64 replies to this topic

[Deadmau5]

BP that shitttttt.

[flowerstar]

I don't know 'bout you guys, but I've figured that popping it is actually the worst thing I can do. As I'm a perfectionist in many ways, I find it really really really hard not to touch a cystic pimple. I somehow just cannot believe that I can't do something to make it go away and that only time can heal it. It annoys me so much!

But I can also see that every time I 'treat' one, a tiny hole remains in my skin. They're so small only I can see them but they're there and I hate the feeling that I've ruined my skin so. So now I'm experimenting with a new method that works on my psyche as well as my face. I only apply products (tea tree oil, salicylic acid and a good moisturizer work wonders on my skin in general) and DON'T TOUCH IT in any other way. Oh, and I'll also stop going to the bathroom just to look at my pimples. It's the worst temptation AND, if I succeed, I'll treat myself to some juicy makeup product. So that's motivation enough. I'll keep on buying makeup dream stuff for every pimple I don't touch as long as I have to. I really want to stop this obsession of mine. Because at the end of the day my skin doesn't improve if I 'treat' it my own way.

Good luck, guys! Hope you'll also find a way to get rid of these monsters...

[the_TRUTH]

yeah.. i hate that.. all my friends have perfect skin, and i have these damn pimples over my face.. even worse for whatever reason all of my pimples big or scar.. popped or not are leaving little dark spots over my face.. and before i read this forum, and signed up for acne.org, i had, what i didnt know was a cyst and tried popping it and popping it and now it left this HUGE scar on my cheek and it wont go away for the life of.. i just try my hardest to stay positive..

[Just Call Me OCD]

I feel everyone's pain. I was so proud of myself for not picking in a long time, but then I got a cold last week, and my nose broke out. I have zits on my nose, but the main problem I have is a cyst in the crease of my nose. I thought I saw a white head the other day, so I tried to pick it. Huge mistake, of course. Now I'm left with a penny-sized tomato-red mark that's more swollen than ever. It's hard to imagine that this will ever be normal-sized or my skin tone ever again. It feels pretty hopeless at times, and I skipped class yesterday because I felt so bad about my face. My skin is so sensitive that about the only things I can use on it are Neosporin and hydrocortisone cream. Nothing heals quickly enough...

[Mr. Crab]

Last summer, when my acne became very severe, I had a trail of giant cysts along the right side of my jaw, basically covering the area around the ear to near the chin. It was horrible, and I made it worse by constantly touching it and spending months squeezing and poking needles into it. It's now gone after many months, but it has left quite a scar.

Always leave your acne alone, unless it's begging to come out when you can see the pus. I know it's very hard to just leave the skin alone, because especially cysts are incredibly frustrating, but please do yourself a favor and leave them alone.

[Librarian on the Run]

I posted a different reply/comment about this, but after stumbling on this specific thread - I'd thought I put my experience in:

Right now - I have absolutely 99.99% clear skin - except - a patch of skin on my left cheekbone. Over the past (almost) 3 months - I have gotten almost 9 cysts in this small confined area. NINE. The reason I say *almost* nine is because I just got a new one yesterday - after finally stopping the cycle for 2 weeks. However, the new (9th) one I got - isn't truly a cyst - or at least - it doesn't look like the ones I have gotten in that area (or the 8 other ones).

At this point - besides the small new one I have gotten - I have one cyst that has finally scabbed over and is clean ( meaning no infection) and then I have one that that everyone seems to have described - a gaping hole with pus/infection still in it - that will not heal. It does scab up and dry over - but each time I get my face wet - it gets soft - and you know how that works. Infection spreads with moisture - it feeds it.

What got me into this horrible place in the beginning - was I wouldn't leave the first ones alone. If I could go back 3 months ago - and just tell myself to leave it alone - I would. I have lots of scarring on my cheekbone - dark - including 3 scabs (one the big pore that keeps being infected.)

What I have found to be working (for me) is after I wash my face (or after a shower) - I soak the infected area (my cheekbone) with isopropyl alcohol. I let that completely dry (to the point that the skin over and around is flaking) an then only put my BP on over it. When I started doing this (every time) 2 weeks ago - it was the first time in 3 months - that I hadn't gotten another new cyst in the next couple of days.

During this whole treatment time - I tried everything. Poking, squeezing, warm compress, ice - you name it. I even used an antibiotic topical like Neosporin - and after using it for a week - I had to stop because I ended up getting 2 more cysts while using it?! So if you think a topical antibiotic works - no way. Not in my case, at least. It left my cysts too moisturized - and they weren't able to *dry out* properly.

So - here I am - trying to get this area to clear up. It's sort of odd - because I have this completely clear face - except for this raging infection on my cheekbone. What I am thinking happened - is by squeezing mine the first time - it spread the infection under the skin - to all the surrounding pores - and that is exactly where all the other cysts have popped up. Even the new small one I got yesterday - is right below the one that will not heal.

As hard as it sounds - and trust me - i know - don't mess with a cyst. Cysts are nodules under the skin - sometimes they aren't meant to surface. At least - I swear mine weren't. I just ended up making my own sores. And then spreading it.

Even at this point - isopropyl alcohol is working - but I still got another small one. You have to really make sure you let the area dry out. I think I was slacking off on that - and then that was all it took for another one to bloom.

After 3 months - it's getting a little depressing, and a little tiring. So I know how hard it is - I know what it's like - but man - when things get like this - it's better to just let nature take it's course. I almost do exactly what some others said they do - I don't even try to look in the mirror anymore - so that I'm not tempted to pick/scratch the area. I avoid it like it's not there - and we'll see if it works. I'm *this* close to getting there.

It's hard, though.

[Skinny1013]

The best way to get rid of a cystic acne cyst is to get a shot of cortisone at your dermatologist. It'll dry it up within the day, and if not, it will definitely be gone by the end of the day. Exfoliation really doesn't help. At the end of the day, figure out WHY you're getting cysts - hormones, bacterial infections/inflammation

[Librarian on the Run]

Hey Guys - I wanted to come back on here and update from my previous post (since I hate it when people don't come back and tell us how things went!!!)

I am glad to say that last night - my last big scab from the last 8th cyst I've had on my face - fell off. I have completely healed scars now (now I can just wait for them to fade?!) but this is the first time that I have my cheekbone back from this horrible infection that spread like wildfire almost *3 months ago*.

The last 2-3 days really - really worked. What I ended up doing (and this really isn't a bad routine if you are having problems with some zits that will not dry out to heal/scab over) - after I completely wash my face and dry it - I will soak some isopropyl alcohol on a tissue - and just HOLD it on the area/zits/infection. DON'T RUB. Just hold/press the tissue with alcohol on the infected area. After about a minute - I take the tissue off, throw it away - and get a new (clean) tissue - and do it again. I repeat this process until I'm ready to put BP on the rest of my face (the 5-10 minutes you wait between washing and applying BP). Then, when I'm ready to put BP on my face - I actually hold the tissue with alcohol on the bad area - WHILE applying BP (one-handed) to the rest of my face. Sounds tricky - I know. But I did this so that the alcohol could really absorb on the infected area.

When I get to the side of my face that's a problem area - I actually remove the tissue with alcohol - and *this is the important part* - do NOT put BP on the problem area. YET. I repeat - do not put BP on the area. After taking off the alcohol tissue - let the area breathe and dry out. DO NOT wash the alcohol off. Just let it breathe. Meanwhile - finish applying BP on your face - BUT AVOID THE PROBLEM AREAS.

I put BP on my face normally - just avoiding my cheekbone. You just have to be really careful. Why?? Because you want your problem area to REALLY REALLY DRY OUT before you put the BP on it. THIS - I found - WAS THE KEY.

After applying BP to all parts of my face but the bad area - I will go and do something for about 5 to 10 minutes - to really let the bad area dry out. Go check your email. Watch TV. What I would wait for is the bad area to start flaking. You want it to be really really dry.

What happened to me is I wasn't waiting long enough (after the alcohol soak) and I was putting BP on too quickly - and the bad areas still wasn't drying out. This is how I got my 9th cyst.

If you have a really bad/weepy area - you can wait as long as you need to (until the area really dries up or scabs over a bit.) THEN - and only then - put the rest of your BP on that bad area. A good layer. Then just leave it be. Like normal.

This extra "drying time" - I did this for 2-3 days- and this worked faster on my bad area - than it did for the 2 weeks I had been using alcohol. It really helps to let the area dry out - and apply your BP to it LAST - after an extra 10-20 minutes of drying. Wow.

Plus - for me - I had a really bad infection (from squeezing - and it spread) and the extra use of isopropyl alcohol really helped kill the infection and dry it out (since BP wasn't doing it alone.)

If you have a resistant area - this really - really helped me. After 3 months of solid cysts - I am finally - clear.

[TheAverageGirly]

The EXACT thing happened to me the other day. Now I'm just leaving it, even though it's really hard. It never seems like leaving it is working, but I know it eventually will.

[flowerstar]

UPDATE:
GUYS!
This is unbelievable! I don't know if it works for everyone but I've found a really really simple cure.
A week ago I woke up with a huge red bump on my chin. No head just a bump. As the last time I'd touched a pimple it left a scar I'd promised myself never to touch one again. So I was kind of lost and started searching the web like crazy. Then I found this forum and saw I was not alone with this. Since you guys posted a lot about scars as well, this made me super determined not to touch it. But I felt awful not being able to DO SOMETHING about it. So what could I actually DO?

I took a MICROFIBRE pad (supersoft and so cute!^^) and softly, gently washed the area using some cleanser. But I guess it's the pad that did the work. I put on some SALICYLIC ACID right afterward (Clean&Clear little violet tube) and let it dry. I did this like three times a day, any time I felt like touching it. (It did keep my hands off the thing and put my mind to rest.)

And in 4 days, off it went. I must admit the spot treatment cream felt as if it was burning my skin but I guess it was just the pad that really exfoliated the area (no rubbing, mind!) and this way the gel could penetrate. So after 2 days the skin felt rough (nothing was visible only that the patch was much less red) and started to flake. 2 more days and my twice a day routine got rid of the flaking skin completely and now my chin is so soft! It's a bit sensitive but come on, it's fresh skin! And the infection's gone with the flakes!

Seriously! This is a miracle!
What really kept me going was that my ... now fiance asked me to marry him that very Monday. So I couldn't just go and ruin my skin as he was constantly looking at me and smile. I didn't want him to start thinking his future wife's a skin picking maniac (which I guess I acted like some times). Also, as I was seeing results from day one, I really wanted to keep my promise, make a beautiful bride AND get the makeup product I'd set as a reward. Now I have all three, makeup, clear skin and a wonderful husband-to-be!

Edited by flowerstar, 15 February 2010 - 05:35 AM.

[Frowny]

I put some Witch Hazel (sp?) on it using a little cotton ball. It usually stops the cyst right in it's tracks. It doesn't really go away, but it doesn't grow anymore and it becomes less red.

I tried this when I first felt a big cyst under my skin, I put some on and the next morning it was completely gone.

[NormMac]

You guys make me feel so much better! I go for months and don't pick then I will have one starting just when I have something special to attend. So I will pick at it and make it SO much worse. Right now I have a round "hole" just like you described, right on my lower cheek. Every night I think it is looking better and every morning I am disappointed. Then I start getting obsessive about it and it gets so I don't even want to go out or be seen.

I've got to stop picking. It never turns out well and I should know better by now.
UGH!!

[gday123]

aww dw man i know how u feel. ive done that soo many times as well. i ALWAYS regret it but argh its so annoying seeing this HUGE cyst on ur face when u look into the mirror!!!!! but yea dont worry. it WILL HEAL. like many things. just give it time!!! i thank god for this website too. i thought i was the only one with acne.

[queenbeth]

Guys, ALL you need to do is disolve some epsom salt in hot water and use a wash cloth to apply to the cyst for several minutes to draw out the infection which will make it stop hurting right away and reduce redness and irritation. Following, apply a wet, hot tea bag to the bump for 10 minutes or so to clean out the bacteria. DO NOT pop it. That will just spread the bacteria to the pores around the cyst. Allow it to heal and it will be gone in a day or so.

[Blissisbs]

Guys, ALL you need to do is disolve some epsom salt in hot water and use a wash cloth to apply to the cyst for several minutes to draw out the infection which will make it stop hurting right away and reduce redness and irritation. Following, apply a wet, hot tea bag to the bump for 10 minutes or so to clean out the bacteria. DO NOT pop it. That will just spread the bacteria to the pores around the cyst. Allow it to heal and it will be gone in a day or so.

Oh I wish it was that simple lol mine last for MONTHS, I'm talking anywhere from 2-9 months, they're big and painful. I've done all that home remedy shit and it doesn't work. Go to the derm and get a Cortisone injection... that's the ONLY thing that gets rid of them quickly.

[Librarian on the Run]

I posted on here awhile ago - and I have STILL found that drying them from the inside out (not popping them, since true cystic pimples will not pop) is the way to go. I usually wash my face gently - and then soak the cystic area with a tissue doused with isopropyl alcohol (70 percent) and just hold it on the spot for about 5 minutes (no rubbing, just soak the area) and within a few days - the spot will dry up from the inside out - and slowly become nothing but a dry area on your face - which will flake off.

This is if you leave it alone. If you try to squeeze it at all - you will get a huge red sore - which will get you nowhere, but a more noticable zit. Leaving it alone and healing it from within lessens the chance of a scar. I've had 13+ cysts in one area - and it took me a long, long time to learn to leave it alone. It's hard, but it's the best.

[girl11]

Just a question, but if you have the cyst for a couple weeks and get a cortisone injection, is it more likely to have an indent afterwards as opposed to getting a "fresh" one injected? The one I have now has gotten smaller but it's still there, and I worry if it doesn't go away if I should just do the shot.

[sinluv]

I'm new here and i've been getting cysts along my jawline for about 2 1/2 to 3 weeks now. I'm using proactiv but it really isn't helping much. Does anyone have an idea as to why the cysts are only along my jawline? I've never had acne like this before.

[Cyclist]

Same problem here. I have a perfect storm. My cycling helmet straps caused a break in the skin. While starting a new job at the same time the food at the cafeteria was so greasy I didn't notice it. Overnight I got 3 cysts on each side of my jawline under the ear. I have one cyst on my forhead near my hariline. Another is on my cheek closer to my eye. Another is on the other cheek closer to my lip. I've been applying sulfur clay and 10% benzoyl peroxide (face wash but I dab it on). Lots of drying and peeling but these suckers aren't going away. I'm one week into it. I've never had acne this bad...and I'm 24 getting acne still!

[venusaddiction]

@cyclist...try being 31 and having the same problem!

I'm on Ortho Tri Cyclin Lo, which helps with most of the cysts. I had to skip a month of pills due to not being able to get a prescription from my gyno, and you could tell it by looking at my chin. Covered in cysts.

I generally get the cysts right under my nose. It's SO painful due to the area. I'm trying to get rid of one now. A lot of times they seem to pop up overnight. I did the cold compress for awhile and put some Neosporin on it. I'll do hot ones later and put some more BP on it. I also have very fair skin that shows every zit and scar. Ugh.

Edited by venusaddiction, 17 July 2011 - 04:34 PM.