Strange 'pimple'

Hi Doctor,

About five days ago I noticed a small 'whitehead' type pimple, with a hair sticking out of the middle of it, just below my beltline, in my pubic hair area.  I didn't pop it but the next time I looked at it (the same day) the whitehead was gone (perhaps rubbed off by friction with my pants).  However I was left with a slightly raised  redness on my skin about a quarter inch across, with what I would describe as a 'knot', a hardness just below the surface of the skin, not unlike how you can feel a large pimple beneath the skin.  I should emphasise though that aside from the whitehead I noticed at first, there was no actual pimple, just a red rash and a tiny dimple where the whitehead used to be.

The reason I'm posting though is because the spot was pretty painful (especially as it rubbed against my pants), and also because the 'knot' below the skin seemed very large.  It's still there a little bit but obviously dissipating today after about three or four days.  From my description, could you tell me what might have caused this infection I've had?  Thank you.

[Alan Rockoff, MD]

This sounds like a blocked pore, common in this region.  These come for no special reason and go through the stages you describe.  The knot under the skin gets reabsorbed by the body.  No treatment is needed.

Take care.

Dr. Rockoff