Recurring Infected Cysts

I have a question about infected cysts.  Recently, I have gotten a bunch of cysts that have popped up (almost instantly) that get infected and became very painful.  In the past month I've gotten one on the heel of my foot and several on my buttocks.  They progress from very small bumps to swollen and infected very quickly (within 1-2 days) and are very painful.  I had to go to a podiatrist to take care of the one on my foot because I couldn't walk but the ones on my butt just come to a head and burst, then they drain for about a week or two. Once one shrinks down, another one seems to pop up.  And they really hurt!  Any reason why I keep getting these infected cysts?  

Here's a little medical history - I used to get cysts under my skin when I was kid.  I used to get them usually in and around my ears and I once had one under my nipple.  But they never got infected like these are and I haven't gotten one in years until these recently.  Also in 2004, I was hospitalized with pneumonia that developed into a lung abscess.  Do you think either of these items are related?  Isn't an abscess like a cyst?  Do you think I may have some kind of infection causing these cysts to flare up like this.  Because of my pneumonia/lung abscess, I've gotten a lot of blood work in the last few years to find the cause of it and it's all come back clean.

Any ideas on what may cause this recent rash of infected cysts?  Any ideas on how to prevent them?

[Dr_Aparna]

Hi,
Most skin infections are caused by bacteria Staphylococcus.Recurrent skin infections requires you to rule out high blood sugars.
Folliculitis is the inflammation of one or more hair follicles. The condition may occur anywhere on the skin.
Folliculitis starts when hair follicles are damaged by friction from clothing, blockage of the follicle, shaving
Even reduced levels of immunity or stress can cause these out-breaks.
Treatment is application of anti-bacterial ointments like Mupirocin on the affected areas.