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Hardish Lumps Under The Skin - What To Do?

MemberMember
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(@acnegone5)

Posted : 08/25/2014 3:06 pm

 

Ive got 3 or 4 small lumps under my skin under my ears under my cheek area. They dont have a head on them and dont hurt. They are 3 or 4 small lumps. Im not sure what to do with them. Im not picking at them. Im putting my acne cream on that I would anywhere else. So far they havent dissapered.

Im going to a dermatologist in 2 weeks so I can im preparing for any medications I could have. Im 27 and my 'acne' is not bad at all. My face atm looks totally clear and they are the only spots i've got. Strange how they are all in the same area.. what should I do about them? I've read antibiotics would be something to consider - something called doxycycline - which I was told could prevent any future outbreaks if I take that?

 

My aim is to be totally spot free without any outbreak or spots what so ever. Its probably linked to anxiety etc but still hoping it can clear totally without anxiety causing issues for my face.

I also keep getting the occasional massive spot on my back, again in the same area, one seems to appear once every 4 months, and i have to disinfect it and let all of the stuff out once its got huge with a head, then it heals, leaving a mark.

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MemberMember
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(@acnegone5)

Posted : 08/25/2014 3:43 pm

Quick update to my last post. I've just had a shower and one of these lumps was leaking a little blood. Does this mean they'll go naturally? I put some anticeptic on it, didnt squeeze it. Put some acne cream over it.

Please advise

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MemberMember
31
(@like-moonlight)

Posted : 08/25/2014 5:28 pm

Ive got 3 or 4 small lumps under my skin under my ears under my cheek area. They dont have a head on them and dont hurt. They are 3 or 4 small lumps. Im not sure what to do with them. Im not picking at them. Im putting my acne cream on that I would anywhere else. So far they havent dissapered.

Im going to a dermatologist in 2 weeks so I can im preparing for any medications I could have. Im 27 and my 'acne' is not bad at all. My face atm looks totally clear and they are the only spots i've got. Strange how they are all in the same area.. what should I do about them? I've read antibiotics would be something to consider - something called doxycycline - which I was told could prevent any future outbreaks if I take that?

My aim is to be totally spot free without any outbreak or spots what so ever. Its probably linked to anxiety etc but still hoping it can clear totally without anxiety causing issues for my face.

I also keep getting the occasional massive spot on my back, again in the same area, one seems to appear once every 4 months, and i have to disinfect it and let all of the stuff out once its got huge with a head, then it heals, leaving a mark.

Those hard lumps are probably cysts. Do not pick of squeeze them, they should come to a head on their own, in good time anyway. You can use tho wash cloths to help bring them to a head. Do they hurt when you touch them or pressure is against them? When you see the dermatologist they can inject them and they will shrink and hopefully go away, sometime a sac needs to be removed from the cysts for it to go away.

As far as taking any antibiotics like doxy or minocycline, I'd stay far away from then antibiotics. Most dermatologists try to push them on you but all it is a bandaid. Once you stop taking them or your body builds a resistance towards the antibiotic which will happen. Your acne will return full force and most of the time worse. Not to mention the havoc it wrecks on your stomach. You could end up with leaky gut syndrome. I just do not think antibiotics are the answer for acne.

If your cysts are coming in on your jaw and chin area I would go ahead and make the assumption that it could be hormones causing your cysts. Most adult acne is hormonal. I fall under that category. You could talk to your dermatologist about hormonal treatments. Certain birth controls can help hormonal acne. There are other treatments if your not wanting to go on birth control or change your birth control. Spirolactone is what I take for my hormonal acne. Here is a good post to read about adult hormonal acne for both men and women. Obviously just read the parts about women, if you want it look more into hormonal treatments.

http://www.acne.org/messageboard/topic/330164-the-big-hormone-post-for-both-men-and-women/

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MemberMember
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(@acnegone5)

Posted : 08/25/2014 7:22 pm

 

Hi, thanks for your reply. Im a male btw. Can it be hormonal if male? Will having an injection scar me? Or no?

They dont feel painful or saw really. They just feel annoying. Its a couple of weeks before my appointment so these lumps might have gone by then but not sure. I dont want any scars. They arent by my jaw they're about 1-2 inches under my left ear all grouped together, I also have one on my buttocks area which has been there 2 weeks. It's strange because I never normally get these hard lumps, something that's happened very recently. I booked in to see a dermatoloist mainly for my vitiligo condition (not serious but want a cream) so im also going for acne outbreaks too.

I had accutane when I was 16 im no 27. My outbreaks are very minor generally. But its freustrating that they keep coming - just want total free skin!!

Thanks

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MemberMember
31
(@like-moonlight)

Posted : 08/25/2014 7:31 pm

Hi, thanks for your reply. Im a male btw. Can it be hormonal if male? Will having an injection scar me? Or no?

They dont feel painful or saw really. They just feel annoying. Its a couple of weeks before my appointment so these lumps might have gone by then but not sure. I dont want any scars. They arent by my jaw they're about 1-2 inches under my left ear all grouped together, I also have one on my buttocks area which has been there 2 weeks. It's strange because I never normally get these hard lumps, something that's happened very recently. I booked in to see a dermatoloist mainly for my vitiligo condition (not serious but want a cream) so im also going for acne outbreaks too.

I had accutane when I was 16 im no 27. My outbreaks are very minor generally. But its freustrating that they keep coming - just want total free skin!!

Thanks

Hey your acne for sure can still be hormonal if you are a male. Take a look at the topic I posted in my reply and read the parts that pertain to men , there are treatments you can use for male hormonal acne. You can also use Spirolactone Cream. Has the same effect that spiro has for women, but is safe for males to use. While taking the spiro pill isn't safe for men in high enough doses that would treat acne. The cream though is 100% safe for males.

On another note, I need to really start checking out profiles and checking male or female before I give advice 😀

No birth control for you 😉

Getting cortisone injections should not give you scars. The idea of getting injections is to help prevent scarring from cysts. You can also take prednisone for the swelling of the cysts. I would prefer the injections though, since the injections just treat that area, the pills will effect your whole body. But since you just have just a few areas I would think they would be willing to inject them for you. You'll have to ask though. Hopefully they go down in size before then. If they keep coming back though you'll for sure want to get those injected.

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MemberMember
1
(@acnegone5)

Posted : 08/25/2014 7:34 pm

Thanks for reply :) I'll definatley mention hormones to the dermatogooligst and see what he says. Interestingly, earlier this year I had my testoserone levels checked and the results came back as very low (still within the normal range, but for my age, very low). I didnt persue anything as I was still in the normal range and I know testoserone can vary from day to day quite a lot.

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