They are probably sebaceous cysts. Basically you sweat alot and those pores get clogged and so the oil builds up causing a cyst. They are not life threatening unless they get infected. You can see your family doctor who might be able to remove them for you, or who may refer you to a general surgeon to have them removed. I recommend having them cut out instead of lanced. When you have them lanced, you have a high risk of developing infection but also the sebaceous cyst has a higher risk of coming back. When you have them cut out, they are not as likely to come back. If you are worried about STDs, then you should have a VDRL panel. You should have this done once a year anyways. But I would recommend talking to your doctor about these cysts Herpes usually present as sores. Hope this helps you out. Good luck.
Well what i would do is the next time these boils come, ask to have them swabbed, by a dermatologist, just so you know what you are dealing with, and to get the best treatment to keep them at bay.
Also recurrent boils can be seen in people with diabetes, to so maybe have a blood glucose test to.
Herpes can be tested for in a blood and swab test too.
Hope this helps
Nicola
My sister has had several episodes of what they told her was Staph Infection. Her first episode was about two years ago. Sounds to me as if you may have the same thing. She would get boils in the exact same locations you're talking about and they looked just like you described. They will start off as a small pimple, gradually get bigger and the redness and tenderness will increase around it. Extremely painful and when they are popped, puss and blood comes out of it leaving what my sister calls a "crater". That happens because the infection eats away skin cells causing to create the whole. Her doctor told her that she could have gotten it from the gym she goes to work out at because the infection could have been in sweat left by another person who used the same equipment and she came in contact with it. Staph can be anywhere and you not know it. Even the cleanest person come can come in contact with it. I once got it on my fore arm. I scratched an ingrown hair off, when to work out and developed staph. There's no telling whether i got it from the gym or any where else I may have placed my arm on. My sister has gotten them quite a few times and her doctor told her that it could be that she now has the virus in her blood but it was never confirmed . She hasn't had one come out since she was pregnant which was two years ago until two weeks ago. She got one in her inner thigh and she has previously been told it can also be due to the heat from her body. Which we all have in the areas you're getting them at. She is also over weight so her doctor advised her to lose weight to stabilize the infection.
I don't advise you to pop the boils your self because they will keep coming back as they have for my sister...after a while the infection sets in and it's harder to get rid of, you can also spread it from one place to another. You need to go to the doctor and have them do what they call a small surgical procedure. It's not as bad as it sounds..all they do is numb the area and the doctor will squeeze all the gunk out of the boil...that's what they did to me. But first confirmed if it is staph...because you will also need antibiotics. Sorry..I made this so long....hope it helps out.
It possibly could be an ingrown hair, like ingrown toe-nails, very painful. ALso, you should shave everyday...to prevent it from happening. If its worse when the hair is growing back, then its your problem. You can buy a bikini gel, that you put on AFTER you shave. Be sure and use POWDER also. It keeps you dry and will prevent other breakouts. Shower to shower is good to use. Put it all over to keep your undrearms from breaking out.