Got prescribed antibiotics yesterday and I got to thinking about what an infection is, what causes infections, and so forth. When the doctor examined me he just looked at my skin and made the determination that I needed antibiotics. How did he know it wasn’t a viral infection? Would I be running a temperature? Can you not get a viral infection in/under your skin?
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Herpes, the most common viral skin infection, causes specific kinds of lesions which occur most commonly at transitions between mucous membranes and the epidermis (lips and genitals).
Bacteria are more likely than viruses to infect just the epidermis/dermis, and usually result in inflamation and/or abscesses.
If you have an infectious lesion in a place other than the lips or genitals, it is more likely due to bacteria.
A lab culture can differentiate between uncertain cases.
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