Are ingrown hair cysts dangerous? What causes ingrown hair cysts? How can you deal with hateful ingrown hair cysts? With the article below, hope that you can answer these questions. From there, you can learn how to protect your skin against potential risks.
What is ingrown hair cyst?
Ingrown hair cyst, also known as hair follicle cyst, is characterized by an abnormal cyst inside the skin that contains hairs. Ingrown hair cyst almost appears near the coccyx and above the buttocks.
Ingrown hair cysts often occur when hairs go into the skin and then encloses the skin. If a hair follicle cyst gets infected, you will have to suffer from a painful abscess. Cysts can be cleaned through a small incision or removed through surgery. The people who spend too much time sitting, including truck drivers, are at higher risk of having this disease. Besides, cysts usually attack those who use some methods like shaving and waxing to get rid of hairs.
What are common symptoms of ingrown hair cyst?
When becoming infected, hair follicle cysts will be swollen, causing an abscess. Some common signs and symptoms include:
- Pain;
- Redness of skin;
- Blood or pus draining from the opening in the skin;
- Odor emitting from the pus.
What are causes of ingrown hair cyst?
Ingrown hair cysts occur mainly due to improper waxing, shaving or plucking. When shaving too close to the pores, or plucking and waxing versus the hairs, you cause the skin to hurt and blister. Worse, you also make the hair stronger and sharper and grow cross. From these areas, ugly ingrown hairs will come. This phenomenon almost occurs in some areas such as armpit, leg and vagina.
When should you see a doctor?
Early diagnosis and treatment can prevent this situation from getting worse. Therefore, you are advised to talk to your doctor about this state as soon as possible to seek the best treatment for the disease.
If you have some of the above-mentioned signs or symptoms, please consult your doctor to select the suitable choice of treatment because each body has different characteristics.
Treatment of ingrown hair cyst
Remove hair follicles that cause ingrown hair cysts
Ingrown hair cysts often appear around the buttocks or lower back. When touching the cysts, you will find it tight and warm. Besides, they produce pus or other secretions. To prevent the growth of hair follicle cysts, you must keep the surrounding areas clean and dry.
The causes of hair follicles come from the fact that hairs grow underneath the surface of the skin. Therefore, you need to remove all the hairs near the cysts to prevent them from growing under the skin.
Take follicle examination
Because ingrown hair cysts can lead to serious infections, it is important for you to ask your doctor to do a health check. Please see a doctor when you detect a growing hair follicle.
- The doctor just observes and sees outside quickly. He/she also ask you whether you see the fluid flows or not and how long the condition has lasted.
- Your doctor may also ask you about other symptoms. If the cyst has a rash or causes fever, he/she may recommend you to remove it. On the other hand, if it does not cause any problems, it is not necessary to make any intervention.
Extract fluid from the cyst
The cyst removal method that causes the minimum penetration is the extraction of fluid from the cyst. The doctor will cut a small hole in the follicle and take all the fluid inside, then fill the space with gauze. In addition, antibiotics will be prescribed for you to avoid infection.
Recommend surgery
Sometimes, cysts may recur after the fluid extraction. As a result, the doctor will recommend surgery. The surgery happens quickly but it takes you a long time to recover. You also have to clean the opened wound frequently.
Ingrown hair treatment as a way to prevent ingrown hair cysts
The early detection and treatment of ingrown hairs will help to minimize the damage that may be caused by these hideous hairs. Here are some tips for treating these unwanted hairs:
Use exfoliating cream
- Choose a mild and skin-friendly exfoliating cream.
- Use a soft sponge with cream to apply to ingrown hairs.
The frequent use of exfoliating method will help the pores not to be clogged, allowing the hairs to go upwards quickly. Note that you should apply moisturizing cream immediately after exfoliating your skin to keep the skin smooth.
Apply warm towel before plucking ingrown hairs
- Dip the sterilized cotton towel in warm water, then put it on the areas of ingrown hairs
- Wait for the pores to open wider so that the skin with ingrown hairs will be soft
- Use a pair of disinfected tweezers to remove these hairs. You should gently pluck to avoid damaging the skin. With the skin with acne, applying restorative skin cream will help to limit the unexpected effects while you remove ingrown hairs.
Apply acne cream
Acne is often accompanied by ingrown hairs. Therefore, acne treatment is also an indirect way to get rid of these annoying hairs.
Acne cream combined with antiseptic will help the acne lying in the wisp of hairs quickly disappear, giving hair follicles the opportunity to go out. The light acne cream with a mild antiseptic is a good choice for you to escape from these troublesome hairs.
Treat ingrown hairs with aspirin
Aspirin is a familiar medicine that is used for treating acne and cleansing the skin. Salicylic acid included in this drug is effective in removing dead cells, disinfecting wounds caused by acne and making the hair follicles quickly grow outwards.
- Crush the aspirin, mix it with clean water and stir well to form a thick mixture, then put it on the skin with ingrown hairs.
- Wait 10 minutes before washing the skin with clean water.
If using this way regularly, acne will go away and your skin will be clean and smooth. Additionally, the ingrown hairs will grow in the proper direction.
Wear egg white
Egg white works as a natural piece of wax. Treating ingrown hairs effectively with egg white is quite safe. Furthermore, it also helps to bring a bright and smooth skin.
- Pick a chicken egg, separate the white and apply the white to the ingrown hairs
- Wait for the white to dry, you take off the mask. Then, these hairs will together with the mask go away.
With this method, you will considerably remove these ugly hairs. However, it is necessary to wait for the hairs to grow long enough before you wax the hairs. Otherwise, your skin will be severely damaged.
In conclusion, you should be careful about ingrown hairs because they may be potential risks of ingrown hair cyst. With the above-mentioned methods for treating ingrown hairs, hope that you will completely say goodbye to worrisome ingrown hairs. Accordingly, there are no opportunities for ingrown hair cysts to survive.
