Just try to leave it alone and let it heal. Keep putting the Bacitracin on it now that the skin is broken. Yeah, cysts and nodules suck and we've all had them. There's not a member out there who doesn't feel your pain! But trying to pop one of these is futile when they're still deep under the skin. If the swelling is really bad, maybe try some ice. My son had a chin cyst/nodule and we spot-treated for 5 nights with AHA+ (10% glycolic acid) to bring the swelling down. Worked beautifully! Went back down and never did erupt any further.

Sorry I couldn't be more helpful!

Hey sarahthesquid,

I feel your pain! As I'm sure a lot of acne.org members do. I just can't leave cystic pimples alone!
You should definitely get some ice on that cyst!
The damage is done now so try not to beat yourself up about it, it WILL go away with time.
In the mean time I would say keeping a band-aid over the pimple is a great idea, just to prevent infection and help you to keep your fingers away from it. I would recommend treating the pimple as you would any other wound at this point.
I understand the logic behind using some bacitracin to prevent an infection, but you should be as gentle and caring to the cyst as you can so as not to irritate it any further. I know how tempting it is to layer harsh acne treatments on top of popped pimples, but if you have drawn blood you must be gentle.
I would recommend applying something antiseptic, gentle, but also drying, such as Sudocrem. (A nappy rash cream, yes, but it never fails to shrink my nasty popped pimples.)
And if you can avoid it, please try not to layer concealer on top of it until it has at least had time to heal a little!
Good luck, I hope it disappears quickly for you!

How about a dab of sulfur mask over night to calm the redness? Sometimes it works for my cystic acne.

Thanks everyone.. I added a picture as to what my failed-to-pop cyst looks like now after a few hours of bacitracin. It's more painful, and yellow & hard in the center with a red ring surrounding it. I regret trying to pop it now JLopez will the sudocrem also help the red raw skin over the cyst? That's my main concern to get rid of that nasty skin on it

If your main concern is the dry skin over the pimple it's best to avoid "drying it out" all together. (Which is what Sudocrem would unfortunately do.)
Since you have already used bacitracin to disinfect the area I would recommend some sort of gentle chemical exfoliant.
I have personally found that yoghurt is fantastic for soothing pimples and the lactic acid in the yoghurt eats away dead skin gently and effectively, just make sure its full fat, plain, natural yoghurt. You can get it in any grocery store. If it's organic, even better!
Alternatively you could use apple cider vinegar mixed with a little milk. Milk also contains lactic acid and the apple cider vinegar has natural exfoliating properties.

If you feel the pimple is too sensitive to subject to any kind of exfoliating treatment, but your major concern is the raw skin, I would apply some diluted tea tree oil (about 2 drops in a table spoon of water) which will both moisturise the area and treat the pimple.

I hope that is of some help!
If you are struggling and don't have any of these products to hand, don't hesitate to let me know what you have got in your beauty arsenal and I will try to help you out!

ps. It already looks much, much less swollen! You are on the right track, don't worry!

Hi Sarah,

I'm sorry to learn about your infected pimple. You should leave your pimple alone and just keep on applying Bacitracin on the affected area. The pimple will eventually harden, crust over and fall off in a few weeks leaving a dark mark on your skin. It's tempting to pick on it while it heals but based on personal experience, it will only make the pimple more painful to remove plus the pus and blood is kind of gross to remove so yeah, best that you leave the pimple alone.

Okay so I've had a cystic pimple on my chin for a few days, and I was getting sick of it. I've been putting tea tree oil on it and it wasn't working. Neither was my trust BP cream. It was hard, and hurt and only a little red. But I was dumb and decided to mess with it. Last night I tried lancing it with a needle and squeezed really hard, and only a little oil and blood came out. I knew I messed up so I put bacitracin on it and a band aid.

The next day, it HURT soooo badly! It was red and inflamed, the cyst still there, and it was crusty. Stupidly I tried squeezing at it again, more oil came out but the crust came off and now it's raw and still with a cyst I put more bacitracin on it in hopes that it will heal... Help! I have no clue what to do

I usually try to let cystic pimple be & let them run their course.

HOWEVER, I often get annoyed like you & attempt to pop one before it has come to a head.

Try alternating between hot (not enough to cause pain & damage, just mild discomfort) and cold water compresses over the evil zit overlord with a washcloth.

I read somewhere that this helps loosen the gunk (I'm so scientific lol) that is in cystic demons zits and I found it works pretty well.

I usually start this when the cyst starts getting red & angry looking. (sometimes they're no visible but I can FEEL them)

As for the one you have now, it's probably best to not squeeze or pick at it until it's completely gone since you've probably already damaged your skin. Once it comes to a head, you could possibly try those zit cover things (amazon https://www.amazon.com/Nexcare-Absorbing-Cover-Sizes-Count/dp/B00BRGUNV2/ )

I've been wanting to try them & there are good reviews (I'm just not sure they'd be able to stay on my face @ night because I move around a lot when I'm asleep). But they're apparently useless until the pimple in question has a white head.

Thanks for all the help guys!!! The cyst is much smaller sort of scab thing now, only a little pink, and it doesn't hurt! I mixed bacitracin with a bit of zinc oxide cream and left it on there. The bacitracin healed it while the zinc oxide dried up the cyst! I really recommend this for any cyst popping failures

I'm having the same problem at the moment by mistakably popping a cyst at the side of my chin without a head thinking it was a normal spot. It's my last week before I move away and I've already cancelled some of my plans because it's getting me down so much. When I tried to pop only blood and oil came out, and I've left it with just my prescribed azelaic acid treatment to try and heal and dry it. It's not an open wound anymore after one night but it's very inflamed, red, with a dark centre and some signs of pus. I've also iced it and took ibuprofen.

I'm wondering if I should use a hot compress and try and pop the rest of the pus so it can heal more quickly, or just leave it alone. And from your experience how long would it take to heal? Thank you:-(