Hi All - I am sure this question has been asked before, but I am looking for some advice on what appears to be recurrent MRSA in my left armpit. My backstory (I am F35):
- Mid February 2026: I discovered a large, red, painful boil in my armpit. It hurt so bad I could barely sleep. I went to my dermatologist, who drained it and did a culture test. It came back positive for MRSA so I did a 10 day course of doxycycline (100mg twice a day). I finished the antibiotics by March 1. During this time, I did not shave. I threw out my old razor and deep cleaned my shower (I assumed i got it from shaving to begin with originally)
- March 2026: Maybe 2 weeks after, the wound from draining my abscess seemed healed to me, so I shaved with a brand new razor (big mistake in hindsight). Maybe 3-4 days later I noticed 2 small abscesses. These ones didn't hurt at all like my one from February. But I immediately called my derm to flag it. I ended up seeing a PA in my group and she told me they weren't related to MRSA. They injected a steroid to help with inflammation.
- Fast forward to end of March/April: the 2 abscesses got significantly bigger and more painful. I went back to my derm. They drained them again and did another culture. Started back up on doxy to be safe. Within a few days I got a call back confirming it was MRSA again. I ended up doing a 2 week course of doxy (100mg 2x a day).
- I also asked if I could get the sacs removed. I am scheduled for a surgery in June because they said the inflammation needed to die down before doing a surgery.
I just finished the doxy almost a week ago. The abscesses are gone. However, I am terrified to shave my armpit ever again and also more concerned about a recurrence. So my 3 questions are:
Should I talk to my dermatologist about doing a decolonization? They never brought this up the 2 times I went for MRSA.
Since my abscesses are gone, do I even bother with the surgery to remove the sacs? Is this something commonly done for MRSA?
How are people with past MRSA infections shaving? Or should I assume I can't shave and focus on something like trimming with scissors?
I also have pretty much stopped any form of exercise. I am a pretty active person so it's really impacting me because I'd love to get back into any movement. Again,I'm so worried sweating excessively will trigger it.
Any ideas or personal experience is great appreciated. Thank you!