Bumps after shaving

[Zaijian]

Hi, I'm a 20 yr old female and before i became sexually active, everytime i shaved my pubic area i wud get bumps. little bumps tho....but one or two wud b bigger than the rest...if i tried to squeeze them, pus and blood would come out..sometimes even a hard substance wud come out (sometimes)...no foul smell, nothing else..just that from the one or 2 bigger bumps.thatproblem has persisted til this day (which makes it aboout 1 and a half yrs). Everytime i shave those bumps come up...I'm very careful to clean the area before and after shaving but they always return...I'd really like to ko what that's all about and what can i do to treat/cure it...thnaks a lot...

[Bhupinder Kaur, MD]

Hello,
The bumps that you are having after shaving is due to folliculitis. Folliculitis is the inflammation of one or more hair follicles.It starts when hair follicles are damaged by friction from clothing or blockage of the follicle. In most cases of folliculitis and boil, the damaged follicles are then infected with the bacteria Staphylococcus (staph).
Pls keep the area clean and apply some topical antiseptics. Also wear loose-fitting cotton clothing and use an antibacterial soap or mild soap like dove.Avoid any kind of cosmetics. Topical antibiotics such as mupirocin or neomycin containing ointment are also useful.In case the symptoms persist then oral antibiotics may be needed.Pls consult a dermatologist in that case.

Also while shaving,shave in the direction of hair after proper moisturizing the skin like with hypoallergenic shaving cream, then apply cold compresses(ice cubes wrapped in a towel) on the skin after shaving and if rash appears take some antihistaminic like benadryl or claritin.You can also apply calamine lotion on the skin.It will help in soothing the skin.A mild corticosteroid cream like dermacort will also help.

Hope it helps.Take care and pls do keep me posted on how you are doing or if you have any additional doubts. Kind regards.

[Zaijian]

Thank u very much...i'll keep u posted

[Zaijian]

I would also would like to find out about a friend of mine who has had 3 bumps in his pubic hairs that were the color of his skin. When he saw this he was very worried and decided to remove all the hair in the area using a hair removal cream. He said that he palpated the bumps and they felt hard to the touch. He said that they itched allot especially when he was sweating. He told me one day that he had popped one of the bumps which was and eigth to a quarter inch in diameter and blood and puss came running out in large quantities. Eventually the bumps went away and never came back.
Afterward he complains of the same itching sensation when he sweats but can see no bumps. He has also noticed that his genital hair had some brown to cream stuff on it and his hairs burst easily( not at the root). He is wondering it he may have a fungal or bacterial infection of his hairs and crutch.
His most current complain is that his hairs are busting from the root easily when he bathes. What can be the cause of this? And most importantly what could be the cause of that phantom itch?