Kelly was so excited about starting her freshman year of college. On “move in da
ID: 99507 • Letter: K
Question
Kelly was so excited about starting her freshman year of college. On “move in day,” Kelly met her roommate Paige and they hit it off right away. As the girls moved their belongings into the cramped quarters of their dorm room, they discussed a lot of topics. Kelly was pleased to find they shared many interests. As they split a pizza that evening, the new friends decided that they were a good roommate match. “We’re going to get a long great!” Kelly announced giving Paige a hug. “You bet, roomie,” Paige said hugging her back. “What’s mine is yours.”
School started and every week classes became more challenging. Kelly’s hard work paid off and her midterm grades were good. She and Paige had become best friends. They shared everything from secrets to shoes. “Well,” Kelly told her mom during their weekly phone conversation, “I share more with Paige than she does with me, but that’s just because she isn’t as fortunate. Her mom supports Paige plus her three younger brothers so money is a bit tight for her.” “I’m glad you’re a generous girl, Kelly,” her mother replied, “but please be careful Paige doesn’t take advantage of your good nature.” Laughing, Kelly assured her mother that her new best friend would never do that to her.
A month later, Kelly loaned Paige her red strapless dress to wear to a formal dance at a fraternity. Paige frequently used Kelly’s hoodie to wear under her windbreaker since she didn’t have a heavy coat for the cooler weather. Paige also regularly borrowed Kelly’s jewelry, used her makeup, and drank her stash of diet Coke. Kelly didn’t really mind sharing with her friend but found it frustrating when Paige didn’t replace items she had used up. Just yesterday Kelly found her shampoo bottle empty and all of the M&M’s in her candy jar gone. Timidly approaching her roommate about the problem, Paige apologized and promised to stop at Dollar General after classes to replace the shared supplies. Kelly was relieved. Unfortunately, the next day Kelly was still out of shampoo and M&M’s. She purchased the depleted supplies herself but was beginning to resent Paige’s behavior. Trying to stay focused on her studies and not wanting to cause an uncomfortable situation with her roommate, Kelly pushed the issue to the back of her mind. But the next week Kelly found her new bottle of scented body lotion empty, no more pop-tarts in the cupboard and all of her socks were in the laundry bag. “Paige,” Kelly said rather sharply, “you can’t keep using up my stuff. It’s just not fair to expect me to pay for everything.” Glaring at Kelly, Paige said, “here! This should cover your precious pop-tarts.” Shoving a $10 bill at Kelly she reminded her that two weeks ago Kelly had played her CD. “I thought we were best friends. You know, share and share alike. But if you really don’t feel that way, just let me know,” Paige retorted. Feeling very sheepish, Kelly reassured Paige of her friendship and apologized for overreacting to the missing pop-tarts.
Kelly hated confrontation and really did like Paige. She decided she was blowing the situation out of proportion because she was a little stressed about upcoming final exams. Determined to make things better with Paige, Kelly stopped at the drug store and bought her roommate a card. She also picked up some ultra moisturizing lotion since her legs were feeling uncomfortably itchy. “I always get dry skin as the weather gets colder,” Kelly thought as she checked out of the store. That night, Paige hugged Kelly when she read the card. Happy that their friendship was still strong, Kelly started getting ready for bed. She took a hot shower, shaved and applied her new moisturizing lotion but was surprised to see her lower legs covered with small red bumps. “Hmmm,” she murmured. “No wonder I was itchy. What’s up with the rash?” Not overly worried, Kelly crashed for the night.
The next morning, Kelly was uncomfortably itchy and a patch of the bumps behind her left knee actually hurt. With no time to deal with her worsening rash, Kelly pulled on her jeans and a sweatshirt and shoved her bare feet into tennis shoes. “I don’t believe it!” Kelly snapped looking in her empty sock drawer. “She did it again! Paige took my last pair of socks!” Kelly grabbed her backpack, room key, and jacket and headed across campus for her biology exam. She knew better than to check in the cupboard for a pop-tart for breakfast on the go. At the end of the day, Kelly returned to her room exhausted, grouchy, and extremely uncomfortable due to the irritating rash on her legs. When taking her evening shower, Kelly discovered the rash was considerably worse. Now she was worried. The red bumps were larger and had spread to completely cover her legs. First thing in the morning Kelly saw Dr. Pak at the student health center. “Wow, that’s impressive,” she said examining Kelly’s legs. “How long have you had this infection?” “Infection!” Kelly said with surprise. “I thought this was just a rash. You know, sometimes I have trouble with really dry skin when it gets cold out.” “Sorry Kelly, this is definitely a significant infection of your hair follicles. While it will sometimes resolve on its own, your infection seems to be spreading. It’s time to intervene with antibiotics.” “Do I really need drugs,” Kelly queried? “Isn’t there anything else I can do to get rid of my spots?” What infection does Kelly have? What is the most common causative agent of this infection?
Explanation / Answer
Kelly is having Folliculitis commonly known as razor rash also. This infection is caused by certain bacteria or fungi which infect the hair follicles leading to red bumps on the shaved area. The infection can occur at any age and is extremely itchy and uncomfortable. Normally it clears up on its own but sometimes the infection progresses and needs an expert advice (doctor). Because the infection is spreading for Kelly hence, she will have to take drugs given by the doctor. The anti- bacterial washes or the topical antibiotics will help to reduce the infection quickly.
The causative agent is the bacteria most of the times- Staphylococcus aureus.
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