I have several 'bumps' on my thighs.. When I was originally concerned it may be a STD or something I went to a general practitioner and he said it was just irritated hair follicles. I said okay and left it at that.
I noticed (now 4 or so months later) that I still have a couple of these, and they seem to be coming back again, at the same time as my skin drying out badly. What made me concerned is that there were two on my left inner thigh, and now there is a matching one on the right thigh. This made me think its something contagious.

Other recent symptoms (May or may not be related):
-Had the formation of a rash for an hour or so on my stomach after having sex with my girlfriend.
-really dry skin lately (skin hurts after showers) -- eating healthy, drinking enough, have oils in diet.
-odd small translucent bump on my eyelid

Anyway, I was all searching around the internet as best I could for what this could mean, and the best guess I could come up with was Molluscum Contagiosum. (Interested in the source of the bumps at the moment, but if someone has an idea for the dry skin I am all for it)

Any ideas / help is appreciated!

[if any more detail is needed, let me know]

May I ask how old you are and what area/state do you live in? Cold climate?

Please answer, info will have bearing on reply.

As far as the dry skin I will agree with Ruby's questions and add:

Do you take hot showers and use soap?

Hot water and soap tend to dry out skin. A tepid shower with shower gel does seem to help.

Age 23
Arizona, 5500 ft elevation.

Hot showers, no soap at all on most of my skin, Dove for the remaining.

I've come to the conclusion its probably the irritated hair follicles, any ideas how to either calm them down or whatnot?

Hi jalana! Sorry for taking so long to respond. I actually had a very thorough response last night and got booted out of the site when I posted it. The site was down for a little while after that so I figured I would give it another shot today.

Okay. One of the things that the older generation neglects to share with us is, as we age our bodies undergo changes. Although you are in no way old, far from it, there is no definitive age when these things begin to happen to us.

You live in a very dry climate. Add to it the hot showers you are taking, you are allowing your skin to dry out too much. Our skin starts to lose some of the collagen and moisture that is in it as we get older. It is just a fact of life. Botoxing and collagen replacement therapy are the things people do to try to postpone the wrinkling. There is no permanent fix to aging.

So, the Dove soap you are using is very good. You should start using it on your entire body. Now, I know most guys don't like to do this, but you should use a moisturizing lotion on your body when you get out of the shower. Your pores are open at that time and allows the lotion to really get in and soften your skin. This should resolve the dry skin problem and should help with the irritated hair follicles as well. Won't completely fix the follicle problem, but should minimize it. Some of us just are predisposed to this problem. Most men suffer from this. The body hair and beard hair of men are thicker than women's (for most women anyway:eek: ) and it is just one of those things. Sorry.

Regarding the rash after sex. Happens to a lot of people. Friction creates it. Very normal.

Using the lotion should help with the raised bumps. But, one of the things no one tells us is that, again, as we age, we get little growths in different places on our body, where there weren't any before. Some people more than others. Depends on whether we are hereditarily predisposed. My grandmother developed this huge one on her brow. Kind of disgusting but it happens pretty much to everybody. I keep watching for THAT ONE to appear. Unlike her, I would have it removed, even if it left a scar.

Regarding the bump on your eyelid, I am sure that is just another one of these physical changes. But, I would suggest that you go to an ophthalmologist to check it out. Not an optician. I am predisposed to hereditary eye diseases, so every year I go to an ophthalmologist for an eye exam. The difference between them and opticians is a full medical degree. Their equipment and exams are a lot more through and they can recognize problems that an optician may miss. So, set up an appointment with one and get an eye exam. Always good to check that your vision is good and there aren't any problems. He should be able to tell you what the lump on your lid is. And, if it is something to be concerned about, he will direct you to a specialist for further examination.

In any event, all in all, I think you have nothing really to worry about. You sound like a normal healthy young man. :)

I hope this helps.