Understanding Lumps in Bikini Area: Causes & What to Do

Question
Hello,

Thank you for taking the time to consider my question.

I have been tested for stds at the health department and all tests are negative.

I don't think it is an std anyway as the condition I have has been since puberty but rarely until the last year.

For the last year I have been getting strange lumps that burst in my bikini line and upper inner thighs.

I have noticed they always occur right before my period, and now they also occur when I ovulate.  (I have gotten these before, but one or two a year since puberty, now it is 3 or 4 a month)

The lumps are usually about the size of a pea, and under the skin.  They do not come to a head or get red, they stay skin colored.  They come quickly and disappear quickly.  Most of the time when I squeeze gently they will burst and it is a gushy mixture which is white and mixed with blood.  Occasionally I have a larger one and when it drives me nuts I will squeeze hard to get it out and these will mostly spurt blood.  They heal very quickly but do leave scarring.  They are completely painless.

I am hoping you can help me understand what they might be.  There is never a hair so I do not think they are ingrown hairs, and they are completely painless.  I don't think they are boils because they never get red, even if I leave them alone they will either disappear or they pop on their own from rubbing against clothing or somthing like that.

I do practice proper hegiene.  I am 41 years old, overweight by about 30 lbs, I do not have diabetes, my cholesterol is normal, and I am in general good health to the best of my knowledge.  I don't take any prescriptions.  I take motrin sometimes but not much else.  I no longer have health insurance or I would ask my doctor.

I now have a boyfriend after a several years of being single and before we go to that level I would like to try to explain what it is so he doesn't think I have an std.

Thank you for any assistance you can provide.

Answer
these sound like multiple sebaceous cysts... you said your cholesterol was normal, but were your triglycerides normal also?  

These are easy to remove surgically with minimal scarring (in the office) when they are not infected.  I am not sure why they would coincide with menstrual periods.  If you chase these as they occur, you will slowly get rid of them once and for all.