angry nipple with oval pink rash around it-concerned about IBC

kika2013

Hi all--I was diagnosed with IDC and treated for it five years ago and have done well since. This week, during a huge heatwave, the nipple on my other breast became inflamed. I chalked this up to sweat (no air-conditioning) etc. On Tuesday, I noticed a small rash spreading from the nipple. It grew yesterday and today is now more or less a perfect oval, the majority of which is above the nipple. I was so concerned I went to the ER last night, where they diagnosed me with either Lyme or cellulitis, though the doc said neither quite matched the symptoms perfectly. Additionally, over the weekend, before the nipple/rash situation began, I was slightly feverish on Saturday night and had dry heaves on Sunday, along with a splitting headache for about 24 hours. We thought this was food poisoning, but now I'm wondering. I'm in an area with tons of ticks/bugs (including in the very old house) and have been sleeping with nothing on due to the heat and not wearing a bra, plus have swum in several ponds/creeks lately. There was some speculation that chafing of the nipple caused a tiny opening and bacteria got in and is sort of moving through the ducts. My other breast has no doubt had a lot of the ducts removed because of the lumpectomy, and the nipple is generally less "active" as well.

My concern here is IBC, of course. I just had a clean mammo and sono about a month ago, but I know it can be hard to see, and this all came out of nowhere. I started antibiotics last night for the Lyme/cellulitis diagnosis, but no improvement yet. The oval rash now seems to have a slightly raised border. The ER doc (a good doc, but still and ER doc rather than a breast doc) said he was not very concerned about cancer given the recent clean scans but I'm just so nervous right now.

Can anyone advise? Clearly if this was anywhere but on my breast I'd be a lot less worried. I have a call into my breast surgeon as well, but haven't heard from her.

mustlovepoodles

I'm with the ER doc. This sounds like some kind of infection, when you look at all your symptoms together. Give the antibiotics at least 72 hours--they've hardly even gotten into your system in less than a day. Of course, if the antibiotic makes the rash look better, it's not likely to be IBC. IF it does NOT get better, or starts to look dramatically worse, call your breast surgeon and have them take a look at it.

kika2013

Thanks for your thoughts. The ER doc said he'd expect to see improvement in 24 hours, which is part of what has me concerned. And the rash oval got a bit bigger today. I rarely take antibiotics or anything else (except Tamoxifen!) so am not really sure what to expect. I gather my dose of Doxycyclin (100mcg 2x/day) isn't very powerful, though, so maybe I'm expecting too much. I just want this to show signs of resolving so badly!

mustlovepoodles

Doxicyclin is a pretty powerful drug. It treats a variety of infections, so it should work for you. I'm surprised the doctor would tell you to expect improvement in 24 hours. Most antibiotics don't work that fast.

kika2013

Thank you so much for your replies. I was able to speak with my breast surgeon who said her first move would be a dermatologist, and this morning the doxy seems to be kicking in. I am SO relieved. And I really appreciate your company for this.