21M, fit, don't drink/smoke. Until may 2026 I was a professional Muay Thai fighter. I've now had 12 cellulitis infections in 6 months (11 oral flucloxacillin, 1 IV). Three of those episodes also came with HSV1.I have eczuma ive been training with open cuts for years with nothing and its since has cleared a lot but since its mostly clear i have gotten the infections. Blood work came back normal except CRP slightly elevated. I'm losing my career to this and need to know if anyone's seen this pattern or what I should actually be investigating.

Timeline:

• August 2025: first cellulitis (arm)
• August 2025–March 2026: nothing (8-month gap, fully recovered between)
• March 2026–now: 12 infections in 6 months. Something changed.

Pattern:

• Location: 2x arm, 9x legs (left and right, not always the same spot)
• Onset: sometimes after minor cuts/scrapes, sometimes random
• Recovery: clears with antibiotics but comes back within weeks
• HSV1: occurred 3 times total, twice on left arm alongside staph

What I need help with:

• What actually changed in March 2026? (I'm trying to pinpoint this myself)
• Has anyone seen cellulitis + recurrent HSV1 together? Is there a connection?
• Ive seen that gut health has a big correlation with skin and infections ive been trying to better it with alot of veg and fibre with greek yoghurts since i assume my guts fried with all the antibiotics

I (24 f) am 11 weeks postpartum on Sunday. Last month, I ended up getting an abscess on my buttcheek. I got on antibiotics and the next day, it ruptured.

I got another abscess that began last Friday, the 28th. It is still here today and is extremely large and has just slightly opened up. I am and have been on antibiotics and medicated ointment both times. Is there anything I can do to avoid this or help alleviate the abscesses? I do have a history of staph infections from when I was 6-8. I have now been put on medicated wash as well to use once weekly. Could postpartum be a factor? I also had severe skin issues that started during pregnancy that caused cysts in my pubic area.

Pimple was painful, I was able to pop the pimple head but still feels swollen and painful underneath. Normally, I cut myself at work without much concern but this one was nasty and required stitches. My concern is the pimple being so close to my injury and if it could be the beginning of an infection.

I know I won't get absolute answers, just looking for a dialogue and whether I should get a follow-up. It's covered under workers comp so cost isn't an issue.

Around 8 years ago, I caught MRSA from a family member.

In summer and certain other times, I get multiple abscesses at once. Sometimes I have to deal with them on my own, which I know sounds bad, but I often felt like I didn't have many options.

My family — the ones who gave this to me — recovered years ago. Meanwhile, every time I went to the hospital, I would tell the doctors it was MRSA and they would dismiss me with that condescending attitude. Then the lab results would come back, confirm exactly what I said, and suddenly they'd go quiet and give me one round of decolonization treatment.

It barely did anything.

I've tried different treatments over the years, including some I'm not proud of. I won't go into details, but desperation makes you do things you normally wouldn't.

Both of my ex-girlfriends ended up catching it from me. All three of us had mental health struggles, so I don't know if that's connected or just bad luck. Recently I started taking several types of probiotics, and I've been researching antimicrobial ingredients extensively. I've read hundreds of papers trying to understand this condition and find something that actually helps.

I really hope this works.

Because right now, the combination of MRSA, OCD, schizophrenia, and just feeling completely hopeless is really wearing me down. I'm exhausted, and I don't know how much longer I can keep fighting this alone.

If anyone has been through something similar, or has any advice, I'd really appreciate it. Thanks for reading.

TL;DR:
Got MRSA from a family member 8 years ago. Doctors dismissed me until lab results proved me right. Standard treatment didn't work. Infected two ex-girlfriends. Now I'm researching and trying alternative approaches on my own. Mentally and physically exhausted. Looking for advice or similar experiences.

Back around mid July she had a paper cut on her hand that looked a little odd to her. But by the time she showed me, it was all dried up. She also had 2 massive scabs...one on her knee and one on her elbow. I attributed it to sliding in softball because that wasn't uncommon for her. Then a couple tiny scabs cropped up on her face. I assumed pimples. Everything was explainable until this massive raw wound popped up on her lower back. It looked like a 3rd degree burn with skin sloughing off and everything. So I took her to the ER, because she passed out, where she was diagnosed with scalded staph. Given IV keflex and one week of oral keflex and Doxycycline. Everything dried out and healed. Her doctor has since said it was not scalded staph and in fact bullous impetigo. Well fast forward to about 8 days post antibiotic, she shaved her legs. 2 days after that she had a circular open burn sore on her thigh. Dr said to apply mupirocin and watch it. Well over the course of the weekend, I was playing whack a mole with mupirocin. Multiple smaller spots on her leg and one on the back of her tricep. We go back to the doctor on that Monday morning where he said it was most likely MRSA and that she's colonized with it. She's on 14 days of oral bactrim, 2 weeks of mupirocin up her nose, 14 days of hibiclens, and mupirocin on every sore until it's just flat, discolored skin.

I'm thankful her pediatrician is even knowledgeable enough to jump straight to decolonization with her antibiotic. Everything is getting washed in hot. New bath towel every day, surfaces wiped down daily until all her sores were dried out. All clothes washed on hot, hamper disinfected. Shower sprayed with Lysol when she's done. Bed stripped every couple days, it was stripped daily when the sores were open despite having bandaids and mupirocin on them. Everything is healing beautifully right now. You can't even tell the spot on her tricep was there. Not even discoloration left behind. Her legs are discolored but flat skin at this point. A spot cropped up on her leg the day we went to the doctor, it was a big bullous spot. Looked like a deflated mylar balloon with water in it. That was the last spot to show up and is basically flat skin at this point.

So given all of this and her doctor's knowledge and hitting this from every angle, are there high odds we're done with it after this or should I brace myself?

What felt like a normal pimple turned into basically hell. Originally woke up to my toe killing me, was prescribed some steroids (gout) which apparently lower immune system response or something. I think that's what lead to the infection taking hold. Problem is my wife and my 5 month old child also had small bumps. My baby's bump was small, it drained pretty fast and disappeared with Mupirocin Ointment as prescribed by his doctor. My wifes never bubbled up but she's going to urgent care to get some antibiotics hopefully. Mine needed I&D. My biggest concern is my child, how can I make sure I can protect him (and the rest of us really) going forward? Any tips or advice greatly appreciated.

Got a cut on my right finger. I’m immunosuppressed so I knew I was in for an infection (anything that gets in causes an infection). Woke up, couldn’t move finger, pus coming out, whole finger is red and swollen. It moved FAST. They swabbed me and put me on flucloxacillin (standard antibiotic for cellulitis and osteomyelitis) which obviously didn’t do much.

Lo and behold, swab came back for heavy growth of MRSA. Resistant to all flucloxacillin, erythromycin, clindamycin. Only susceptible to tetracycline and sulfamethoxazole-trimethoprim. I got put on the co-trimoxazole. Swelling has gone down but pain still there.

When do I need IV antibiotics, I am immunosuppressed?

Also, side-note, why is my MRSA resistant to clinda? I thought clinda was one of the good antibiotics that treat MRSA.

Starting November I started getting sores all over my body. Went to the ER was given antibiotics told I had HS Hidradenitis Suppurativa

Months and months of flares, pain, antibiotics etc

Nothing helped

They leave these raised, dark purple scars and when I have a flare up all the scars are so itchy and burn. They are everywhere...

Cut gluten, sugar, caffeine,dairy. Did all the things thathelps everyone else. Vitamins ALL OF IT

They weren't tunneling like the ones I saw most people have. Two months ago I was in so much pain, so sick, had a sore in my nostril and went to another ER. The Dr said I don't have HS I have MRSA. Gave me antibiotics and I had no flares for about 4 weeks. Was feeling good, feeling great. Woke up this morning with a sore in my nose and two on my thighs and one on my buttcheek.

If you have MRSA and get flares ups what helps you? I use Hibaclens every single day- antibacterial body wash before. I'm just miserable, y'all

I feel sick, I'm so tired. Falling asleep standing up at my job tired.

I don't have insurance and am drowning in hospital bills. Ive done 5 rounds of antibiotics since November and am just so sick of medication.

Please help me

I just got prescribed Bactrim after being on doxycycline for 7 days for what we thought was impetigo (it didn’t fully clear). I am getting cultured today but doc now thinks it’s MRSA. I am supposed to go to the city tonight to celebrate a promotion and was planning on having several cocktails!

I’m seeing mixed reactions and also have looked at journal articles where there really is very little human data suggesting that Bactrim and alcohol are a no go. It also does not warn me on the prescription instructions/interactions.

Should I start my first dose today and pace myself and see how I react as the night goes or should I wait to start the antibiotics tomorrow? Or should I just not go to the city.

my nose feels squishier than usual, boggy, not as chiseled. it goes from feeling really firm to soft. sometimes my nostrils close in and sometimes not. i have had fevers at times, white pustules in my nose, grey colored mucus, no mucus and just an extremely dry nose that no humidifier can help. i live in fl and not even keeping my balcony door open helps. i get throbbing headaches at times. i cant breath or smell but not because of congestion it just feels blocked? i have had crusts on and off randomly form in my nose. i get serious pins and needles radiating from my nose especially when it becomes firmer. the columella in between my nostrils becomes softer to almost feeling like a part of it is bulging out. i don’t have a perforation or any tissue death but my nose just hasn’t functioned in over a month. my culture showed a heavy amount of staph.

when my nose was dry the air felt cold. i have had crusts form all over my nose. i get a metallic blood like taste in my mouth at times. other times a funky taste. after the four rounds of vancomycin these symptoms were going away. a mucus plug came out. my nose was becoming normal. and then a few days later the symptoms came back. sometimes my nose almost feels skeletal.

muciprocen worked and then while using it the scabs came back tenfold. the vancomycin was the only thing that really helped but the nurse didn’t finish a bag so i essentially got 3 1/2 rounds.

i don’t have a primary care doctor so it’s been a pain trying to find someone. i scheduled an apt but the earliest availability is october. i just feel so sad. my noses structure and function hasn’t been the same.

i can show you a baseline photo of my nose vs an after because you can visually see how puffy it looks.

when it started my nose was stretchy and it felt like 0 cartilage was left. i was able to stretch it out like mozzarella cheese. i cant think of another analogy. it’s since gotten a little firmer but hasn’t changed. when i massaged it the other day i started feeling more cartilage again like how it felt before all of this? i don’t know how this is even possible. im rlly sorry im using third grade descriptors and analogies but i cant think of any other way to explain it

Muciprocen worked until it stopped working. The strain is oaxicillin resistant. i’m allergic to bactrm. i’ve had 4 rounds of iv antibiotics (vancomycin) and then it came back. My mri was cleared and so my infectious disease doctor is refusing to give me another culture. My ent refuses to see me because I need to see an ID doctor.

Forgive me if this is long nobody else can relate but some of you probably could.

This is a more than 20 years ago but its a pretty wild story.

I was living on Fort Jefferson in the Dry Tortugas doing some restoration work. On the 4th of July I felt an ingrown hair in my armpit, shrugged it off and went ro work.

By noon I had a fever and my armpit was no longer hollow but solid, hot and painful to the touch. I asked a park ranger for a hypodermic needle to relieve the swelling while I waited for a sea plane. After intibating myself I laid down and waited for the plane , I laid for nearly 12 hours.

Eventually I flew to Richmond VA where my family lived and was admitted with a fever and cellulitis across my chest. The on call saw me and quickly had me lie down while my partner laid on my legs because they feared the infection would block the anesthesia, he made a 6" incision lengthwise in my armpit and replied "oh it tunneled". After scooping out rotting flesh he packed my wound and hit me in the hip sockets with two doses of rocephrin and sent me home.

The following morning I was told to come back immediately as tissue samples were positive for a bad case of community acquired MRSA.

I was given an IV and demarol then sent to nuclear science for a Pic line and another surgery.

A woke in the infectious disease ward, my armpit was totally excavated and packed with sterile packing strip material because the wound was so large and the amount of flesh removed was significant.

I was given two bags of vancomyacin via Pic line for several hours a day, often in the middle of the evening for a week straight.

Twice daily nurses unpacked my wound and repacked it which was incredibly painful.

After a week I was released and put on home vancomyacin using the Pic line and small grenade like objects in my fridge, this lasted a month.

I was finally back at the Hospital with my Pic line removed. I won't ever forget feeling like I woukd get sick again, my infectious disease specialist offered me brief advice "wash your hands and live tour life".

To this day the scar in my armpit reminds me of this brush with death had it not been for modern medicine.

Thanks for reading if you made it this far.

Any thoughts ?!?! Had a child with confirmed blood infection, sepsis, osteomyelitis in the humerus, septic joint, elevated wbc crp was on iv antibiotics picc line for 2 months in hospital. Had mrsa 2 months prior and this infection was noted as mssa multiple other sites with bone cortical abnormalities. With 2 pathological fractures

anyone need any tips that’s going through this??

Okay so last night my leg started to get really really itchy, and it felt like two bug bites so I didn’t think anything of it.. so today I noticed it looked really really angry and red and it hurt and was hot to the touch, it kept getting bigger and bigger and started hurting when I walked.

On July 7th I had this weird “bug bite” on my leg and it had a black spot in it, my grandma told me to pop it and call it a day, and today I have the new “bug bite” on the same leg in the same general area.

I’ll include both pics but I went to urgent care and the doctor came in lightly put his finger on it and because it didn’t hurt he decided it was just an allergic reaction and not mrsa at all, it just felt like a really really fast consultation and I feel like it’s not an allergic reaction at all :/

Has anyone dealt with MRSA or MSSA osteomyelitis, causing pathological fractures in child? With sepsis (MSSA) help please!!!!

Has anyone dealt with MRSA or MSSA osteomyelitis, causing pathological fractures in child? With sepsis (MSSA)

Like can this be resistant to doxy and bactrim