Ibuprofen is in a class of drugs called Non Steroidal Anti-Inflammatories, NSAIDs, so yes, it is most definitely an anti-inflammatory.

Ice will help inflammation. Fever and pain are symptoms of inflammation. (redness, swelling, etc are other signs of inflammation).

The ibuprofen or other anti-inflammatory can help significantly if there's swelling or redness to the bump. The ice alone may help, but I do not know how well it would work on an under the skin bump that has been there for a while. The techniques of ice, anti-inflammatory, and antibiotic ointment/cream and a bandaid combined likely have a better chance of succeeding.

I put this Japanese stuff called "oronine" on a big cyst and it really helps

I happened to hear this one and I thought, "NO WAY, NEVER WORK." Then I got a cyst, not huge but still a cyst, applied it and it did work . What was it?

PREPARATION H COOLING GEL- you can buy a generic knockoff as well. Really works, it's 50% witchhazel and 25% vasoconstrictor. I wouldn't recommend long term use, just as an emergency application.

Thanks! Defiantly trying this out next time I get a big pimple!

won't the polysporin clogg the pores? also won't the sticky of the bandaid hurt skin? esp if there are pimples around the big cyst?

just a question... does the icing have to be done only during the first 24 hours when you see the inflamed pimple?

No, it can be done anytime you see the swelling, the redness, or even just have pain.


Polysporin does not clog pores. Bandaids don't damage the skin when taking them off. If you don't want to wear a bandaid you certainly don't have to but it keeps the ointment from getting on your pillow, and on the spot it needs to be on.

thanks wynne! sorry but another thing, can we ice it a couple of times everyday until it all goes down? And only stop when the skin looks terrible from the icing?

All you really need to do is gently glide one ice cube over your whole face until the cube melts. No longer than that, or you risk chilling the area too much. You can ice several times a day, just like the first post states.

i wish i had left my last cyst alone and done NOTHING to it. my skin is about 90% clear now, but i had this thing come up on my cheek and it was the worst one ever. my face hurt all day from it and it was bright red. i cleaned it, poked it with a pin (just poked, didn't squeeze) and put some acv on it. it ended up scabbing over and when the scab fell off i have a huge indented scar. talk about being upset beyond belief. almost clear of acne and end up getting the worst scar of my life. if you do anything to cysts, leave them alone no matter how big they are or how much they hurt.

hey guys, i have a hair bump cyst i think. it is along my hair line. I have gone too long between hair cuts, and usually get bumps like this where hairs either grow out and back in the skin or split hairs

will the ice, ibuprofen mix help with this problem? Ive tried to get the hair out but cant see them too good.

Wynne,

Is this how you treat acne which has not yet come to the surface as well? You know, the "grease" under your skin that develops into acne after a few days or so... I've been icing those too.

This will work for any kind of cyst/pimple/zit.

I don't know what type of infection that is; if it's just an ingrown hair, this method should be fine for it. Don't be digging around looking for the hair though! If you see hair, just pull it out with tweezers. If this is a continuous problem you might want to try another hair gel or shampoo or conditioner.

wynne, you seem to know your stuff, and ive asked this question before, with no real clear answer to me... but if you have a cyst or papule that never comes to head and you treat it, and it goes down or dies or whatever (in my case i can still feel a hard bump under my skin).. so my question is.. is there still infection just like lying.."dormant" under there. or what, somtimes i feel like id rather just not treat them and let them come to head so i dont have a bump under my skin forever...? what are your thought, anyone?

Hi Wynne- Great post.

I had been battling a cyst for a couple months. It had gone up then down then up again and back down. The aftermath was a darker red mark with a smaller purplish circle within it. I went to see the derm and, knowing that my family has a history of skin cancer, he strongly recommended I get a biopsy on the purplish thing. So I've got an opening from the slice that the nurse said to put Vaseline on nightly, but I'm wondering if I should put a neosporin/polysporin on it as well. Any ideas?

Also, I am taking Aczone now (a decision inspired by the aforementioned saga) which has definitely helped fight off inflammation. I've got a deeper pimple (perhaps cyst, not sure) that is brewing right now that I put the aczone on to ward off further inflammation. Would it be alright to use both aczone and neosporin at night?

I don't know what's in aczone, I'd just treat the biopsied area as directed by the doctor/nurse, without adding ANYTHING else to that spot. That will increase your chance of healing it appropriately without scarring. Vaseline is marvelous for assisting in healing almost any wound. It's even used on deep tissue/muscle injuries with success.

If the aczone seems to be working fine for warding off inflammation, I'd use that (not on the biopsied site). I do not know if it would be compatible with neosporin, but most likely it would be compatible with plain old petrolatum jelly, over which you can still apply the bandaid on the new spot.

Sometimes the lump is just scar tissue, sometimes it is still an infection under the skin. A derm can excise it, whichever it is. But that can leave a larger scar; sometimes you're better off just letting them be and slowly absorbing over time back into the skin (if its an infection). It (usually) won't go away if it is scar tissue.

I have a nodule on my cheek. It really got bigger on Tuesday evening... I pushed it a little bit, not much, nothing really came out and I ruined a little skin around it. I read that honey can take the hurt out of it, so I put that on Wednesday night and the next morning, honestly it didn't hurt at much and the redness went down a smidge. I did honey again last night and it did help a little more. Also, last night I noticed that it was dead skin on top of it kind of shielding it I suppose, but starting to flake off. So, I'm impatient and think the topicals get to the root faster without dead skin holding it closed. SO I pulled it all off and it was just red... nothing too ridiculous, easier to cover up. I do still have the bump under there though and I'm wondering if I should try something else on it tonight or just continue using the honey? I'm also taking 2 ibprofen's every 6 hours or so to keep the pain away. I would be 100% clear if not for this 1 nodule. Evil little things.

I hear 100% tea tree oil is a good thing to put on it. If I do that, can I put BP on top of that?

Thanks for recommendations.

Actually, my recommendations are in the first post.

Sound Advice. Thanks Wynne!