What You Can Do About Enlarged Hair Follicles on Your Breasts
Not all women may have hair on their breasts, but having hair around the nipple area is completely natural. If the hair does make you uncomfortable, it is best to leave it or cut it off using small scissors. However, if the skin around your nipples is sensitive, you should not pluck or shave your nipple hair. Plucking or shaving the hair off could result in an infection and enlarged hair follicles on breasts.
What Causes Enlarged Hair Follicles on Breasts?
Follicles are micro pockets in your skin and at times they tend to enlarge due to an infection. Hair follicles can become enlarged if there is a fungal or bacterial infection within the follicle. While the infection may not be life-threatening, it could cause you significant discomfort.
You may notice severe itching and soreness in the enlarged hair follicle. This is the reason, why doctors advise against plucking the hair on and around the breast area or even shaving it off. You should wax the area or cut the hair using scissors.
However, shaving or plucking is not the only cause of inflamed follicles. Tight clothing or clothing made from lycra or spandex material could also result in an infection of the follicles.
Types of Hair Follicle Infections
- Bacterial Folliculitis – A bacteria type known as Staph is often present on your skin and can enter the skin if there is a scrape or cut on the breast. These are tiny pus-filled bumps that can itch a lot
- Hot Tub Folliculitis (Pseudomonas Folliculitis) – This is the result of exposure to bacteria found in hot tubs or heated pools. Symptoms of hot tub folliculitis include rashes and red itchy bumps
- Razor Bumps (Pseudofolliculitis Barbae) – If you have ingrown hair on the breast or near the nipple area, you are likely to suffer from this condition. You may develop this condition if you use a razor or wax the area
- Pityrosporum (Pit-Ih-ROS-Puh-Rum) Folliculitis – Inflammation of the follicles is also due to a yeast infection and can result in itchy red bumps
Symptoms of Enlarged Hair Follicles
There are a variety of symptoms that could point towards inflamed follicles. Here are the symptoms of enlarged hair follicles on breasts that you should look out for:
- Small red bumps with or without a white head
- Blisters with pus
- Burning or itching of the skin
- Tenderness of the skin, often paired with pain
- Swollen mass or bump
- Some women may also experience other symptoms like nausea or fever
If you notice any of these symptoms, it is possible that you have an enlarged follicle and need to seek treatment immediately. Under no circumstances should you leave it untreated. As your underwear or clothing rubs against it, it can continue to grow larger and eventually become more painful.
How to Treat Enlarged Hair Follicles On Breasts
One of the most common mistakes women make is squeezing or plucking the bump in order to drain the bump. While it is important to drain it, squeezing or plucking could worsen the symptoms and in some cases, can even make the infection severe. Make sure to listen to your doctor’s advice on how to best treat it. They may recommend steps such as:
1. Keep the Area Clean
The best way to treat enlarged follicles is keeping the area clean. In most cases, the boil will drain on its own once it opens up. A few tips to keep the area clean include:
- Wash the area with warm water a few times a day, especially after any physical activity that leaves you sweaty
- Remove sweaty clothes immediately
- Avoid wearing tight clothes or anything made from spandex
- Use a soap that is free of detergents. Oatmeal soaps are the best
2. Warm Compress
A tried and tested home remedy for enlarged follicles is to apply a warm compress. You should do this a few times daily. Once the pus reaches the surface, the boil will drain. Here’s how you can do a warm compress:
- Take two cups of warm water
- Add a teaspoon of salt to it
- Soak a soft washcloth in the solution
- Twist the washcloth in order to drain the excess water
- Apply it on the area around the bump
- After using the compress, massage the area with a noncomedogenic oils as they do not clog pores and allow the skin to breathe
3. Post Drain Care
Once an inflamed follicle begins to drain, you need to take a few precautions to prevent infection. The best way to go about this is to cover up the boil with a bandage. You should continue to clean the area a few times daily. Take care to cover it with a bandage after each wash.
When Should You Seek Medical Help?
Bear in mind that for a boil to heal, it has to drain. Once the pus begins to drain, the healing process will begin. Typically, enlarged hair follicles on breasts will open and begin to drain with home remedies in about two weeks.
But if your boil does not begin to drain within this time, you should visit a doctor immediately. Generally, doctors can prescribe antibiotics to treat the infection. In some situations, you cannot treat enlarged hair follicles on breasts with medication and the doctor may perform a minor surgical procedure in order to drain the pus.
In the case of a minor enlargement of the follicle, the doctor could also prescribe an antibacterial or anti-fungal ointment or cream.
If you suffer from an ongoing problem of enlarged hair follicles, you can also opt for a laser hair removal procedure. This is an expensive remedy and would entail multiple treatments. But in the long run it can lower the chances of an infection.
Conclusion
If you have enlarged hair follicles on breasts, you should not leave it untreated in any case. It’s a good idea to talk to your doctor about it, as they can recommend you treatment options and how to best take care of it.
