Dr Phil Kieran: How can we stop our daughter’s painful skin infections?

Hidradenitis suppurativa is also known as acne inversa and is a recurring condition 

Dr Phil Kieran: "When shaving it is a good idea to clean the skin first with a gentle soap and hot water. This cleans the skin and softens the hair making it easier to cut. Secondly cut in the direction of hair growth. Many of us are tempted to cut 'against the grain' to achieve a closer shave — however this has a much higher risk of causing skin irritation."

My daughter is 16 and has twice developed small painful cysts in her armpits which needed to be treated with antibiotics. I’ve recently read about a chronic skin condition called hidradenitis suppurativa (HS). Is it possible that she has it?

Skin infections, particularly in hair-bearing regions, are quite common. There are many causes for these episodes and if you have heard of HS, it can certainly be a very scary prospect. A relatively recent study suggests approximately 1.4% of the population have this condition, (Delany E, 2018) so chances are high that there is a different cause to your daughter’s cyst.