painfull red growth in my armpitt

A month ago a red growth appeared in my armpitt. Recently it has grown to the size of a marble and become painfull. Its very red and filled with blood. It looks a little like a mole. Is this an ingrown hair, a boil or some kind of cist? Should I be concerned? How do I get rid of it?

[Bhupinder Kaur, MD]

Hello,
From the symptoms it looks like a boil. Boils are caused by infection of the hair follicle by staph aureus. . Hair follicles that are blocked by greasy creams, petroleum jelly, or similar products are more vulnerable to infection.

Apply warm compresses on the boil and keep the area clean. Drainage of the boil is done only when it becomes soft and forms a head. Take some over the counter pain reliever and consult a doctor for examination and antibiotics prescription. If there are recurrent boils, then please get your blood sugar levels estimated. Also then surgical excision by traditional wide excision, minimal excision, and punch biopsy excision may be required.

It is very difficult to precisely confirm a diagnosis without examination and investigations and the answer is based on the medical information provided. For exact diagnosis, you are requested to consult your doctor. I sincerely hope that helps. Take care and please do keep me posted on how you are doing.