Nasal vestibular furunculosis is relatively common but often misdiagnosed and poorly managed.
Nasal furunculosis involves a deep iinfection of the hari follicles within the nasal vestibule.
Features over the nasal tip:
(1) positive Rudolph sign: named after Rudolph the red-nose reindeer and occurs when the tip of the nose is a bright red color.
(2) tenderness
(3) swelling
It usually involves only one of the two nasal vestibulae.
Staphylococcus aureus and other bacteria may be the cause.
Complications include:
(1) ophthalmic vein thrombosis
(2) cavernous sinus thrombosis
Application of topical mupirocin can result in a rapid resolution of the problem.
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Specialty: Otolaryngology
