Carbunculosis

Injury	Disease	Nutrition	Poison

Symptoms	Surgery	Test	Special Topic

Skin layers

Overview

Symptoms

Treatment

Prevention

Carbunculosis

Alternative Names:

Skin infection - staphylococcal; Infection - skin - staph; Staph skin infection; Carbuncles

Symptoms:

Skin lesion
- Is a papule or nodule
- Usually is pea-sized, may occasionally be as large as a golf ball
- Is usually swollen
- Is pink or red
- May grow rapidly
- May develop white or yellow centers (pustules )
- May weep, ooze, or crust
- May be located with hair follicles
- Is tender, mildly to moderately painful
- May be single or multiple
- May run together (coalesce) or spread to other skin areas
- May increase in painfulness as pus and dead tissue fills the area
- May decrease in painfulness as the area drains
Skin redness or inflammation around the boil
Fever (occasionally)
Fatigue (occasionally)
General discomfort, uneasiness, or ill feeling (occasionally)

Itching of the skin may occur before the skin lesions develop.

Signs and tests:

Diagnosis is primarily based on the appearance of the skin. A skin biopsy and bacterial culture of the lesion may help to make the diagnosis or determine the exact type of bacteria involved.

Review Date: 4/30/2005
Reviewed By: Jonathan Kantor, M.D., Department of Dermatology, University of Pennsylvania Medical Center, Philadelphia, PA. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network.

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