Painful bumps on fingertips

Dear Ask The Doctor: I frequently get small painful bumps on my fingertips. You can feel them they are hard. I wouldn't necessarily call them blisters but the pain is similar to that. They are always in the last section of my fingers and always on the fingerprint area. They are very tender but go away over time. I can have many at once or just a few. I can have more than one on the same finger and not have any on other fingers. I have searched endlessly for what this could be with no luck.

Dear Peggy: Tough to answer this one without a picture. I would suggest next time it comes on your fingers...take a digital picture and upload it to us here so we can take a look. In the meantime the only thing i can speculate it being is herpetic whitlow (finger herpes). They come and go and are caused by the herpes simplex virus. Next time you have an outbreak, visit your doctor to get the appropriate antibiotic. Hope this helps