Topic: Red Bumps and Welts All Over Scalp - Help

Mar 11, 2010 07:35 PM flash wrote:

I never had anything like that, but it sounds to me like you might have an opportunistic infection in the skin.  I would talk with you onc or see a dermatologist.

good luck.

Mar 11, 2010 07:39 PM Cowgirl13 wrote:

Magister, talk to your oncologist right away.

Mar 11, 2010 09:16 PM, edited Mar 11, 2010 09:28 PM by chrisct

It could be folliculitis.  There was some discussion a while back on the Hair hair hair thread - see Chelev's post on  Nov 3rd  community.breastcancer.org/for...#post_1579805   

Link doesn't seem to work for me - but when I copy and paste the page comes up.

I've read that a couple people used a cotton ball to apply 3% hydrogen peroxide and it felt good and worked quickly.  Other ladies have washed their heads with an antibacterial soap like Dial and then applied an antibiotic cream like Neosporin.  They recommend against an ointment because it's greasy.  Some have used 1% clindamycin solution - might need a prescription for that.  Those are a few things that I found.

I did a search on folliculitis hydrogen peroxide and found some good posts.

Mar 11, 2010 09:56 PM TenderIsOurMight wrote:

Has anyone suggested they might be herpes zooster? They can present as you describe and are very painful (at least mine were) and often come out when immunocompromised from chemotherapy. If confirmed an antiviral can be prescribed which helps with the pain and their resolution.

 Sorry you are having such a rough go of it,

Tender

Mar 11, 2010 10:15 PM otter wrote:

Magister, if your scalp is covered with the red bumps, the odds are high that it's folliculitis, as chrisct suggested. Tender could be right, though -- I've heard of some women developing herpes zoster (a.k.a. "shingles") during chemo.  The bumps from shingles are indeed painful and need to be treated medically.  So, in any case, check with your oncologist or his/her nurse.

I developed red, itchy (but not especially painful) scalp bumps midway through my 2nd round of Taxotere & Cytoxan.  They formed yellow "heads", like ugly zits; but the official name is "pustules".  The yellow heads turned to crusts and the bumps eventuallydried up and went away, just in time for my next chemo tx.

I did call my onco's office when I first found the bumps, and I was told they most likely were folliculitis.  My onco said to stop using whatever shampoo I'd been using and switch to something really mild.  She suggested Johnson's baby shampoo, which would keep my scalp clean and would dry out the bumps without causing irritation.  I'd tried Dial liquid antibacterial soap, thinking I had an infection; but it just made the bumps more angry. I'd even tried Head & Shoulders shampoo, thinking it would do something magic; but it made the situation much worse.

The bumps went away within a week or so, once I'd switched to baby shampoo.   I took pictures of them when they were at their worst, just in case they did go away by the time I saw my onco at my next chemo tx.  My onco confirmed that the bumps were folliculitis when she saw the pics.  She said she could have prescribed an antibiotic, like tetracycline; but generally the papules/pustules would go away on their own as long as they were treated gently.

Be forewarned:  DO NOT SCRATCH the bumps.  If you do, they could seriously become infected; and that's not a good thing when you're in the middle of chemo.

Also, because it's impossible for us to know for sure what the bumps are, be sure to call your onco's office.  Some docs recommend a different solution to the problem than mine did.

otter

Mar 12, 2010 06:46 AM Magister wrote:

Thank you all for your help! I will call my oncologist today. At least I know you all have had some experience with this and it's not unheard of. Thanks again!

Mar 12, 2010 04:45 PM Cowgirl13 wrote:

Magister, do let us know what your doctor said.  I'm so glad you are calling him

Mar 12, 2010 05:12 PM DENRulzBC wrote:

I had the same thing. Very painful bumps, some like pimples. Very sore to the touch. I just kept my head clean but no added ointments. My onc gave me an antibiotic in case of infection. After about a week or so they subsided. My onc believed that the steroids played a part in the problem as they can cause acne. Speedy healing to you. HUGS, Dawn

Mar 13, 2010 07:51 AM Magister wrote:

Dawn:

My onc said exactly the same thing -- it's the steroids. The bumps are very painful and some have developed a white head just like when I had acne as a teenager. Very unattractive! :-) He suggested I keep my head very clean, and periodically clean it with hydrogen peroxide. He suggested an anibiotic ointment in case the bumps break open. As if being bald wasn't bad enough -- all I need now is to develop some hairy moles to complement the acne.

Mar 13, 2010 10:52 AM DENRulzBC wrote:

Try to be patient, I know how hard it is.  After mine went away the first time I only saw a couple here and there after.  And when my hair began to grow back it never hampered that growth at all.  Hang in there, if you're half way done with chemo now - the end is with in sight.  I sent the hairy mole fairy away so you should be clear there. LOL  HUGS to you,  Dawn

Mar 13, 2010 02:28 PM hrf wrote:

I also had this. It was folliculitis. The onc prescribed Dalacin T, which is an antibiotic lotion that I applied to my head and it made it much better.

Mar 19, 2010 09:19 AM hope2 wrote:

i had these when my hair was falling out and again when it was coming back in and again when it started to thicken, i just thought they were ingrown hairs, i thought my head would be like kojac shinny bald and smooth but it was more like shreik, it had lots of very sore bumps, but they did go away fairly quickly, just use something very mild to wash you head like acqueas cream or nothing at all just water and use a mild antiseptic like for babies and try not to bruise them or scratch them even though they are nearly too sore to touch i would still manage to touch them, making them worse and your healing is slower than normal. I am going for my first hair cut next week with new hair, 12 mths since my last one and what a difference.