Carbunculosis

Injury	Disease	Nutrition	Poison

Symptoms	Surgery	Test	Special Topic

Skin layers

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)

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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.