Cause Of Painful Bumps On Neck, Behind Ear, And On Scalp?

Posted on Mon, 17 Feb 2014

Medically reviewed by Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team

Mon, 17 Feb 2014 Answered on

Mon, 10 Mar 2014 Last reviewed on

Question : Approx. 4 days ago I developed strange little bumps n the exterior skin middle front neck. Next day I had larger hard bumps behind my right ear, outer ear, and on my lower scalp at the right lower midline. all hurt upon touch and I get intermittent stabbing pains in them What is this? Should I be concerned?

Answered by Dr. Dr. Kakkar (20 minutes later)

Brief Answer: Herpes Zoster Detailed Answer: Hi. Thanks for posting your concern at HCM I would keep a possibility of Herpes Zoster. Herpes zoster commonly known as shingles has a viral etiology. Zoster is characterized by a painful skin rash with blisters in a limited area on one side of the body (left or right), often in a stripe. Pain in zoster is more of burning, shooting or stabbing like in character. Though i am reasonably sure about this diagnosis but I would still like to confirm it if you can upload and send me a clear picture of the affected area. If i was your treating doctor than i would have asked you to take an oral antiviral like Acyclovir 800mg every 6hourly for a week. You can apply a topical antibacterial like 2% mupirocin which is available OTC. An OTC pain killer like ibuprofen once or twice daily will help you deal with the pain. take care regards

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar