Hi,
Summary:
I'm a 28 year old male who for around five years or so have been infrequently getting these bumps on my face that begin oozing pus almost immediately once they appear. All of a sudden I can feel a hard lump under my skin that wasn't there just a moment ago and within an hour pus starts coming out. If I leave it be, the pus hardens into this orange plug and prevents any more stuff from coming out. I've learned that this only delays the healing and its better to keep the stuff flowing out.
Backstory:
It might be just regular acne, but I'm starting to wonder if it may be caused by something else. I did have average acne during my teen years which disappeared once I started taking and finished isotretinoin treatment I was prescribed (age 18). My acne back then wasn't like this.
About a year and a half ago I started visiting a dermatologist again and was prescribed antibiotics and benzoyl peroxide, but neither of them helped at all. Four months ago I was prescribed isotretinoin at a dosage of 40mg a day. I didn't seen any improvement whilst taking it but the situation didn't get any worse either.
I'm also quite sure that if I manage to get all of the pus out during tonight, it will only be a red spot that may be already scabbing by tomorrow morning. Squeezing the pus out is out of the question since these bumps already leave quite annoying scars as they are and I can't make it come out any faster no matter how hard I press. I usually put band-aid on top of them and change them once an hour or so to try and drain them as gently as possible.
As they come to head so quickly, they also disappear and heal quite quickly, which is the only upside of this ailment. They are also quite rare and there is usually only one or rarely two of them at the same time. The pus is yellow in color. The bumps seem to frequently appear at the same spots that I have had them in previously, but I'm not quite sure.
Anyone else have these kind of pimples/bumps and do you have any idea what it could be caused by? Is it just normal acne? Any tips on how to make them heal faster? I've heard of seborrheic dermatitis, but I don't think that is what I have.
I would be eternally grateful for any new ideas you guys/gals might have!
do they crust over in a honey color? could be staph/impetigo
Thank you for your reply! Yes, they do.
They do seem to resemble the blisters that come with impetigo though it is strange that it wouldn't go away when I took a course of antibiotics last spring.
I will have to visit my dermatologist again and ask him about the possibility of being this. Every time I've visited him my face seems to miraculously clear up so maybe he could have missed it during my previous visits.
Thanks again for your suggestions!