Is there just one spot like this on your skin or more than one "spot" with this condition ? Does the thing under your skin move when you prod it ?

Have you taken antibiotics ? Do you have dandruff ? Do you have a white coating on your tongue ??

sorry im not an expert but from your description it sounds like you could of had a deep under the skin spot/cyst? i have had them in the past, they are normally due to blocked pores and are normally only temporary?( the pore becomes blocked and instead of the infection coming to the surface it goes under the skin )

but long term lump may point to a type of post acneskin damage ( rolling scar?) or asebaceous cyst?

please see here for scar guide

https://www.acne.org/acne-scar-treatment.html

yes, it could be a sebaceous cyst - hence my question about does it move

23 hours ago, Aussie Scientist said:

Is there just one spot like this on your skin or more than one "spot" with this condition ? Does the thing under your skin move when you prod it ?

Have you taken antibiotics ? Do you have dandruff ? Do you have a white coating on your tongue ??

Hi and thanks for your replies. There is only one spot like this on my skin, I have had acne since I was 16 and now I am 35 and this happened 2 years ago and I never had experienced something like this before in my nearly 20 years of acne. During this years I went through 4 accutane therapies already, just so that you know something about my acne history. This happened as I was on accutane. But now the answers to your other questions. Right after it happened I went to a hospital and they gave my antibiotics because they thought this was a sebaceous cyst, but the antibiotics did not help at all. I had to wait 2 months till it banished from alone. It does not move when I prod it. I do not have dandruff nor do I have coating on my tongue. Also you cannot see the bump now with normal lightning it is only visible a tiny bit if the lightning is horrible (the same over the head sharp lightning where you can see all the scars, I only have rolling scars) So yes at the first glimpse it seems to be just rolling scars around that bump so that it just looks like a bump, but if I touch it gently with the fingers I can feel something hardened under my skin. This area does not look worse then the other areas on my skin, but it bothers me that it is still red a little bit.

Thanks again.

OK, I would apply some tea tree oil on a q tip (cotton bud) to the spot under your skin - might sting a bit. It does not sound like it is infected with bacteria or with fungus (and they tried antibiotics), but it might be. The tea tree oil should control any infection.

I suspect what you have is a lump of of keratin, caused by bacterial (or more likely) fungal infection. The fungal infection would have occurred as a result of taking antibiotics (and possibly taking accutane) for acne.

Keratin lumps are very hard to get rid of. Salicylic acid and resorcinol will sometimes "dissolve" them. Crush an aspirin tablet into rubbing alcohol (propanol) or into methylated spirits (ethanol) and apply that onto the spot, with a q tip (cotton bud). You will need t keep doing this - the skin might break open a bit and it will sting. Use strict hygiene (wash your hands etc) if the skin breaks open.

Do you still have acne ???

On 5/18/2019 at 5:43 AM, Aussie Scientist said:

OK, I would apply some tea tree oil on a q tip (cotton bud) to the spot under your skin - might sting a bit. It does not sound like it is infected with bacteria or with fungus (and they tried antibiotics), but it might be. The tea tree oil should control any infection.

I suspect what you have is a lump of of keratin, caused by bacterial (or more likely) fungal infection. The fungal infection would have occurred as a result of taking antibiotics (and possibly taking accutane) for acne.

Keratin lumps are very hard to get rid of. Salicylic acid and resorcinol will sometimes "dissolve" them. Crush an aspirin tablet into rubbing alcohol (propanol) or into methylated spirits (ethanol) and apply that onto the spot, with a q tip (cotton bud). You will need t keep doing this - the skin might break open a bit and it will sting. Use strict hygiene (wash your hands etc) if the skin breaks open.

Do you still have acne ???

 

Hi and thanks again. I will definitely try the tee tree oil, I have just ordered it. I am a little bit afraid of the alcohol and aspirin thing though. Is there any other way to apply the aspirin. As I looked on Amazon for the propanol and ethanol I just got products to clean the kitchen. Do you have any product recommendations for that? I do not have acne anymore by the way. Ah and one thing I forgot to mention, if I pick on it, apply big pressure or squeeze it, it will swallow a little bit just the same way as with a usual pimple. Would this behavior fit a keratin lump?

Hi @Varial

I thought id throw my 2 cents since you mentioned this occured while on roaccutane. I suffered something similar while on roaccutane however mine were small colourless hard bumps. they were hardly noticeable but i hated the way they feel on my skin when running my fingers on it..i was misdiagnosed by two dermatologists were said it was milia and sebaceous hyperplasia. I tried to have them extracted and burnt off by electocautery. nothing worked. I found another derm that successfully diagnosed as osteoma cutis- a rare complication to taking roaccutane..its a bone formation of the skin..the only real treatment is to have them surgically removed. I got 2 bumps removed about a month ago and still healing..if im happy with the scarring i will do the rest (about 15 in total(.It is almost impossible to treat otherwise.

If the above solutionsby other users dont resolve the problem i would push for a skin biopsy.. this will 100% determiine what it is.. thanks to another user on here who led me to findout what i have 2 years later so i hope this helps you..

Varial

OK, just use the tea tree oil as a 'spot treatment" if you wish - it won't do any harm and may do some good.

But note that - Aspirin in methylated spirits is safe when applied as a spot treatment, ie, to a small area no larger than the 1-2 millimetres by 1-2 milimetres, ie, to the area of a spot. Obviously, do not apply methylated spirits and aspirin to large or even medium sized areas.

I am not sure what you mean by "swallow it" in your post - can you exlain what this means.

You will probably need to use aspirin to get rid of keratin, if that is what the lumps are. You can try "spot treatment" with apple cider vinegar - this should help fix the problem if they are caused by calcium carbonate bone (I note the post above), but I think keratin is more likely.

You could also try "spot treatment" with 3% hydogen peroxide...

I look forward to hearing back from you.

@Athina1999 thanks for your input, man that is amazing how people are responsive here and try to help. I also had in mind that probably I have to let them remove surgically at some point, but I guess since it is only one sport and I am afraid of complications during surgery and extra scarring I just won't do it and try to get rid of it in other ways and if this does not work, I have to live with it I guess. Do you know how an skin biopsy works? Do they have to cut into the skin for that which might cause extra scarring?

@Aussie Scientist thanks again man for your help and sorry if it was not clear what I meant, apparently English isn't my native language but I'll do my best but of course swallow means something totally different than what I was trying to say. I wanted to say that if I press this spot, it swells slightly. Like when you press on a pimple, then it also ignites and the swollen area gets bigger. I think first I want to try to do the aspirin therapy, you mentioned I also could try 3% hydrogen peroxide, did you instead of the alcohol, so did you mean to mix the aspirin with the hydrogen peroxide or did you mean just to use the hydrogen peroxide instead of aspirin and alcohol.

Thank you all for your input, you are a huge support.

Varial

Thanks for your reply and kind words. I understand about English not being your first language, so don't worry about that.

Mix the aspirin with the alcohol and dab that on the spot. That should be the most effective. Aspirin won't dissolve in hydrogen peroxide (aspirin will partially dissolve in alcohol) so start with that. The swelling is because your skin "knows" there is a foreign body in it and that sets up an inflammatory reaction.

If the aspirin in alcohol does not work to solve your problem, then you can try peroxide with vinegar.

But my suspicion is that you have a keratin lump under skin and the aspirin in alcohol should dissolve that over time.

I would NOT have a skin biopsy - your problem is not huge and every medical intervention runs the risk of infection, including infection with antibiotic resistant bacteria which can destroy one's life.

In any case, I do not think your problem is caused by infection, so a skin biopsy is irrelevant. Instead, the problem is most likely caused by a foreign object under your skin (which has probably resulted from previous infections causing your skin to produce a keratin nodule, or possibly a calcium carbonate nodule). The inflammation when you press it is not the result of infection, it is simply your body's response to the foreign object.

If the aspirin in alcohol does not solve the problem, then I would apply peroxide and apple cider vinegar (or ordinary vinegar, if you wish) to the spot.

I am happy to hear back from you after you have applied the aspirin in alcohol for several days.

8 hours ago, Aussie Scientist said:

Varial

Thanks for your reply and kind words. I understand about English not being your first language, so don't worry about that.

Mix the aspirin with the alcohol and dab that on the spot. That should be the most effective. Aspirin won't dissolve in hydrogen peroxide (aspirin will partially dissolve in alcohol) so start with that. The swelling is because your skin "knows" there is a foreign body in it and that sets up an inflammatory reaction.

If the aspirin in alcohol does not work to solve your problem, then you can try peroxide with vinegar.

But my suspicion is that you have a keratin lump under skin and the aspirin in alcohol should dissolve that over time.

I would NOT have a skin biopsy - your problem is not huge and every medical intervention runs the risk of infection, including infection with antibiotic resistant bacteria which can destroy one's life.

In any case, I do not think your problem is caused by infection, so a skin biopsy is irrelevant. Instead, the problem is most likely caused by a foreign object under your skin (which has probably resulted from previous infections causing your skin to produce a keratin nodule, or possibly a calcium carbonate nodule). The inflammation when you press it is not the result of infection, it is simply your body's response to the foreign object.

If the aspirin in alcohol does not solve the problem, then I would apply peroxide and apple cider vinegar (or ordinary vinegar, if you wish) to the spot.

I am happy to hear back from you after you have applied the aspirin in alcohol for several days.

 

Hi, thanks, I understand what you mean, I just ordered it and if it arrives I first will test it on a clean spot at my arm and if I see that nothing horrible happens I will apply it on the spot at my face. I will write again here after I tried it for some days.

HI @Varial

Thank you and agree this forum is amazing and everyone is always so helpful. If it wasnt for this forum i would still be wondering what i have and be in an endless cycle of non-responsive treatments.

I do agree you only have one spot so if it was to be surgically removed they could send it to the lab for testing just so you know what it was. Completely understand about scarring, i have some mild acne scars and did not want to add more. I waited 6 months before making the decision. The first thing i said to my doctor when he took my stitches out was "is that it?" they are small cuts they heal well and turn into a very faint line.If you are in the UK Dr Seaton is amazing!

I honestly dont think it will come to that in your case.. i only made the connection when you mentioned roaccutane as osteoma cutis could be a complication to it..

Good luck i hope it all works out for you  

Thanks Varial

@Aussie Scientist I have applied the Aspirin/alcohol mixture twice so far. I do it in the evening after taking a shower. So far nothing happened, so nothing bad happened which is good but also no improvement so far. My question now is, how often a day should I apply it and how many days could it take to show any effect. So just that we can say, if there is no improvement after X days then there won't be an improvement at all no matter how many days. Thank you.

Varial

I would apply the aspirin in alcohol twice a day for a week. Stop if your skin becomes inflamed or sore.

If there is no benefit after applying the aspirin in alcohol for a week, then the hard spot under your skin is probably not keratin.

If that is so, then you could then wait a week or so, and then apply vinegar to the spot with the hard spot under your skin as the hard thing might be osteoma cutis, as Athina mentioned. Osteoma cutis is mainly calcium carbonate, and vinegar might (?) dissolve it. Vinegar will dissolve calcium carbonate, but osteoma cutis nodules contain more than just calcium carbonate.

I would only suggest this treatment for one hard spot. If you develop more than one hard spot, then you should seek medical treatment.

How big is the hard spot ?

@Aussie Scientist hard to tell how bit it is, I would guess about 2 - 3 mm. I bought Aspirin granules and I'm afraid they don't dissolve in alcohol. I will buy usual aspirin pills today and dissolve it in alcohol. That's my last try then. If it does not work, I have to live with it 🙁

The aspirin won't dissolve properly in alcohol. You have to grind up the aspirin in a pestle and mortar and suspend/dissolve the ground up aspirin in the alcohol. If the aspirin in alcohol does not work, then do try applying vinegar. That might work.... nothing lost by trying it...