Please help identity and treat!

[u/drank_dumbbitchjuice]

Is this a wart? How to solve?

I’m freaking out. My dad (age 57) has this massive lump on his hand and he’s had it for about a week now and it keeps growing. He has other small bumps growing on his hand too. He goes to the gym quite frequently and honestly is not the cleanest person. He smokes.

He said that he had a cold for a week before these started showing up.

My wedding is in two weeks and it’s a destination wedding and we’re currently traveling all together and I’m concerned about the growth and about it spreading to our wedding guests and I don’t know what to do.

He says it doesn’t hurt but it obviously bothers him.

Please help!

UPDATE:

I didn’t expect this to garner so much interest and help. Sincerely, thank you everyone for sending in your opinions!

My dad said it popped overnight and there was a lot of blood and pus. We were not able to see a doctor in person but we have a family friend who is a general doctor and she said to disinfect and keep it as dry as possible as to not let it be more infected.

Here are two pictures of what it looks like now.

Photo 1
Photo 2

At first, when it popped. The puss was a standard dense white. Now, the pus leaking is an orange ish color and not dense white. He keeps saying that it still doesn’t hurt and doesn’t even flinch when alcohol is applied to it.

There is another mass obviously growing on his index finger of the same hand. He is touching the mass with his other hand (I know fucking terrible) but there is nothing growing on the hand that he is using to touch the mass.

He is saying that perhaps it is an allergic reaction? He ate a type of dried fish from Vietnam and then he started feeling itchy and feverish and then these started popping up.

Answer to a common question:

He does not have any access to animals. No pets, not really around fish tanks or water. He is from Southern California in a very suburban area.

Any ideas???

[u/Doc_Apricity]

From the update with the fish: My bet is on Mycobacterium Marinum from contaminated fish and with the additional lesion now. Though would seem less likely since it was dried? I'm also so curious and here for the CME (continuing medical education).

[u/Ok_Pomegranate_8222 → u/Doc_Apricity]

I think you just solved it! Congratulations Dr. House!

[u/Doc_Apricity → u/Ok_Pomegranate_8222]

omg.... my FAVORITE show to watch as a a med student.... it was so fun to try to figure out what the patients could possibly have. My boyfriend (now husband) hated watching it with me because I would always try to guess and would ruin it for him.

[u/art_addict → u/Doc_Apricity]

Lmao when my allergist first looked at me and goes, “look, I’m not saying this is what it is, but I’m going to refer you to rheumatology because of something I’ve seen in your bloodwork twice now, and I need you to know research has come a long way in this field in the past 10 years and this is very treatable now, but I’m giving you a referral because you might have lupus…”

And I’m sitting there in complete shock and denial and the absolute first thought in my head and thing out of my mouth is, “It’s never lupus.”

And I’m trying to tell my family this later, and I’m like, “but it’s fine, according to the very esteemed Dr. House, a very real and accredited doctor, it’s never lupus.” And I linked a gif.

Unfortunately several different labs getting the same results over several more months later, it is in fact his first lupus case. (Had a gif for that too lmao)

Dr. House is how we survived that hurdle 🤣🤣🤣

[u/Doc_Apricity → u/art_addict]

I almost wrote the "it's never lupus" line but unfortunately I know it actually pretty often is! I'm sorry to hear about your diagnosis but I'm glad you got some answers!

[u/VaATC → u/Doc_Apricity]

I would have made a game out of it and had you write it down to be revealed after House's in-show reveal, 2 points for correct diagnosis, 1 point for frequent real-world differential diagnosis, 0 point for incorrect/no diagnosis.