# OW!!! Painful Zit, go away! Possible TMI **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [August 15, 2003, 5:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ow-painful-zit-go-away-possible-tmi/195336 "2003-08-15T05:30:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Stage\_Manager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stage_manager/32/7267_2.png) [@Stage\_Manager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stage_Manager)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2003, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ow-painful-zit-go-away-possible-tmi/195336/41 "2003-08-17T02:17:47Z")
You people are sick. I like that. I no longer have an SO to pop my backzits, so if I can reach them through contortionism, fine. Otherwise, they just go away. (I think – _don’t_ they?) The worst, I think, are the ones on the very edge of your lip. PAIN!! Oh my freaking GOD they hurt. And the pus inside is generally very hard (on mine, at least), requiring severe pressure from the fingertips to glurge it all out. Okay, time for another piece of pizza. ---
**Author:** ![Elza\_B](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Elza\_B](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elza_B)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2003, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ow-painful-zit-go-away-possible-tmi/195336/42 "2003-08-17T02:20:50Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Mikie \* > \*\*You people are sick. > > I like that. > > I no longer have an SO to pop my backzits, so if I can reach them through contortionism, fine. Otherwise, they just go away. (I think – _don’t_ they?) > \*\* If I didn’t think my SO would get jealous, I’d volunteer to pop your backzits for you. Ava ---
**Author:** ![Sylkyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/da6949/32.png) [@Sylkyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sylkyn)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2003, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ow-painful-zit-go-away-possible-tmi/195336/43 "2003-08-17T02:28:53Z")
I’m just sitting here feeling very sorry for **Lynn** , who seems to be falling apart piece by piece, Lord love her soul, and thanking that very same Lord for my zit-free skin. [sub][sup] Just kiddin’, Lynn…but doesn’t it just feel like that sometimes?[/sub][/sup] Everybody else…keep the pimple parables a’comin’! ---
**Author:** ![emmaliminal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7bcc69/32.png) [@emmaliminal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/emmaliminal)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2003, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ow-painful-zit-go-away-possible-tmi/195336/44 "2003-08-17T02:40:26Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Mirror Image egamI rorriM \* > \*\*…_SPLURT!_ Out came another little coil of sebum, follwed by a gob of pus… \*\* Ohhhhhh… _(sucks drool back in)_ **avabeth** , I feel your pain. Maybe he was just startled and needs to be asked politely. See if you can bribe him to let you. And **Mikie** , honeybaby, no, they don’t “just go away”; they grow to monstrous proportions and infect your brain. It’s an extremely dangerous condition. You need help. My help. Immediately. ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2003, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ow-painful-zit-go-away-possible-tmi/195336/45 "2003-08-17T02:47:21Z")
emilyforce, try a search in MPSIMS on "favorite pimple stories(maybe TMI). If that doesn’t make you slobber nothing will. Let me know what you think. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Wrong\_Girl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b782af/32.png) [@The\_Wrong\_Girl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Wrong_Girl)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2003, 6:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ow-painful-zit-go-away-possible-tmi/195336/46 "2003-08-17T06:44:48Z")
**emilyforce** you’re going to fit in great here. I think that was the only time that big colored text didn’t bother me at all–it added to your story so much. 😃 I love threads like these. ---
**Author:** ![lee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lee/32/7455_2.png) [@lee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lee)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2003, 6:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ow-painful-zit-go-away-possible-tmi/195336/47 "2003-08-17T06:56:13Z")
One of the neatest things about breastfeeding is that it is like having 2 ten pound zits on my chest. The other day, I had a painful spot in my right breast. No lump was palpable, but it was bruised feeling for about 2 days. Then, while i was hand expressing after lunch, i felt and heard a pop-Pop as the milk duct became unplugged. Then a steady stream of milk poured from my breast. It poured on its own for well over a minute and with the occasional squeeze of encouragement, nearly 5 minutes total, yeilding well over an ounce of milk. ---
**Author:** ![Incubus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c68b51/32.png) [@Incubus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Incubus)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2003, 8:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ow-painful-zit-go-away-possible-tmi/195336/48 "2003-08-17T08:01:09Z")
I often get blackheads on the edges of my upper lip. Its unbelievable the sheer volume of stuff that comes out when I squeeze it. One of the things I hate about shaving is that I tend to break out in zits afterword. Some of the zits are the really stubborn “feels-like-a-marble-under-the-skin” types which are hard to burst and it seems like any unsuccessfull zit-popping venture results in immense amounts of pain- its amazing how painful squeezing some little area of your face can be! ---
**Author:** ![medstar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f07891/32.png) [@medstar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/medstar)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2003, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ow-painful-zit-go-away-possible-tmi/195336/49 "2003-08-17T23:06:59Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Lynn Bodoni \* > \*\*My sympathy for y’all is limited, because I am currently nursing a couple of boils the size of goose eggs on the underside of my right arm. Have you got ANY idea how cumbersome it is to go about one’s daily business when one has a hotwater bottle tucked into one’s armpit? > > I HAVE seen the doctor. She refused to lance them, but at least she’s given me Biaxin(sp?) for it, and I’m taking it…but these boils don’t want to come to a head. At least they’re draining today. > > The only upside is that I’m constantly showing these boils to my husband and daughter. These things look NASTY. \*\* Now I know why I joined the SDMB. Seriously, if anyone here gets boils in the underarm area, make sure you change razor blades immediately and don’t share with anyone else. I’m sure you’d hate it if one of your loved ones picked up nasty bacteria and got boils of their own. Lynn, have you tried popping these boils in a hot shower? You might have to call your husband to come in and assist. Sure, he might gag, but then again, he might do it so that he wouldn’t have to look at them again. ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2003, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ow-painful-zit-go-away-possible-tmi/195336/50 "2003-08-17T23:38:34Z")
Ummmmm, I don’t shave very often. Gag if you want, but my underarm hair is nearly nonexistent these days, and I only shave when I can see the hair. I don’t go sleeveless. And my doctor has forbidden me to shave my legs, because I am prone to attacks of cellulitis. I doubt that my husband would pop these suckers. They STILL don’t have a real head, but they are draining icky stuff. I have a red area the size of a softball on my inner arm. I’m just VERY glad that I had a small hotwater bottle (I ordered it on a whim from American Science & Surplus). I’m carrying this bottle around like a security blanket. ---
**Author:** ![yosemite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/3ab097/32.png) [@yosemite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yosemite)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2003, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ow-painful-zit-go-away-possible-tmi/195336/51 "2003-08-17T23:41:52Z")
Aren’t you not supposed to “pop” boils, because the infection can spread? (That’s what I thought I read in the link posted about them in this thread.) Ewww…boils. Charming. Lynn, you have my sympathies! ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2003, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ow-painful-zit-go-away-possible-tmi/195336/52 "2003-08-18T00:21:50Z")
Yeah, you’re not supposed to pop boils. You’re not supposed to pop pimples, either, but that doesn’t stop me. I’m not popping these boils because they WON’T come to a head. ---
**Author:** ![omni-not](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8dc957/32.png) [@omni-not](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/omni-not)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2003, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ow-painful-zit-go-away-possible-tmi/195336/53 "2003-08-18T01:17:14Z")
Need I remind you of one Rosie O’Donnell who made it a point of honour to take care [with seemingly unhealthy relish] of her guests’ zits? The first time I witnessed it, I simply couldn’t believe it. I actually winced, and I’m not a ‘wincer’ by nature. It just grossed me out, I guess. ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2003, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ow-painful-zit-go-away-possible-tmi/195336/54 "2003-08-18T01:21:07Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Lynn Bodoni \* > \*\*I ordered it on a whim from American Science & Surplus. \*\* They’re a **grrrrrrrrrreat** company, aren’t they? ---
**Author:** ![Salieri2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c67d28/32.png) [@Salieri2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Salieri2)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2003, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ow-painful-zit-go-away-possible-tmi/195336/55 "2003-08-18T03:58:37Z")
This may be the most horrible thread I have ever read. ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2003, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ow-painful-zit-go-away-possible-tmi/195336/56 "2003-08-18T04:24:30Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Tuckerfan \* > \*\*They’re a **grrrrrrrrrreat** company, aren’t they? \*\* They are entirely too tempting! I have to weed out my cart each time I shop there. But really, where else would I have found a miniature hotwater bottle? Where else could I shop in the department of robot parts? It’s a garage scientist’s playground! ---
**Author:** ![Qwisp](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qwisp/32/397_2.png) [@Qwisp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qwisp)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2003, 4:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ow-painful-zit-go-away-possible-tmi/195336/57 "2003-08-18T04:54:52Z")
Mr. Qwisp is of the opinion that zits will go away on their own if you leave them be. It drives me crazy to see big the big ole whiteheads and boils he occasionaly gets.The last one he got was a big boil on his face that had a great big head on it.It wouldn’t go away and he refused to pop it with a steralized pin.He finally went to the doctor and got it lanced.It left a scar.I think I’ve finally convinced him that my way is better.When I pop a zit right away, or dig out an ingrown hair, I always heal up quicker than if I leave them alone ( of course I don’t think I’ve ever left one alone so I guess that doesn’t count) ---
**Author:** ![Kyla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/eada6e/32.png) [@Kyla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyla)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2003, 5:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ow-painful-zit-go-away-possible-tmi/195336/58 "2003-08-18T05:17:53Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Salieri2 \* > \*\*This may be the most horrible thread I have ever read. \*\* My goodness! Welcome to the SDMB, then, this is nothing! Try [this thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=106449&). And, of course, the original, the horrifying, the pluck-out-your-own-eyeballs-in-disgust-[TMI thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=44749&). ---
**Author:** ![MrVisible](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/46a35a/32.png) [@MrVisible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrVisible)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2003, 5:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ow-painful-zit-go-away-possible-tmi/195336/59 "2003-08-18T05:59:29Z")
My boyfriend said, just a few minutes ago, and I quote… “That’s all I am to you. A zitfarm.” I have to admit, he has many, many wonderful qualities. He’s a great guy. And his back is a smorgasbord of pimples of all sorts and sizes. I’d still love him even if his back was smooth and clear, but his pimpliness is an added perk. There are, of course, blackheads galore. Plus some that send out long, pasty solid threads of pus; those tend to recur. Whiteheads, we got in abundance. But the other day, there was something entirely new. Knowing that I’m, um, not averse to a good zit-popping, he actually came to me, and said “I think I feel something on my back.” Now, this is unusual. He usually puts up with my attentions to his pores grudgingly. When he came to me about it, I knew it was an Urgent Zit Situation. I pulled his shirt up, and right between his shoulderblades was something that looked for all the world like a dark purple pencil eraser. I squeezed, he winced, it bled. Like crazy. Some pus, but mostly blood. Fortunately, I’d come well-prepared with tissue and hydrogen peroxide, so I kept it sterilized and clean. Now, days later, he still has a small round scab there. So far, I’m successfully resisting the urge to pick it off. What would he ever do without me? ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2003, 12:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ow-painful-zit-go-away-possible-tmi/195336/60 "2003-08-18T12:26:13Z")
My blackhead story: I had a little blackhead on my upper lip back in the 1970’s, before the time of blackhead strips. The damn thing would not pop and would not go away. After it stayed there inert for over two years, I got very drunk one night and decided to get rid of it. I dug all around the offending blackhead, losing a lot of skin in the process. Fortunately, I was too drunk to feel any pain. Finally I ended up losing a lot of blood, and there on my upper lip was a huge raw greenish-brown place with a (you guessed it) blackhead in the middle. I walked around with a scar on my upper lip for a week, not being able to explain to anyone what happened. Finally I noticed that it was a little lose, so I grabbed it and pulled. In the middle was my blackhead and about three inches of waxy stuff (the original blackhead strip). The place healed, and I’m missing a tiny bit of my upper lip from the experience. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ow-painful-zit-go-away-possible-tmi/195336.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ow-painful-zit-go-away-possible-tmi/195336.md?page=4)