Pustule (Pustule): Or something else? Differential Diagnosis

Skin and subcutaneous (L00-L99).

  • Acne inversa (also spelled acne inversa; synonyms: Acne tetrade; hidradenitis suppurativa (misleading term because the disease originates in the sebaceous glands and terminal hair follicles rather than the sweat glands), pyodermia fistulans sinifica, sweat gland abscess) – chronic inflammatory and episodic skin disease; preferred sites of manifestation are submammary (“below the female breast (mammary)”), genital, and perianal (“surrounding the anus“); Perifolliculitis (inflammation of the tissue surrounding a hair follicle, usually originating from folliculitis (hair follicle inflammation) caused by bacteria (usually Staphylococcus aureus)) especially in the armpits and groin and a pilonidal sinus (coccygeal fistula) lead to pronounced scarring overall.
  • Acne
  • Dermatitis herpetiformis – chronic skin disease with grouped standing vesicles.
  • Impetigo (pus/crust lichen)
  • Perioral dermatitis (synonyms: Erysipelas or Rosacea-like dermatitis) – skin disease with planar erythema (redness of skin), red disseminated or grouped follicular papules (nodular change on skin), pustules (pustules), dermatitis (skin inflammation) of the face, especially around the mouth (perioral), nose (perinasal) or eyes (periocular); Characteristic is that the skin zone adjacent to the red of the lips remains free; age between 20-45 years; mainly women are affected; risk factors are cosmetics, prolonged local corticosteroid therapy, ovulation inhibitors, sunlight
  • Psoriasis pustulosa – form of psoriasis associated with small abscesses (accumulation of pus).
  • Rosacea – chronic inflammatory skin disease that manifests itself on the face.
  • Diaper dermatitis – skin change (skin irritation, soreness) in infants in the diaper area; appearance of satellite pustules.

Infectious and parasitic diseases (A00-B99).

  • Candidiasis (fungal disease)
  • Ecthyma contagiosum (sheep pox)
  • Herpes simplex
  • Herpes zoster (shingles)
  • Cowpox – smallpox disease of cattle, which is transmitted to humans through milking.

Staphylococcal infections such as impetigo contagiosa (bork lichen; pus lichen; highly contagious / highly infectious bacterial skin disease with a frequency peak in children and newborns) and folliculitis (purulent superficial inflammation of the hair follicle), furuncles (deep, painful inflammation of the hair follicle and surrounding tissues) to severe deep infections such as phlegmon (diffuse spreading infectious disease of the soft tissues).

  • Molle ulcer, or soft chancre (synonyms: chancroid; Ducrey’s bacilli; Haemophilus ducreyi; chancre, soft; molle venereum ulcer; venereal ulcer; molle ulcer; soft chancre) – disease caused by the bacterium Haemophilus ducreyi (gram-negative rods).
  • Tinea pedis (synonyms: Mycosis pedis; athlete’s foot (tinea pedum); mycosis of the feet; tinea pedis; tinea pedum) – mycosis of the sole of the foot and / or interdigital spaces (athlete’s foot), the most common dermatophytosis (infection caused by dermatophytes).
  • Whirlpool folliculitis – refers to a superficial infection with pseudomonads.

Musculoskeletal system and connective tissue (M00-M99).

  • Behçet’s disease (synonym: Adamantiades-Behçet’s disease; Behçet’s disease; Behçet’s aphthae) – multisystem disease of the rheumatic type associated with recurrent, chronic vasculitis (vascular inflammation) of the small and large arteries and mucosal inflammation; The triad (the occurrence of three symptoms) of aphthae (painful, erosive mucosal lesions) in the mouth and aphthous genital ulcers (ulcers in the genital region), as well as uveitis (inflammation of the middle eye skin, which consists of the choroid (choroid), the ray body (corpus ciliare) and the iris) is stated as typical for the disease; a defect in cellular immunity is suspected