I’m pretty sure I’ve got a pimple that is below the surface of the skin. I’ve had it for a month at least, if not two months now. I’m almost positive that it’s not an ingrown hair as I would have seen the hair by now and they usually do not look like this. I also had a dermatologist look at it last week, but she thought it was a hair, but I think she got the wrong part out.
Are there any good remedies for these things? It’s starting to hurt and annoy the hell out of me. I’ve even tried to squeeze it out, but I think it’s too big and hard to come out now.
Hot, wet compresses! It will help soften if up and maybe draw it to the surface a bit. It might not come out right away, but just keep doing this. I had
If it’s in a place that will be submerged when you take a bath, take hot baths. I had one on my back that this worked really well for (my doctor called it a “subaceous cyst”, which I thought was the same thing as a regular pimple). It got bigger before it was pop-able though. I could see a blackhead-like mark on it when it got big enough.
On the upside, once it got to that point, it was really fun to pop.
Moist heat can sometimes draw out both pimples and ingrown hairs, so either way you’re covered. Soak a washcloth in the warmest water you can comfortably stand (don’t burn yourself!), ring it out and lay it on the spot. When it’s cool, dip it back in the water and repeat until you’re bored. A day or three should show results if it’s ever going to.
Another option is bentonite clay, also known as “French clay”. You can find it in many drugstores and at Whole Foodsy places. Wet a bit of it with water (add a few drops of lavender or chamomile essential oil if you like) 'till it’s like mud, then slap it on the spot. Leave it there until it cracks and falls off on its own, or you just can’t stand it anymore.
This one is sort of a WAG, but it’s worth a shot: cabbage leaves are a folk remedy for drawing out clogged milk ducts in breastfeeding moms. Just simmer a cabbage leaf in water to soften it and slap it on. It’s a moist, warm compress if nothing else.
Moist wet compresses are your FRIEND. Sometimes I’ll slap a bit of antibiotic ointment on the zit and cover it with a bandage overnight. This helps draw it out, too.
Blech. I’d go back to that dermatologist and tell her that her original remedy didn’t work. She may need to take a sterilized needle and pierce the skin.
I got to watch the spouse get one of these things removed once (it was on his leg, and big–about an inch across, but was more of a fatty-type cyst than a spew-across-the-room type). It was fascinating! I couldn’t watch them do the actual incision, but after the doctor finished that, he just got in there with his thumbs and pushed and kneaded until this enormous fatty *thing * squeezed its way out of the opening. Once it was out, we were all amazed that it could have been living in the space where it was–it was about twice the size of the bump on his leg, so it must have been pressing inward more than outward.
The spouse didn’t want anything to do with it, but I had to take a good look at it once it was out. It’s not every day you get to see something that cool.
Take a moist washcloth and microwave it for about a minute. Then let it cool for a minute until it’s just cool enough that you can stand it. Hold it on the spot until it cools, then repeat a few times. Microwaving it gets it a lot hotter than just hot tap water alone. Good luck!!
I’m surprised I’m the only one saying this: Please go see a dermatologist. Sometimes, more serious skin problems can *look * like a long-lasting pimple.
Especially since it has lasted this long, and doesn’t seem to be responding to treatment, I really think you should at least get your family doctor to eyeball it.
I could be wrong, but hey, better safe than sorry.
