Do not be tempted to burst the cyst. If it's infected, you risk spreading the infection, and it can grow back if the sac is left underneath the skin.
Simply squeezing a cyst can make it worse, trapping sebum and bacteria further underneath your skin. If a cyst doesn't improve with self-treatment after several weeks, it may be time to have your dermatologist take a look at it. Also, some cysts are so deep that they're impossible to clear up at home.
It's not advisable to try draining a cyst or abscess yourself. Cyst popping at home can cause infection. Instead, keep the area clean, and make an appointment with a doctor if the area is painful or starts to drain.
Never Try to Pop It
Most cysts are practically impossible to pop by squeezing or picking at them with your fingers. In the process of trying to pop it, you can end up sending bacteria and sebum below the hair follicles. This can cause the materials to spread even further and result in more cysts.
Try applying a hot, wet compress to the cyst a few times a day. The heat will help pull out the pus, allowing the cyst to drain. This can relieve pain and itching. You might also try soaking the area in a warm, shallow bath.
These cells form the wall of the cyst and secrete a soft, yellowish substance called keratin, which fills the cyst. Sebaceous cysts form inside glands that secrete an oily substance called sebum. When normal gland secretions become trapped, they can develop into a pouch filled with a thick, cheese-like substance.
Sometimes doctors recognize cysts during a physical exam, but they often rely on diagnostic imaging. Diagnostic images help your doctor figure out what's inside the lump. These types of imaging include ultrasounds, CT scans, MRI scans, and mammograms.
Some cysts are cancerous and early treatment is vital. If left untreated, benign cysts can cause serious complications including: Infection – the cyst fills with bacteria and pus, and becomes an abscess. If the abscess bursts inside the body, there is a risk of blood poisoning (septicaemia).
Do not squeeze the cyst or poke it with a needle to open it. This can cause swelling, redness, and infection. Always have a doctor look at any new lumps you get to make sure that they are not serious.
Epidermoid cysts have a wall that encase skin cells that are usually shed away from the body. The cyst wall produces keratin, the main component of the cyst's pus. Even if your cyst drains, the wall remains unless it's removed. While this isn't a guarantee that a cyst will reform, it remains a possibility.
A sebaceous cyst is almost as tempting to pop as a pimple — but hold that thought before you do. Popping a sebaceous cyst at home by yourself could increase your risk for inflammation, infection, and discomfort. In short, this is a cyst your doctor is better off removing.
If you have a sebaceous cyst, do not attempt to pop it yourself or with another person's help- this could lead to an infection, or you might not remove the entire cyst and then require more extensive dermatological treatment down the line.
Cysts develop when the protein is trapped below the skin because of disruption to the skin or to a hair follicle. These cysts may develop for a number of reasons, but trauma to the skin is typically thought to be the main cause. When numerous, an underlying genetic disorder such as Gardner syndrome may be the cause.
Cysts feel like soft blisters when they are close to the skin's surface, but they can feel like hard lumps when they develop deeper beneath the skin. A hard cyst near to the surface of the skin usually contains trapped dead skin cells or proteins.
It may burst because there is simply no more room for the pocket to grow. Or, it may be bumped or broken and consequently ruptures. Once a sebaceous cyst ruptures under the skin, it will become hot, drain smelly material, and then it needs to be lanced.
If a cyst is infected, a hot compress will also help bring the lump to a head. If the cyst begins to drain, keep it covered with a bandage. Be observant regarding any drainage that is coming from your cyst.
Apply a hydrocolloid acne patch
“The patches are often made out of hydrocolloid materials that are super absorbent to help flatten the cyst. In addition, some of these acne patches contain active ingredients such as salicylic acid or tea tree oil that treat the pimple while concealing it.”
To treat an inflamed or infected cyst your doctor may drain the infection and place you on antibiotics. But draining the contents of the cyst does not remove the cyst cavity itself. So the cyst “comes back” when it fills back up with oil and dead skin cells.
The minimal excision technique involves a 2- to 3-mm incision, expression of the cyst contents, and extraction of the cyst wall through the incision. Vigorous finger compression is used to express the cyst contents and loosen the cyst wall from the surrounding tissues to facilitate removal of the sac.
Large cysts (>5 to 10 cm) are more likely to require surgical removal compared with smaller cysts. However, a large size does not predict whether a cyst is cancerous. If the cyst appears suspicious for cancer.
Treating an abscess
If the cyst becomes infected and an abscess (a painful collection of pus) develops, you may be prescribed antibiotics to clear the infection. Once the infection has been treated, a GP may still recommend having the cyst drained, particularly if the abscess is large.