William's Mom]

No experience with this, but I just had to send a and : to you and your dh.

Anytime something seems "off" I always recommend a good (whole foods based) multi, digestive enzymes, and probiotics, for overall health.

I hope he can get this figured out and start feeling better soon! That sounds awful to endure so many in such a short time.

[lily7]

Just a thought: has he have his sugar levels checked?

[tylerdylan]

People who are immuno-compromised are more prone to abscesses (ie cancer, chemo, HIV, post-organ transplant, and I think also autoimmune diseases.). Is your DH otherwise healthy?? Recurrent abscesses around the anus are also common in people with Crohn's disease or other inflammatory bowel diseases.

[wild fire child]

He hasn't had anything checked - not staph, not sugar, nothing. When his doctor supposedly drew blood to do a comprehensive blood test, she only ordered a cholesterol test, she's not reliable and we need a new one.

He is not otherwise all that healthy, he walks at least 6 miles every day that he works, but he is fairly overweight. His mother has diabetes, he is hypoglycemic (as diagnosed when he was 10), his father and grandmother have basically non-functional livers, his other grandmother and sister have thyroid problems...he has a very unhealthy family history, and is not doing so great himself.

I know that ones in the top of the butt crack are not uncommon, and the fingernail ones were from trying to grow out nails that had been bitten low nearly his whole life...what really threw me for a loop was the one on his kneecap.

With the sweat gland disorder that PP mentioned, is there any way for it to affect the rest of the body?

[PaulaJoAnne]

DH used to get them all over the place.
Tea tree oil helped dry them up, but more always cropped up.
Switching to a TF/NT way of eating helped some, but later we found that High Vitamin Cod Live Oil eliminated them.
He has not had one in almost a year:
Paula

[mwright]

My guess is that its MRSA-STAPH/boils. You can google images of what it looks like to see if thats what it is. My 2 1/2 yr old dd gets them frequently. Mainly on the side of her legs. They are a huge pain in the *ss and extremely painful. We soak her in hot baths with epsom salts and peroxide until it comes to a head and drains. We usually scrape the scab off. Horribly painful.

I just recently busted out with one on my back and it was painful!! I cried so much and it left a huge hole that has taken awhile to heal. Something I have learned with this is that antibiotics do not heal this. I'm learning about PH. I've noticed my dd has less break outs when she is taking a DHA suppliment. We had to cut out sugar in our diets as sugar feeds the dang thing. I hate it.I hope you find answers bit it sounds similar to what we have been thro.

[mwright]

Originally Posted by PaulaJoAnne

DH used to get them all over the place.
Tea tree oil helped dry them up, but more always cropped up.
Switching to a TF/NT way of eating helped some, but later we found that High Vitamin Cod Live Oil eliminated them.
He has not had one in almost a year:
Paula

Yes! Cod Liver Oil keeps my dd's boils at bay. We ran out and before I could get some more in her system she broke out with 5 boils at once. Painful!!

[MountainMamaGC]

You can try to put a few drops of TTO in his bodywash. I used to get them on my face and by my ears. Man they hurt. You can also try oregano oil and garlic oil. I take a lot of Vit D which the body used as an antibiotic. I take 2000-3000 IU a day.

[lily7]

People with diabetes get boils a lot, that is why I asked if he had his sugars checked.
Also if it is MRSA/Staph I know some people on this board mentioned using hibiclens.

[Jannah6]

Thanks for all of the advice here ladies. I've suffered from boils for 16 years, they did get worse when I had gestational diabetes. Many of my outbreaks are the result of ingrown hairs. Right now I'm suffering from one in the crease of my buttocks, as a result my entire left leg is in pain

[SevenVeils]

The OP's husband has been checked in the past couple of years for diabetes, according to his mom. However, she is known to make things up, so who knows.

Honey, recurring abscesses are a huge marker for MRSA. Hibiclens claims to kill it, but wtf... I don't think that he is supposed to do a full-body Hibiclens wash every day!

He needs to get himself to a doctor the next time, and ask for a culture of the abscess. If it is MRSA, they can try out different abx in the culture to find the one that will kill that strain. I know that the ER docs in Grass Valley routinely do this. But here, I am quite sure that he'll have to specifically request it (if you prefer, I am willing to come along and do the requesting).

With a baby in the house, not to mention you, this is pretty important. MRSA is no small issue.

[annamama]

DH's friend went through this and as a result has just been diagnosed with diabetes...

[labeba87]

Hi there!

i seem to have this same problem how do you guys use high vitamin cod liver oil? might be a stupid question sorry ! but id like to know so i can purchase this and start using thanks :)