what is this and what can i do to prevent

for years i have these big boils to come up i have had them in many different places it starts off as what fills like a little bump then will turn red and over a period of a few days will eventually turn into a big huge like knot just loaded with yellow ***** like stuff it is very uncomfortable and sore and can take many days to get all junk out of them sometimes i have even had to go to doctor and have them lanced i have had them on my ears,in fand olds of my legs under arms and on my buttocks area they sometimes leave a hole and most time turn into a black spot sometimes even reoccuring i have had many people tell me they are ingrown hairs but in some places like my ears and buttocks area i dont even have hair in these places also had one doctor tell me that they were sebacious cysts well it seems whatever they are there is something causing them and something i can do to prevent them its very painful and aggravating none the least very embarassing to have on buttocks or somewhere please help these things are far from small sometimes they get almost as big as tennis ball little one

[Bhupinder Kaur, MD]

Hello,
Hair are present on the whole body except palms and soles. So these painful bumps can be due to boils or cysts. 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.

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.