A content creator from Bournemouth developed sepsis and required emergency surgery after an infected ingrown hair on her bikini line ballooned into a severe mass following a routine shave in August, with doctors warning that delaying treatment by another day could have proved life-threatening.
What began as a routine grooming decision escalated into a near-fatal medical emergency for Christy Collins. The 28-year-old content creator from Bournemouth, Dorset, UK, frequently shaved her bikini line without incident until an ingrown hair developed into a painful lump that rapidly transformed into a severe tissue infection after an infected ingrown hair developed into sepsis. What she initially dismissed as a common boil quickly evolved into a medical crisis that required emergency hospital intervention.
Causes and Symptoms of an Ingrown Hair
An ingrown hair occurs when a hair grows back into your skin. Common places for ingrown hairs are your chin, cheeks, neck, legs, pubic area, armpits, and buttocks. An ingrown hair occurs when the hair grows back into your skin, causing the area to become red, swollen, and itchy. Sometimes an ingrown hair can cause an infection around the hair follicle, known as folliculitis. The area around the ingrown hair can become swollen, red, itchy, and painful. It may be a hard lump under your skin or look like a pimple with pus.
How to Prevent Ingrown Hairs from Removal Methods
Ingrown hairs can happen after your body hair is removed, such as through shaving, tweezing, waxing, or using hair removal cream. Removing hair makes it more likely to grow back into the skin. Ingrown hairs can also be caused by wearing tight clothes that force hair to grow back into your skin. You are also more likely to get ingrown hairs if you have very curly or coarse hair. If your ingrown hair does not go away, or it is bothering you, visit your doctor. If needed, your doctor can refer you to a dermatologist (skin doctor).
How Your Doctor Will Examine the Area
To diagnose an ingrown hair, your doctor will examine the area. If they are concerned that it’s infected, they may take a swab. Ingrown hairs often improve without treatment. Washing the area with a washcloth using a circular motion for several minutes can help release the hairs. Until your skin heals, it may help to stop shaving, tweezing, waxing, and using hair removal cream. If the ingrown hair becomes infected, you may need antibiotics. Talk to your doctor if you have a lot of ingrown hairs, as there are medicines and products that can remove dead skin cells, reduce inflammation, and treat infection. A doctor can remove the ingrown hair by pulling the end to the surface using a sterile needle.
Rapid Deterioration and the Warning Signs of Sepsis
After returning home from a warm day out in London wearing shorts on August 9, Collins noticed a small lump on her bikini line resembling a gumboil. Believing it was a simple boil, she attempted to squeeze it—a decision she immediately regretted as the area became intensely sore and swelled into a massive sac cyst stretching from her bikini line to her bum. Within a couple of days, the lesion grew to being the size of an iPhone 16 Pro Max. Christy Collins initially thought she had nothing more than a painful boil after noticing a small lump on her bikini line in August.
The infection quickly began systemic interference with her body. While visiting a pub, Collins experienced sudden lightheadedness while staying hydrated, followed by a total loss of vision and hearing before she regained consciousness and returned home. She noted that she was waddling around, and the following day, the sore was getting worse while she felt increasingly weak. After calling emergency services, she was told to go to the emergency room, but because it was late, she waited until the next day to speak to her general practitioner online, who gave her antibiotics. She couldn’t stand up by the end of the day, but she kept thinking she would be fine as the area on her bum was getting hotter.
Emergency Surgery and Hospital Recovery
Christy Diagnosed with Sepsis at Hospital
It was only after a concerned friend urged Christy to go to hospital that doctors discovered how serious the infection had become. She was diagnosed with sepsis and rushed into theatre for a one-hour operation to remove infected tissue. Christy said that her friend saved her life and that she is so grateful to her. She noted that at the hospital, it became traumatic, and she thought she would be given a pill, but when they said she needed surgery, she was so scared, stating that they said her infection markers and blood pressure were through the roof.
Loss of Independence and Public Health Warnings
Reflecting on the ordeal from Bournemouth, Dorset, Christy told creatorzine.com and What’s The Jam about her experience. The thought that shaving could have killed me is horrible,
she said, describing how she had been wearing shorts in London, getting hot all day, and feeling a gumboil-sized lump on her bikini line when she got home that night. She recalled sitting down to do her makeup when it seeped out, squeezing it against her better judgment, and watching it transform from a boil into a massive sac cyst stretching from her bikini line to her bum that became massive, red, and rock hard within a couple of days.