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Severe Ingrown Hairs

Ok so one thing happened probably about a year ago and now my legs are all messed up. There are very noticeable scars everywhere and at the moment I have a particularly severe wound which I'm finding difficult to heal. I never let my legs see light of day (in public anyways) because it is so embarrasing and I feel so ashamed.

One day I felt a pinching on my leg, the kind you get when you have a spot forming. So I took a look and it was indeed a spot. I'm one of these people that absolutely has to squeeze a spot as soon as I see it. I've never gotten one on my leg before, but as i squeezed it a hair squirted out of it with puss aswell, and then another hair appeared out of the hole but it was still attached at the folicle. I tweezed that hair out and squeezed the rest of the puss out.
Now that really freaked me out and disgusted me, so much so that I have continued to squeeze and break into the skin of suspect areas on my legs. It is really gross, I have like sometimes close to an inch long hairs just growing under the top layers of my skin. Most of the time more than one hair in each follicle.
I used to shave my legs with a good routine of exfoliating and moisturising, but after that happened I tried using an epilator which made it worse. If I shaved my legs in the morning I could feel regrowth by the evening, My hair is dark and thick and grows back really fast.

I don't really know what to do because it just keeps happening no matter how much I exfoliate and everything, and the wound I have at the moment is particularly concerning me because of how big and deep it is.
I'm going on holiday in August next year and don't want to feel embarrassed and ashamed to get my legs out.

Please help if you can, the photo is of the wound I have at the moment, and you can see other existing scars that I have around it.
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Avatar universal
hi there!
I've recently dealt with THE EXACT SAME THING....only your pic looks tame compared with what my wounds ended up like.  THE ONLY WAY I GOT BETTER:
go to drug store/chemist or a doctor and NO MATTER WHAT --get a type of bandage called 'Gelocast'/'Unna's Boot medicated bandage'.  As for the antibiotics -- you will know you need them if you're feeling 'under the weather' and (as you already mentioned) you have wounds that refuse to heal.  Depending on where you live (here in the States it's not too difficult to secure a script for antibiotics)  it may take some doing to get the best kind for this sort of skin infection -- it's called Keflex.(Cephalexin)  I was told about it by a guy who had an infected spider bite who swore by it -- now I do too.  Nothing else worked but the bandage and Keflex...I would highly recommend being VERY persistent in accessing these two items as THEY WILL cure the infection!  I heard that some people will have these sort of superficial boils and what not for months and months and months -- constantly changing gauze/dressing -- being annoyed at the whole process -- and will have little to NO progress...then they finally decide to find another Dr., who is wise enough to know about Gelocast and Keflex and within one month are WELL on their way to a FULL recovery.  I'm aware that I am 'yelling' a lot here but it is SO important as I really know where you are coming from and can totally empathize with what you are going through.  The reason I mentioned 'where you live' is that I lived in England for a number of years and was totally shocked at the lack of concern for those with horrible infections -- the whole 'need to come in four times to get antibiotics' is absurd and, if you ask most reputable doctors working in the field, is totally irresponsible as any well trained doctor (who DIDN"T cheat their way/have a rich family buy their way through school) should easily be able to identify any infection -- wherever the locale.  It took SIX months of SEVERE total (what I call 'head holes' ie. eyes/ears/throat) infection of my sinus system-- to the point of infected masses -- visible to the naked eye -- growing in the back of my mouth and in the corners of my eyes as well as in my ears -- before the cheap o scum bucket doctors over there would perscrible ANYTHING.  They just kept telling me to use OTC codeine containing painkillers -- which stopped having any effect after a while which is a totally different story...the point is -- even if you have to go to ....errr...ANY extremes to get your medicated Unna's Boot bandages and Keflex ...PLEASE...do it!  I know people talk about 'getting too used to antibiotics' but sometimes it's an excuse for laziness and economy -- not out of real empathy and concern -- which is what those in the medical field are meant to be cultivating in themselves.  I'll get off my soapbox now but I just feel really strongly after having been treated with such little regard and having to find the strength to realize that I've got to be my own advocate.  Oh, btw, if you can get hold of this tar looking stuff in a tube called 'Icthamol' and a normal looking stuff in a tube 'Retin-A' as well as "Gelmicin' (admit that it may be tough) then you will have 1. a wonderful extractor -- icthamol literally pulls stuff out from beneath the skin -- and it can be very potent --much more so than magnesium(though I prefer magnesium for small carbuncles)...2. a wonderful -works-better-than-ANYTHING-for-exfoliation creme to use after you've forced most the hairs to the surface, and 3. the best anti -- infection creme ever so that you don't re-infect!.  This may seem a lot but really the first two are the MOST important...the gelocast will sting at first (but only if your infection is REALLY bad) which is good as this signals your body is working to heal...then after a day or so you will feel fine.  keep the bandage on untill you feel it needs to be changes (usually one week or less)...please note special consideration must be taken if/when showering/bathing.  Also PLEASE take the Keflex EXACTLY as noted.  DO NOT STOP just because you think you are better -- this is the real reason so many people have built immunity to many antibiotics...they are still ill but as they don't feel that they are will stop the antibiotics, thus giving the bacteria (which is still very much alive and active) the chance to 'learn' and 'get used to' the antibiotic you happen to have been using....so please!  ...for yourself ...FINISH the WHOLE BOTTLE....plus antibiotics don't really keep well.   I know this is one long comment but feel the need to help as I had to deal with this same crap without much help ....


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Helpful - 0
563773 tn?1374246539
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
Hello,
From the symptoms it looks like boils or abscess due to ingrown hair. A boil generally starts as a reddened, tender area. Over time, the area becomes firm and hard. Eventually, the center of the abscess softens and becomes filled with pus. Finally, the pus "forms a head," which can be surgically opened or spontaneously drain out through the surface of the skin.


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. Other treatment options include shaving in a different direction, tweezing, exfoliating with facial scrubs, sponges, towels or creams containing acid and ibuprofen or other NSAIDs. Topical application of dilute glycolic acid and salicylic prepared solutions are also helpful. You can consult a dermatologist and discuss these treatment options with him.

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.



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