Just to be clear the individual pictured is not me but a friend whom I am trying to convince to get to a hospital before he loses one or more of his legs.

I have a friend who is going through an emotionally charged period right now after a dramatic relationship breakdown; that involves the police and the courts. I will not go into the details of his relationship breakdown because I don't know all the details and it is not my story to tell.

The end result has been him being in a deeply emotionally damaged state. He is not taking care of himself properly, he takes a shower or a bath maybe once in a few weeks, and he is filthy. He does not eat properly and needs to be checked on every few days to ensure he is eating something substantial. His room is filthy with trash everywhere; where I clean it up for him 1 to 2 times a week when I visit but it is covered in trash every time. I don't understand how a man can live like that or how it is possible for a room to get that filthy in only 2 or 3 days.

So onto the medical parts of the state of things. The man has developed some kind of infection in both of his legs that have caused swelling and the discharge of fluids through open tears in his skin; where 1 time I saw yellow-green discharge dripping down his legs. This is a cyclical infection where his legs swell with cyst like structures developing that will burst causing exceptionally painful discharges of puss and blood and then the swelling subsides, and the pain stops. The cycles appear to be 2 to 3 weeks long where on some weeks he will be perfectly fine with mobility and other times he will be in debilitating pain reducing mobility to next to nothing; where he is unable to walk more than 5 or so metres at a time. This has been going on for about 3 months now.

I and other friends have tried to convince his to go to the emergency department but he refuses. I had asked 2 mutual friends who are lawyers about having him involuntarily committed to a hospital for physical and mental health treatment but under our local laws that is a no go unless he is violent, or has lost consciousness. So unless he attacks someone and the police get involved or just passes out becoming incapable of making medical choice and we can get him on an ambulance he is in control of his own medical choices.

About where he might have got the infection I am guessing that he got one or more small cuts in his legs and contracted something from the filthy environment that is his room which spread all over his legs. My deeper concern is that it is a bacterial/viral/fungal infection all over his body that has thus far only visibly manifested in his legs. I pray that this is only a dermatological issue.

I would like to try to identify what infection he has and try to talk/scare him into going to see a doctor. In our country we have free healthcare so cost is not the problem. I just have to convince him to sit in my car for 5 mins or so to get to the nearest hospital.

Thanks for the help.

i have had this patch on my thumb that comes and goes for a couple months. can’t afford to see a dermatologist at this time, it will heal and look 95% better and then the next day there will be a painful crack and then follows the scaling and peeling off thick skin . i’m not sure what to do to make it better. i’m on a medication called diamox to treat IIH but i don’t think there’s a correlation. i’ve been on this medication for some time. ive tried wart remover, deep moisturizers, i’ve tried soaking my hands in coconut oil with cotton gloves overnight. not sure where to go from here

I have changed doctors three times throughout these past months they were all famous doctors. But the last one was apparently the “best” everyone kept telling me to see him. So I did and I paid a ton. I take my pills and everything I change my pillow case every single day. I clean my face 2 times or even three. I don’t wear makeup only sunscreen but since uni started for the first time I have been wearing makeup. But I do thin layers of foundation and concealer and I use washed stuff and clean. Then when I come home I take everything off nicely. If I don’t wear makeup then I will have this face showcased and I’m extremely insecure of this. I have always had perfect skin but since senior year I had tens of hours of studies everyday and under constant stress and locked myself up in a room with my books. This happened and got really bad in the exam season. I can’t face my pictures. I’m so freaking done. I know the makeup has worsen my skin. But I can’t not do it because then my pimples and redness shows. Please tell me what to do. I have been taking treatment for 4 months and my recent change has been for more than a month. My doctor also had me to hydro facial twice. And I have just bought a moisturizer because my skin has been dry. I’m scared to get rid of the makeup. I have been taking 10mg of isotretinoin for a day then taking 20mg the next. This is what my doctor prescribed. And also I use a mix of uciderm and bepanthene. And I also use a 15spf sunscreen. I also be taking Azithromycin 500mg 3 times a week. And a teenderm sensitive skin gentle cleanser.

Do you think these could come from where underwear rub against the thigh? I play lots of sports. Or do you think they are bug bites? There are many hairs missing in that area, if that means anything. Could it be if hair was pulled off playing sports, would those spots would show up?

25F. I know it has irregular borders and different colors, but given that it is in a weird spot that stretches a lot, I'm wondering if that is more typical in this area? I've had a mole here for as long as I can remember but I don't remember what it looked like historically. I don't know if it has changed or not. I've had two severely atypical moles removed in the last 2 years (one on suprapubic area and one on temple).

I'm really hoping I don't need to get this biopsied or removed because this area seems like a terrible place for surgery 😭 I'm also having a hard time with my dermatologist because the one I was seeing quit and everyone else is booked up. Plus the temple mole removal cost $8k so 🙃 I would've just left it if I had known

Thanks in advance!

Woke up last week and noticed this small red splotch/mark in my face. It’s right above my jawline and definitely hasn’t always been there. It doesn’t hurt and doesn’t have any texture, I didn’t injure myself so I’m pretty confused. It hasn’t changed since I noticed it.

I have had these weird brown lines on my cuticle for a long time. I’m not sure the exact time range but it has been at least a few years. It does not itch, hurt, burn, etc. just some brown lines. I haven’t worried about them too much since there are no other symptoms, but I figured I should probably find out what this could be. Does anyone have any ideas?

Inside of my septum on my left side there is a bump with uneven edges. Don't mind the small pimple I get those from time to time. I dont know when it popped up, I only noticed it tonight. It doesn't itch or hurt any more than my other skin. The proximity to my septum ring does concern me but im pretty certain it has nothing to do with my ring (I've had my septum pierced for 3 years now). I do have a family history of skin cancer starting at a young age. Ive never seen a dermatologist but I have reached out to one to try to set up an appointment. Any advice I can get on whether or not to be concerned about it would be appreciated, I should be pretty active so feel free to ask me more questions about it

Hello everyone. This issue started on 15 September, with small bumps under my breast, and got worse because I was scratching them. Once I realized this, I stopped, avoided scratching, and tried hydrocortisone. It was getting better — or at least that is what I thought. Suddenly, it got really bad again — really itchy, swollen and burning as hell. I started the treatment with DAKTARIN on the 13 Oct. - it was given to me in the pharmacy. After that, the area of reaction got bigger, skin shining, really weird texture as if someone had burned me with an iron. Now it looks like someone actually burned me (the skin color is really weird). I called the doctors and they said to keep with the Daktarin treatment. I dont know what to do anymore. I consulted my mil which is also a dermatologist, and she told me something different.

At this point, I dont know anymore what I have or what to do, but, it seems like the bigger area is healing (although is has an really ugly stain) but it also seems like new ones are appearing on the sides.

Someone please help me, i`m desperate.

i've been pretty sick for the past couple of days (believed to be unrelated to my mouth sore) but this spot on my lip recently popped up around two days ago. the sore itself is pretty dark and appears darker in-person than it shows up on camera. sorry if it's a bit early to tell, but i don't typically get sores on my lip like this. getting herpes is a huge fear of mine so any help with figuring out whatever this is would be appreciated, thank you!

Hi everyone.

I am curious, I have some sort of breakout or reaction. I don’t think this is hives. What could possibly be the case?

No changes in diet or routine. Stress possibly as I had an eventful day a week ago. What could this be? And are there any products to treat this?

Side note. I shave regularly (which never breaks out like this)and am now letting my beard grow as I think it gets more irritated when i shave.

Thanks everyone

I've had this spot for about a year (there are 3 visible ones, I don't know if I have others), I don't know what it is and I'm really scared, I have a medical appointment in 2 weeks but I have a lot of panic attacks and I would like to understand if it's just alarmism or not

Had this mole as long as i can remember. Right on the back of my neck. Obviously doesnt bother me in any physical way, just mentally knowing its there. I forget about it most the time. But when im wearing loser clothing and it pops out just kinda makes me feel gross.

It hasnt changed at all and i dont have any feeling in it. Just wish it wasnt there.

Would something from a CVS help get rid of it or should i just go to a professional?

on September 29th I noticed a bump like a mosquito bite on my stomach, I put nail polish on it like any other time id get mosquito bites so i payed no mind seeing that it was still there, I noticed it actually was never itchy. By then its October 11th and I saw the bump had flattened and spread out, that same night i bought ringworm cream used it for about 5 days and i found a new rash right on my chest where my heart is so then decided to go to the dr. The dr didn’t do anything besides look up ringworm on his laptop and looked at my rash for about 5 seconds and claimed it’s ringworm so i trusted that. i got prescribed ciclopriox for it and i’ve been using it for the past 3 days and after these past 3 days a smaller circle inside the circle has popped up extremely red. its not itchy and has never been itchy, its not uncomfortable and i haven’t been experiencing any sickness. it’s weird too because i live in a house with 3 other people and they all seem to not have it so im not sure if im just being really cautious or im not contagious at all. if you have any info or opinions plz help, dont have insurance so going to the doctors just for them to tell me the same thing is not an option

Esto me está pasando hace un par de meses y se mejora por una o dos semanas y vuelve a salir, que crema me recomiendan para solucionarlo. Según lo que he investigado es dermatitis de contacto, he usado alguna que otra crema que me han recomendado pero nada lo soluciona de forma permanente

Hi, I accidentally burned myself with a heat gun about a day ago. The area doesn’t really hurt it just itches. I have been applying Vaseline to help it heal. I’m concerned about how deep the burn is and whether it could leave a permanent scar, and whether I should get it checked out.

Raised dark lesion on left front leg (also maybe on left hand?) no pain, somewhat hard, have had for years and they just appear one day. Have tried to squeeze and nothing comes out, just bleeds if squeeze super hard. Cause no problems just want to be sure they are nothing to worry about. Hand lesion feels similar but smaller and not as dark…

Any idea of what this rash could be? I am a 28 year old female. I made an appointment with a doctor for tomorrow, but I’m just trying to figure out what might be a possibility.

The rash started 2.5 weeks ago on my stomach (under bellybutton), where I do sweat since that’s where the waistband of my jeans sit. I thought it was probably heat rash or something, but the itch lasted for days. Then it started spreading to: my arms (all over), my legs (mostly back of thighs/knees, but also on calves), hands a little, and a lot on my hips.

Extremely itchy, majority of the time in the afternoon after I get home from work. Hydrocortisone doesn’t help much. Not getting better or worse, bumps don’t disappear. My partner hasn’t been affected. I changed to sensitive laundry detergent, no fabric softener. Nothing was new with my routine anyway. I do have dogs that I have a mild allergy to and they have fleas currently. I considered fleas but not sure if that’s possible for them to do this?

i’m not sure if this is normal, but when i’m a bit cold, or hot, or sometimes if my skin is touching water for a little bit, my hands and legs get really red in some areas. it also gets really itchy, or even hurts a bit.

i should also add that i may also have FND (speculation from multiple doctors). and so i am very sensitive to temperature. but i’m not sure if this is a normal skin reaction, even for FND.

but its gotten to a point where sometimes i’ll scratch until i bleed. it’s not subtle itchiness. im just not sure what this is or if i should worry about this.

tengo hace varios meses pero he notado que persisten, googleando he visto que puede ser tiña o algo por hongos. Sufro de ansiedad, consulte con un medico general solo por foto y me dijo que nada alarmante, que puedo ir a un dermatólogo.
Tengo pensado ir en diciembre ya que me calmo la dra al decirme que no era preocupante y estoy lejos de mi ciudad por el momento.
Pero me gustaría saber si hay alguno remedio o algo que pueda aplicarme para tratarlo.

Ok. It has a base that goes all the way around and kind of blends into the finger so it is some type of growth(?) I thought it was a wart but it seems to be growing every week.

I feel like I have had it for many many years, maybe even decades but it was never an issue.

It doesn't hurt when I touch it and it doesn't bleed. It's firm when I press down. I don't see any other particular things that stand out apart from being annoyingly gross.

It's not painful unless I catch it on something but everything then, no big deal. It did get a small tear one time but I was quick to treat it.

Thoughts?

Left: peak infection
Right: a month and a half later

So, about a month ago, for about 2 and a half weeks, I was struggling with an extremely painful—what I think was a staph infection, on the tip of my nose. At first, I thought it just was a stubborn pimple that appeared in a horrible spot. However, it grew to be almost the size of the whole tip of my nose (size of a nickel). It never once had a whitehead to it, instead, it remained red. It hurt to touch, including the inside of my nose (yes, when blowing my nose too), and it pulsed, like a full on pulse in my nose.

For almost everyday of having it, I kept a pimple patch on it, to not only protect it from bacteria but to also help with hitting it on accident and causing a lot of pain. I also went to Walgreens to grab a triple antibiotic ointment and Dr. Scholl’s blister pain relief bandages (they ended up being too big to use). I do realize now I should’ve looked for a steroid cream. I put the ointment on overnight for a couple nights, but mainly kept it bare when sleeping and a patch on during the day.

One day, I got sick of it hurting so bad and I knew I needed to get the infection out of it, so I held an ice cube to it for about 5 minutes, 2 minutes inside my nose (to numb the area). Then, poked it (with sterile equipment), and drained it. It wasn’t exactly pus, it was more of a thicker oil with blood, like one of those weird pimples you get every now and then—that’s when I officially confirmed it was more than a pimple.

Well, it obviously took awhile to settle down after that, maybe a few days. It’s been over a month now, the pain, swelling, and infection—all gone. However, there is now a red ring still there and it won’t go away. I know there isn’t any infection left because I tried to squeeze, mess with it, and yes… poke it lol. My skincare routine consists of face wash in shower at night before bed, toner, moisturizer, and bronzing drops before makeup in the morning.

I guess my questions would be; What exactly was that on my nose? Was it a staph infection? Why would the redness still be there a month later? How can I make it go away for good?

Medical Issues (relating to subject): Keratosis Pilaris + dry skin

As the title say i dont know what to do anymore. my lips feel like they are ALWAYs cracked. I have endless chapsticks. i do have facial eczema and when is flares, i end up going multiple months with cracking and bleeding lips. I dont know what to do anymore. When i put chapstick on or coca butter, or shea butter on it doesnt even feel like my lips are obsorbing it. Same thing for lip masks. Do you know any products or anything that could help avoid this, even better do you know what could help remove the cracks sooner