Hi all,
I am 19 years of age and for the past year I have been suffering from sudden onsets of scrotal ulceration, which almost always result in surgical debridement of the area affected. Since December 2010, I have been operated on three times to remove the affected skin.
In early December 2010, I had my tonsils removed, following frequent bouts of tonsillitis. It was shortly after this operation, having been bedridden and doped up on painkillers for a week or so, that I noticed 3 patches of inflamed skin, on the left, right, and bottom of my scrotum. This was accompanied by extreme pain, and after seeing the doctor, I was sent to hospital where the skin was removed.
During my recuperation in hospital, the docs said that the top of my left lung had collapsed slightly due to the presence of pneumonia. I was promptly treated for this, and within a week, my lung was looking healthy again.
Having been discharged at the end of the month, things continued healing until March 2011, when I was readmitted following acute ulceration of the wound area, with a watery yellow discharge. This was treated with iodine to the area itself, which seemed to dry the ulcers up, along with intravenous antibiotics.
A number of months passed with minor ulcers appearing on the wound occasionally. Dressing the wound daily with gauze and softpore adhesive surgical dressings was enough to give me the comfort I needed to continue with daily life. It was only a couple of months after the wound had healed completely, (mid September 2011) that I started to feel ill with what I thought was just a regular cold. About 3 Ulcers appeared on the scrotum as they had done before, and I wasn't initially worried. However, within 24 hours, a couple of the ulcers started to develop a purplish-black ring around them, with acute pain accompanying.
I immediately went to the hospital that had dealt with me beforehand, where they took a look and didn't seem incredibly fussed, despite me telling them my track record. They gave me a course of antibiotics, and sent me on my way. I returned less than 12 hours later, due to the speed at which the ulcers had progressed. They were now at least double the size that they had been. However, they still did not want to take any further action. It was only when I returned again, in a considerable amount of pain with symptoms mirroring the original incident, that they took me seriously and decided to operate to remove the skin again. I was admitted to hospital and had the wound monitored and cleaned for the next 8 days.
Following these events, I had no occurrences of ulceration on the scrotum, and bar a cold or two, I felt healthy. I have been dressing the wound daily. It's only now, after a weekend away with some friends, (aka drinking a lot of alcohol and sleeping on the floor) that I have started to feel under the weather and notice some slight ulceration. It would seem the ulceration is related to me feeling under the weather.
Apologies for this absolute novel of a question. This condition has caused me to lose jobs, miss out on numerous family occasions, as well as cause a large amount of physical and emotional upset.
If there's anyone out there with so much as an inkling of a clue as to what could be causing this, please do not hesitate to share your thoughts and ideas.
Thanks in advance.