Q: I have this problem for past 4 months now. I keep on getting small skin eruptions (lumps, boils) under armpits. As long as I take the antibiotics prescribed by the doctor, the lumps get cured. But a few days after the course is finished, they again resurface. Earlier the doctor said these occur in summer because of perspiration and sometimes unhygenic conditions. He asked me to remove hair from there. But its been now more than 4 months. The problem is not cured completely. Now I have stopped taking any medicine. But my question is, if it was the hair under armpits causing the problem, I should have got the problem earlier also because I never shaved hair earlier. Another doctor suggested taking bath with a washing soap like rin. Can you suggest any solution?

A:If your recurrent boils are due to a pyogenic organism, then this maybe because: 1. There is reinfection from a reservoir in your environment 2. Treatment is stopped before full cure 3. The organism is resistant to medicines being given 4. You have some other skin disorder which predisposes you to repeated infections. In such a situation the primary disorder has to be treated simultaneously. 5. you may have some unidentifiable aetiology. The above points should be kept in mind during the workup of your case.