It is likely that your dermatologist would swab on a mannitol salt agar plate to check for the presence of Staphylococcus.
That's interesting that a pus swab turned up negative for any microorganism. There shouldn't be a pimple if there isn't a microbe to cause it. Do you get pimples inside of your ear? Have you noticed that you are prone to ear infections or stuffy ears?
That's awesome that you have had such an improvement in skin complexion. I know how it feels to have severe acne and it feels wonderful to find something that works
OMG I have typed this answer about 5 times and keep having issues with this site grrrr. So its gonna be brief lol
-GP swabbed derms not interested just say acne results are in the picture attached. Only swabbed from scalp and hairline.
-Skin seems to be a bit better after 10days Zantac H2 blocker? I have a history of allergies. (not food ones though), pic attached. -Skin is often itchy and burns.
-Issues are down the back of neck (still major issue area) and back and chest too. (this has def been better since actuate but still there). The chest always has a hair in the middle of the pimple.
-Hairline having breakouts and a few in scalp this was going well recently
-No major ear issues just wax buildup, I have had maybe 3 ear infections in my life, from trapped water in my ear canals they are very narrow.
Don't get pimples in my ears but sometimes around them, like the pics earlier in the thread.
The pimples started like the pics earlier in the thread but then started becoming more like acne.
The third pic I have attached was a spot 10 days ago was really puss and gross and almost have couple of heads to it. haven't had these since taking Zantac.
It is likely that your dermatologist would swab on a mannitol salt agar plate to check for the presence of Staphylococcus.
That's interesting that a pus swab turned up negative for any microorganism. There shouldn't be a pimple if there isn't a microbe to cause it. Do you get pimples inside of your ear? Have you noticed that you are prone to ear infections or stuffy ears?
That's awesome that you have had such an improvement in skin complexion. I know how it feels to have severe acne and it feels wonderful to find something that works
Hey healthyalmonds I have posted my results of the puss swab above.
S. aureus is a gram + cocci and it should be classified as a pathogenic bacteria. However, just because it may not have been isolated from the pus swab doesn't mean it was never present. Your leukocytes were fighting something.
Hopefully you will be able to get your doctor to do an ear swab for the presence of Staph. The reason I asked about stuffy ears is because I have a friend who had a heavy Staph presence in his left ear lobe. He doesn't currently suffer from acne but it was pretty severe before he took Accutane. He has gotten ear infections in the ear that tested positive and he said he frequently gets wax buildup and ear clogs. This is his plate 
and the yellow side is from his left ear.
You may have S. aureus in your ear that is causing your recurrent folliculitis. I had S. aureus in both of my nostrils and my folliculitis boils were mostly centered on my face. I know I got many large boils from touching my face and had quite a bit of frequent chin pimples. Touching your ear with your fingers might be a way to transfer the bacteria to other parts of your body. Also, sleeping or laying on one side may rub the Staph on your pillowcase and that could allow it to transfer to other parts of your head.
S. aureus is a gram + cocci and it should be classified as a pathogenic bacteria. However, just because it may not have been isolated from the pus swab doesn't mean it was never present. Your leukocytes were fighting something.
Hopefully you will be able to get your doctor to do an ear swab for the presence of Staph. The reason I asked about stuffy ears is because I have a friend who had a heavy Staph presence in his left ear lobe. He doesn't currently suffer from acne but it was pretty severe before he took Accutane. He has gotten ear infections in the ear that tested positive and he said he frequently gets wax buildup and ear clogs. This is his plate
You may have S. aureus in your ear that is causing your recurrent folliculitis. I had S. aureus in both of my nostrils and my folliculitis boils were mostly centered on my face. I know I got many large boils from touching my face and had quite a bit of frequent chin pimples. Touching your ear with your fingers might be a way to transfer the bacteria to other parts of your body. Also, sleeping or laying on one side may rub the Staph on your pillowcase and that could allow it to transfer to other parts of your head.
Ill keep you posted. Could it still not be staph though if its cocci or is it always associated with staph/strep
I'm sorry you are going through such a hard time,don't ask for oral clindamycin antibiotic ,in the long run it is bad for your colon,look it up .
My daughter used ziana, it's a retin a plus clindamycin topical antibiotic,and it warns people with colon problems to look for problems like, rectal bleeding, even when they assure people that topical doesn't get absorbed much in the blood. I can tell you she cleared really quick, she kind of had whiteheads, very painful, that sometimes would bleed, she used it for a year , but then she kind of had a reaction, sandpaper skin with redness and burning,I kind of have a feeling that she developed some seborrheic dermatitis from not removing her make-up completely.
Ok , then she went and tried benzoyl treatment along with a salicylic acid creamy cleanser, for salicylic acid to work , it has to be left on the skin, if its a wash , then leave in the shower for a couple of minutes,like 2, then rinse.
If you don't have a water softener in your house and then you have hard water , the ingredient tetrasodium EDTA, or sometimes disodium EDTA , helps the cleanser to work in hard water ,look it up in Wikipedia.
Get a mild cleanser, my daughter who now it's deciding to keep it simple, is using dove beauty bar soap, not the regular dove, it's called beauty bar, she also uses a salicylic acid creamy cleanser in the shower, to tell you the truth I don't know how many times, but if trying to be gentle maybe every 3 days or a week. She is treating with grapeseed oil and like 1 or 2 drops of lavender oil(if you don't have bladder, kidney or brain disorders, then lavender oil is ok to use)
Grapeseed oil dissolves and balances grease, according to some, and the lavender oil is antibacterial,antiviral and antifungal, you can also use on the scalp , very lightly.
Get a sulfate free shampoo, no conditioner.
And if you get a face wash avoid sulfates .
Sulfur is very strong and drying,I have used it and I still prefer benzoyl.
Take care .
I'm sorry you are going through such a hard time,don't ask for oral clindamycin antibiotic ,in the long run it is bad for your colon,look it up .
My daughter used ziana, it's a retin a plus clindamycin topical antibiotic,and it warns people with colon problems to look for problems like, rectal bleeding, even when they assure people that topical doesn't get absorbed much in the blood. I can tell you she cleared really quick, she kind of had whiteheads, very painful, that sometimes would bleed, she used it for a year , but then she kind of had a reaction, sandpaper skin with redness and burning,I kind of have a feeling that she developed some seborrheic dermatitis from not removing her make-up completely.
Ok , then she went and tried benzoyl treatment along with a salicylic acid creamy cleanser, for salicylic acid to work , it has to be left on the skin, if its a wash , then leave in the shower for a couple of minutes,like 2, then rinse.
If you don't have a water softener in your house and then you have hard water , the ingredient tetrasodium EDTA, or sometimes disodium EDTA , helps the cleanser to work in hard water ,look it up in Wikipedia.
Get a mild cleanser, my daughter who now it's deciding to keep it simple, is using dove beauty bar soap, not the regular dove, it's called beauty bar, she also uses a salicylic acid creamy cleanser in the shower, to tell you the truth I don't know how many times, but if trying to be gentle maybe every 3 days or a week. She is treating with grapeseed oil and like 1 or 2 drops of lavender oil(if you don't have bladder, kidney or brain disorders, then lavender oil is ok to use)
Grapeseed oil dissolves and balances grease, according to some, and the lavender oil is antibacterial,antiviral and antifungal, you can also use on the scalp , very lightly.
Get a sulfate free shampoo, no conditioner.
And if you get a face wash avoid sulfates .
Sulfur is very strong and drying,I have used it and I still prefer benzoyl.
Take care .
Thanks for the tips 
Yeah I had used a sulphur and SA lotion thing that dried on the skin but it was very drying left flakes of the product. I have been really bold tonight and used some BP..... And I completley agree about avoiding the sulphites, they break me out for sure.
Ill keep you posted. Could it still not be staph though if its cocci or is it always associated with staph/strep
It can be Strep, but for what I've read skin infections with S. pyogenes are rare. It may be another species of bacteria but most skin infections that are caused by gram + cocci are S. aureus. It is very good at causing disease and surviving the harsh conditions of the skin.
Are you using a good moisturizer also? How strong is the BP that you are using?
Hope you can find the cure soon
)
Best regards,
Ele
Hey! Im using 2.5%, i have been a tad slack on moisturiser... I find they make me breakout, I do still have some left over cetaphil from accutane though. I think my skin is far more sensitive post accutane.
The BP seems to make me dry and oily at the same time.
The main thing that worries me with BP is just how it wrecked my skin pre tane dull and flakley and red and I think it made my acne even more cystic... And they marks from acne turn purplish and hang around for ages as well.
I am getting something like Neo-medrol which is sulphur compounded at the moment.
Also how key is moisturising? I got a neutrogena oil free combo skin one... And I used it tonight because skin is really dry esp after using the BP for the week, feel calmer. Just hoping it doesn't break me out I have always been terrified to moisturise even on Accutane I did it only a few times when I first went to 40mg a day, if I got super dry.
I think I do have dry skin it seems like after I wash even with water only t can get dry then goes oily throughout the day. Tonight I actually used a cetaphil antibacterial cleaning bar and the moisturiser and my skin doesn't feel tight than just water and not moisturiser. So hopefully my skin doesn't go even more nuts. This is the one I have got http://www.acne.org/neutrogena-oil-free-moisture-combination-skin-reviews-71/
Terrified to use it to be honest but really lost on the whole moisturiser thing should I just not bother?
If I do turn out to have a staph problem (which I am not to sure I do, but worth checking again), dry, broken skin is thefts thing I want.
I am also hoping to get an ear swab tomorrow wish me luck....
Your skin might be freaking out cause you dont moisturize enough. So moisturizing is the key also!
Im not too familiar with Neutrogena moisturizer- check pharmacy for acne skin moisturizer, u just have to try different ones and find the best, but Always moisturize morning and evening! I found dans moisturizer very good )
Btw i heard cleaning bars are not the best for acne skin, so find some good very mild cleaning foam or wash
Have u tried dans 3 step regimen?
I also use Aha moisturizer to peel off some dead skin( i use it only sometimes, all other days i use Dans moisturizer 5-10 min after i apply BP.
I hope u find a good moisturizer!
I probably Will only use moisturizers designed for acne and the ones that are sold in pharmacies- have bit more trust in them.
)
Good luck tomorrow!
Best regards:-)
Try grapeseed oil,can you find now brand grapeseed oil and clove oil ?
Get a 3 ounces plastic container,pour 2 drops of clove oil in the plastic container ,then put 3 ounces of grapeseed oil and mix well , then use on top of your acne treatment, as a moisturizer.
You can also do oil swishing with this mix, to spell toxins out of your body ,swishing 2tablespoons when you wake up, do not swallow, do it as long as you can hold, then spit the oil on the trash can, so you won't clog the drain pipes from the zinc, rinse mouth well with water after swishing, then wait like 3 to 5 minutes , then brush your teeth as usual.
The clove oil kills mold ,look it up in Wikipedia, and even when you are going to be putting these oils on your face, they won't break you out,I know this because moisturizer usually breaks me out .
This is what has been working for me lately, I'm not saying you do it,but just look it up . This has been working on my seborrheic dermatitis lately.
Take care , and don't give up .
Take a look at angelspit (?) post ,I think it is called I can't believe I'm about to do this (with pictures).
Reading others postings will help you to understand acne .
Ill keep you posted. Could it still not be staph though if its cocci or is it always associated with staph/strep
It can be Strep, but for what I've read skin infections with S. pyogenes are rare. It may be another species of bacteria but most skin infections that are caused by gram + cocci are S. aureus. It is very good at causing disease and surviving the harsh conditions of the skin.
OK so finally getting swab. Doc said I can do skin ears nose whatever. I don't have any weeny pustules just cyst and some nodules at the moment. Do you have any tips on how I should do the swabs the last time I had my nose done they didn't really tell me what to do, just to put the swab up as far as I can. With ear is it more lily to colonise in the outer ear? And should I just run the q tip over my skin even if there art active spots there?
Also not sure about this one... I had an ointment that contained a low dose steroid, neomycin and sulphur, that I put on some spots on some cysts it worked well other ones that I had picked started popped etc, were extremely painful when I woke up. I have noticed in the past that whenever I have used a steroid on some pimples/cysts that go so sore, would that happen with staph or even fungus maybe?
My pimples continue to seem to refill over and over and the ones that were so sore after the ointment last nigh I have popped... They didn't have real heads on them but they were so sore I had to pop them to receive some of the pain.
Cheers
I think the reason that the pimples don't have a point it could either be that is just accumulated dry skin or a cyst ,I keep thinking about seborrheic dermatitis,really sounds like the kind of acne that hit me after I went through menopause ,Im 52 ,I know .
Is there anyway the dermatologist can test for malassezia or demodex mite?
Don't force the cysts out ,I know that they hurt, but they are so deep rooted that they will cause more infection to spread .
If the cyst hurts really bad , and you really want it out , you can use some vicks vaporub to draw it out ,believe me, it does ,well I really don't recommend others to do what I have used because everyone is different,but from the pictures I kind of relate to the cystic acne that you describe.
Take care ,I hope that doctors find something that will give you some relief.
Ill keep you posted. Could it still not be staph though if its cocci or is it always associated with staph/strep
It can be Strep, but for what I've read skin infections with S. pyogenes are rare. It may be another species of bacteria but most skin infections that are caused by gram + cocci are S. aureus. It is very good at causing disease and surviving the harsh conditions of the skin.
OK so finally getting swab. Doc said I can do skin ears nose whatever. I don't have any weeny pustules just cyst and some nodules at the moment. Do you have any tips on how I should do the swabs the last time I had my nose done they didn't really tell me what to do, just to put the swab up as far as I can. With ear is it more lily to colonise in the outer ear? And should I just run the q tip over my skin even if there art active spots there?
Also not sure about this one... I had an ointment that contained a low dose steroid, neomycin and sulphur, that I put on some spots on some cysts it worked well other ones that I had picked started popped etc, were extremely painful when I woke up. I have noticed in the past that whenever I have used a steroid on some pimples/cysts that go so sore, would that happen with staph or even fungus maybe?
My pimples continue to seem to refill over and over and the ones that were so sore after the ointment last nigh I have popped... They didn't have real heads on them but they were so sore I had to pop them to receive some of the pain.
Cheers
I would say swab your outer ear and into your ear canal all at once. I believe you would find more growth in your ear canal. The swab doesn't need to go deep enough to cause pain Do you mean you have active cysts in your ear? You can go over those. If you have active spots elsewhere, try to keep the swabs specific to the environment. Devote a swab to your left ear. Devote a second to your right ear. Devote a third to an active cyst, etc. Are you putting the swabs on a plate or is the doctor? If the doctor, I believe two ear swabs on two plates would be best. If you, you can split a plate in half and swab each half with each ear. Use separate swabs per ear
I've never tried and I am not familiar with an ointment containing steroids. I've used TAO on unpopped pimples without noticing much of a difference besides a more pronounced bump. When I put TAO on popped pimples I've noticed a quickened healing. I think the antibiotics were actually able to penetrate to the infection site once I popped it.
I had the problem with pimples refilling. Usually, I squeezed a pimple until the solid plug shot out. If I didn't get that or see blood, I was much more likely to have the pimples refill.
If you decide to use Triple Antibiotic Ointment in your ears, here is a study http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16368476 that talks about how effective it is against pimple-causing bacteria and other pathogens.
Ill keep you posted. Could it still not be staph though if its cocci or is it always associated with staph/strep
It can be Strep, but for what I've read skin infections with S. pyogenes are rare. It may be another species of bacteria but most skin infections that are caused by gram + cocci are S. aureus. It is very good at causing disease and surviving the harsh conditions of the skin.
OK so finally getting swab. Doc said I can do skin ears nose whatever. I don't have any weeny pustules just cyst and some nodules at the moment. Do you have any tips on how I should do the swabs the last time I had my nose done they didn't really tell me what to do, just to put the swab up as far as I can. With ear is it more lily to colonise in the outer ear? And should I just run the q tip over my skin even if there art active spots there?
Also not sure about this one... I had an ointment that contained a low dose steroid, neomycin and sulphur, that I put on some spots on some cysts it worked well other ones that I had picked started popped etc, were extremely painful when I woke up. I have noticed in the past that whenever I have used a steroid on some pimples/cysts that go so sore, would that happen with staph or even fungus maybe?
My pimples continue to seem to refill over and over and the ones that were so sore after the ointment last nigh I have popped... They didn't have real heads on them but they were so sore I had to pop them to receive some of the pain.
Cheers
I would say swab your outer ear and into your ear canal all at once. I believe you would find more growth in your ear canal. The swab doesn't need to go deep enough to cause pain Do you mean you have active cysts in your ear? You can go over those. If you have active spots elsewhere, try to keep the swabs specific to the environment. Devote a swab to your left ear. Devote a second to your right ear. Devote a third to an active cyst, etc. Are you putting the swabs on a plate or is the doctor? If the doctor, I believe two ear swabs on two plates would be best. If you, you can split a plate in half and swab each half with each ear. Use separate swabs per ear
I've never tried and I am not familiar with an ointment containing steroids. I've used TAO on unpopped pimples without noticing much of a difference besides a more pronounced bump. When I put TAO on popped pimples I've noticed a quickened healing. I think the antibiotics were actually able to penetrate to the infection site once I popped it.
I had the problem with pimples refilling. Usually, I squeezed a pimple until the solid plug shot out. If I didn't get that or see blood, I was much more likely to have the pimples refill.
If you decide to use Triple Antibiotic Ointment in your ears, here is a study http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16368476 that talks about how effective it is against pimple-causing bacteria and other pathogens.
I have had the swabs. They did my ears nose, through and then run the cotton swab over my face. This will get sent to pathology so not sure exaclety what method they use.... I should have the results back within a wee. The pathologist told me it will only be a microbe test, so not fungal.... even though I asked for that as well.... so they recommend to get that if these are negative. There was no puss lesson this morning so they dint get pus but did run over cystseven though they aren't open. I think they used the same swab per ear though. I went before you had replied 
I don't have cysts in my ear. Just down where my jaw and neck meet if that makes sense. Skin is getting a oily and still have the comediennes and some blackheads so they said they don't think its staph but did it for me anyway. Also started to get some more spots in my scalp again grrrrr. They were not there this morning much.
As far as the Tao goes we don't have that here.I have used Bactroban, doesn't seem to make a big difference to be honest only sometimes but nothing wow. I have just popped the bactroban on s fresh popped one and will take intent notice to see what it does (if it gets worse sounds more fungal?) I have been getting like a clear fluid that always comes after I pop a spot even if not much comes out or I don't get all of it (I think that is normal though). When I used clindamycin in scalp that did nothing, although orally I think it did, but got worse after.
Awesome that they swabbed all of those sites. If the pimple-causing bacteria is in your ears, you would likely be positive for Pseudomonas aeruginosa (gram -) folliculitis or Staphylococcus aureus (gram +) folliculitis.
If it's S. aureus, most strains are susceptible to bactroban. If it's P. aeruginosa, then bactroban is useless. Your doctor would probably prescribe some other topical antibiotic.
Awesome that they swabbed all of those sites. If the pimple-causing bacteria is in your ears, you would likely be positive for Pseudomonas aeruginosa (gram -) folliculitis or Staphylococcus aureus (gram +) folliculitis.
If it's S. aureus, most strains are susceptible to bactroban. If it's P. aeruginosa, then bactroban is useless. Your doctor would probably prescribe some other topical antibiotic.
Ok so results are back face showed no bacteria and so did nose.
Ears said gram negative bacilli occasional. No pathogenic bacteria isolated. They told me this means nothing wouldnt be causing the problem and can be on anyone blah blah.... So friggen confused right now
Also my cortisole is high, the doc didnt want to give the overnight dexamethasone test said it would be a waste of time because I dont have other symptoms of cushing grrrrr this is frustrating
There is no way your nose and ears don't have bacteria. You have many millions of them in each area. Here's an example of the bacteria in all of our nostrils. http://microbewiki.kenyon.edu/index.php/Nasal_passageway#Which_microbes_are_present_in_the_Nasal_Passageway.3F
Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a gram negative bacilli that can live in the human ear. They normally don't cause serious disease (i.e. pathogenic) but they can cause gram - folliculitis and ear pain.