At the first sign of a cyst I ice it, and it goes away within a day or two. See the link in my signature for more info.

Use Duac in the morning and Epiduo in the night. Duac contains Antibiotics which will help kill the bacteria that is cuasing your cysts to refill.

I second the icing of cystic acne. Something that works after a cyst has drained and all the infected material has been flushed out is an occlusive bandage.

Just wash face as usual, apply your acne topicals and then apply a small amount of antibacterial ointment.

Whatever antibacterial ointment you choose to use should be fine as long as it has mineral oil or petroleum in it. This will create a barrier over your wound keeping it from getting infected over and over again. It will also make your acne topical penetrate better. I like Neosporin because it helps with scarring too.

Do this for a couple a days then go back to your normal routine. Make sure to use a clean pillow case every night or put a clean towel over your pillow after one of your cysts has drained.

Mine used to drain while I slept(blech!)

Hope this helps

At the first sign of a cyst I ice it, and it goes away within a day or two. See the link in my signature for more info.

I second the icing of cystic acne. Something that works after a cyst has drained and all the infected material has been flushed out is an occlusive bandage.

Just wash face as usual, apply your acne topicals and then apply a small amount of antibacterial ointment.

Whatever antibacterial ointment you choose to use should be fine as long as it has mineral oil or petroleum in it. This will create a barrier over your wound keeping it from getting infected over and over again. It will also make your acne topical penetrate better. I like Neosporin because it helps with scarring too.

Do this for a couple a days then go back to your normal routine. Make sure to use a clean pillow case every night or put a clean towel over your pillow after one of your cysts has drained.

Mine used to drain while I slept(blech!)

Hope this helps

Thank you both so much for your replies! I will definitely be trying the ice method and I will try to get hold of some Neosporin and occlusive bandages to see if that helps as well. And good shout with the pillow cases too! I change them pretty regularly but probably not enough so I'll make sure I do that every night too. I really appreciate all your advice!

Use Duac in the morning and Epiduo in the night. Duac contains Antibiotics which will help kill the bacteria that is cuasing your cysts to refill.

Thanks for the advice! I probably can't get hold of any Duac and wouldn't really want to add it on top of the Epiduo because my skin's a bit sensitive to BP but do you know of any topical containing antibiotics that you can buy in the shops?

The problem is that these cysts keep filling back up again, then bursting again whenever I shower, and the whole cycle just continues over and over until they eventually go down after two or three weeks (sometimes only to come up again a few weeks later).

That's the worst, isn't? I'm going through it right now. I actually thought it was a whitehead (maybe it started it out that way, but it's definitely not what it is now:(). I have the same clear fluid drain out (gross, I know), and I hope it's going away... it doesn't.

I used to use Duac and loved it. But I became immune to the antibiotics in it so now it does nothing for me It was awesome. You'd dab some on the cyst, and within a few days, poof! Gone.

Icing never worked for me either. It will decrease swelling, but doesn't kill the bacteria.

I'm sorry... I'm not sure what to do. I've tried the baking soda mix too (overnight) and it helped a bit. I guess I just wanted you to know you're not alone; I'm going through something similar.

That's the worst, isn't? I'm going through it right now. I actually thought it was a whitehead (maybe it started it out that way, but it's definitely not what it is now:(). I have the same clear fluid drain out (gross, I know), and I hope it's going away... it doesn't.

I used to use Duac and loved it. But I became immune to the antibiotics in it so now it does nothing for me It was awesome. You'd dab some on the cyst, and within a few days, poof! Gone.

Icing never worked for me either. It will decrease swelling, but doesn't kill the bacteria.

I'm sorry... I'm not sure what to do. I've tried the baking soda mix too (overnight) and it helped a bit. I guess I just wanted you to know you're not alone; I'm going through something similar.

Thanks! It really does help to know I'm not alone in this although I'm really sorry to hear you're going through the same because it's so so horrible. At the risk of sounding gross, the fluid in mine is definitely very white and cloudy not clear so I'm guessing that means they're infected. I'm on antibiotics though so there's not much more I can do about it.

Duac does sound good! I used it in the past but this was long before I got cysts or anything and it worked ok. I don't think my doctor would be willing to prescribe me any more things until I've seen the dermatologist though unfortunately. Do you know if you can buy any topicals containing antibiotics in the shops or do they only come on prescription?

I've not tried baking soda so will have to look into that if the ice doesn't do anything for me. These cysts are such a pain!

Thank you for your reply By the way how is the birth control/antibiotic combination going for you at the moment? Seeing any improvement yet? I really hope it's starting to get a bit better for you now!

Thank you for your reply By the way how is the spiro/antibiotic combination going for you at the moment? Seeing any improvement yet? I really hope it's starting to get a bit better for you now!

You're very welcome. I hope you find something that works for you soon!

The antibiotics don't seem to be doing much. I'm going in today and going to ask if Keflex would be better than Duricef. Both are first generation cephalosporin-type antibiotics, but it seems people have had more luck on Keflex vs. Duricef. Actually, I don't know anyone who has taking Duricef. The spiro is a slow go... but I'm trying to remain hopeful. Thanks for asking

Well the Antibiotic that is in Duac is called Klindamycin and I´m sure you can buy that in a tube without BP

Mine used to be the same where'd theyd burst in the shower so i'd drain them as much as i could and then i'd use Germolene while its still 'open' and that usually does the trick for me

Mine used to be the same where'd theyd burst in the shower so i'd drain them as much as i could and then i'd use Germolene while its still 'open' and that usually does the trick for me

Thank you so much! It's good to know I'm not the only one who drains them and that it isn't completely the wrong thing to do. And thanks for the Germolene suggestion, I'll look into getting hold of some and see if it works for me too

Mine used to be the same where'd theyd burst in the shower so i'd drain them as much as i could and then i'd use Germolene while its still 'open' and that usually does the trick for me

Thank you so much! It's good to know I'm not the only one who drains them and that it isn't completely the wrong thing to do. And thanks for the Germolene suggestion, I'll look into getting hold of some and see if it works for me too

to be honest when mine burst themselves i'd have no choice because the stuff would just ooze out by itself if i didnt help it along

to be honest when mine burst themselves i'd have no choice because the stuff would just ooze out by itself if i didnt help it along

Yeh mine are the same, that's why I decided it would be stupid to just leave it festering and possibly infecting the surrounding skin as well. Sorry, I know this conversation's really gross but I do really appreciate the advice! Thanks again!

to be honest when mine burst themselves i'd have no choice because the stuff would just ooze out by itself if i didnt help it along

Yeh mine are the same, that's why I decided it would be stupid to just leave it festering and possibly infecting the surrounding skin as well. Sorry, I know this conversation's really gross but I do really appreciate the advice! Thanks again!

You're welcome! Hibiclens/hibiscrub will help with the cystic acne as well.

Well the Antibiotic that is in Duac is called Klindamycin and I´m sure you can buy that in a tube without BP

Thank you! I'll see if I can find some

And if all else fails (and you have been given some GREAT suggestions by other members, and I heartily second the Hibiclens!) you may have to have the cyst wall extracted. I needed to do that only a couple of times, but I did have to do that- the derm will make a very small incision and remove the cell wall. This is different than scar excision which could be a bigger cut.

Hopefully it won't come to that, but if the same pesky cyst keeps coming back, then know you have the ultimate option as a last resort.

Good luck to you, we've all been there!

And if all else fails (and you have been given some GREAT suggestions by other members, and I heartily second the Hibiclens!) you may have to have the cyst wall extracted. I needed to do that only a couple of times, but I did have to do that- the derm will make a very small incision and remove the cell wall. This is different than scar excision which could be a bigger cut.

Hopefully it won't come to that, but if the same pesky cyst keeps coming back, then know you have the ultimate option as a last resort.

Good luck to you, we've all been there!

Thanks for the advice. I'm hoping I can avoid that nasty sounding procedure. Luckily with all the suggestions so far the cysts in question have gone down and stayed down for a good few days now. Fingers crossed that's the last of them but I'll bear in mind what you say as a last resort if not!

I have had pretty good success with Mario Badescu's drying lotion. Mine never come back after i pop them and dab some of that stuff on. Works best for me after the zit is drained, doesn't seem to work as well on unpopped zits.