Bumps on my foot

April 18, 2005 1:48 AM

FootFilter: about a month ago I noticed two small, itchy red dots [JPG] on my foot. At the time I passed them off as an insect bite and promptly forgot about it. Well... they're still there.

Because of a change of footwear (summer time sandles) I started noticing that these two red bumps are still there. They don't usually itch until something irritates the area, and then it feels like any mosquito bite. They haven't changed size or color since I first noticed them. And I haven't noticed any bumps elsewhere.

I know, I know.. "see a doctor". I'll probably see my dermatologist within the next two months, but I was wondering if these bumps might require more immediate attention. I quick Google search turns up information on athlete's foot, but these don't look like the pictures I've seen. Anyone out there had/seen these before?

... and the lower one is more agrivated because I'd accidently been itching it this evening

posted by sbutler to Health & Fitness (9 answers total)

I don't know.
Is there a chance that they began as bites and have been irritated semi-continuously from socks/ footware since?
They 'look' relatively innocuous and might go away of their own accord with sunshine/air.
Did I say I don't know?
posted by peacay at 1:55 AM on April 18, 2005

Response by poster: It's possible. I live in a basement apartment, and I have my fair share of spiders and such. I had been wearing socks until recently, so that may have just continued the problem. My first thought was ingrown hair, but I don't really have any hair on my foot in that area.

And because I just thought of it, here's another picture of my ugly foot with a ruler for scale: foot-ruler.jpg.
posted by sbutler at 2:03 AM on April 18, 2005

Without a "two" in the ruler, those could be 1/8" apart or 1/16" apart, but my guess would be a spider bite. Check your bed for visitors.
posted by Civil_Disobedient at 3:42 AM on April 18, 2005

If you've had chickenpox in the past, and these marks are really itchy, this could be shingles. A glance at images.google only shows up really bad cases, but I've seen makrs exactly like these on a friend, and they were shingles.
posted by fire&wings at 4:39 AM on April 18, 2005

fwiw that's not athlete's foot!
are you sure they're the same bites as a month ago?
posted by andrew cooke at 6:36 AM on April 18, 2005

Best answer: Might they be some sort of wart?

To answer your original question: yes, ask your dermatologist, and no, it's not something that requires immediate attention. If they haven't changed in a month, don't worry it.
posted by Specklet at 9:58 AM on April 18, 2005

Response by poster: I've had warts on my hands before, so if these are warts then they are something new. And the intermediary units are 1/16" (opps... the 2" mark was cropped out). So the largest bump is about 1/8" and the two are less than 1/2" apart.

However, singles is not something I need. I have had chickenpox in the distant past, and my white blood cell count has been on the low end for a couple years (if that counts as immunosuppressed). In any event, I just made an appointment with a school doctor for Wednesday. I'll post here when I know what they are.
posted by sbutler at 12:27 PM on April 18, 2005

My guess is scabies- almost definitely. They're very easy to get, and very easy to treat once diagnosed. Go see a doctor right away before they spread.
posted by BuddhaInABucket at 7:29 PM on April 18, 2005

Response by poster: Saw the doctor today and I think he called it an "exophytic deratitis". I don't remember the exact term he used, but the jist of it was that he didn't know what it was but since it is rather static then it's probably nothing important. He prescribed clobetasol and told me to watch it and make sure it doesn't get worse.

I guess that means Specklet wins!
posted by sbutler at 10:36 PM on April 20, 2005