Carbuncles

Carbuncles
(illustration of skin infected with carbuncles where
 you find many hair follicles are included)

Carbuncles

Carbuncle is a large abscess in the skin or a group of adjacent boils in the skin. It occurs when the bacterial infection affects an adjacent group of hair glands with the tissues between them. Carbuncles are not a serious condition, but if not properly treated, they may lead to a serious deep ulcer.

Predisposing Factors

The risk factors for carbuncles are the same as those for boils. Carbuncles are a boils adjacent to each other. So, anything that causes the development of boils can cause carbuncles if an adjacent group of hair follicles is infected.

Malnutrition, anemia and poor hygiene promote the occurrence of bacterial infections in general. Health problems such as diabetes mellitus and prolonged steroid therapy weaken one's immunity increasing the liability of developing infection.

Symptoms

Carbuncles of the leg

The symptoms of carbuncle include the development of red, painful hard lumps; a lump is a larger bump. These lumps discharge from many openings due to affection of multiple hair glands. They usually tend to appear in the back of the neck, around the shoulder and in the hip and thighs.

Carbuncles may be accompanied with fever and general fatigue. In some cases, they are very large, so the centre of it become dead and may shed off leaving a deep skin ulcer.

Treatment

Carbuncles should be treated properly to prevent the occurrence of their complications that may leave behind a disfiguring scar.

Carbuncles are treated by Penicillinase resistant Penicillins (Nallpen) administrated both topically and systemically to completely fight the infection. Sometimes, doctor may recommend surgical incision and surgical drainage of the lump to drain pus and make the process faster.