A tender bump on the side of my nose is causing painful headaches. What is it?

Question

Hello doctor,

I have a tender bump on the side of my nose, which is slowly getting bigger. It is on the right side of the bridge of my nose, and it is hot to touch. It does not look red, but it is extremely painful. My eyes and forehead also hurt and is causing a very painful headache. I have chronic migraines, so this does not help. I also have a sore lymph node under my chin and a bit of a sore throat. This all started two nights ago. I am worried as it is extremely close to my brain, but I do not want to waste people's time at the ER. But I am worried because it is not getting better. It is slowly getting worse. There is no open sore on my nose or any drainage from anywhere. It is really painful.

Answer 1

Hello,

Welcome to icliniq.com.

I went through your post, but it would have been better if you had posted a photograph of the lesion. There are three possibilities:

Herpes zoster of the ophthalmic division of trigeminal nerve. This one is a problem because it may affect the eye, so it needs to be treated promptly.
Dacryocystitis, which means an infection of drainage pipe of tears.
Furunculosis is a small infection of hair follicles and does not cause problems.

The last two will settle with antibiotics like Flucloxacillin, but the first one will need antiviral like Acyclovir. I would suggest you consult a physician for physical examination.

Regards.

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