# Pimple! ARRRGGGH! **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [February 2, 2012, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pimple-arrrgggh/611553 "2012-02-02T16:58:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![CanvasShoes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/74df32/32.png) [@CanvasShoes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CanvasShoes)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2012, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pimple-arrrgggh/611553/1 "2012-02-02T16:58:46Z")
Sheesh, where did this thing come from? I’m nearly 53, for crying out loud, and it’s been at least 30 years since I’ve had anything more than a tiny blackhead. I’m ancient, but my skin was one of my few remaining girlie vanities, normally it’s been smooth and blemish free my entire life. (this darned well better not be some menopause thing!) I looked here: > **[Getting a pimple to a head](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=247972)** > > I’ve heard that you should use heat to bring a pimple to a head. Does this really work? What is a good tool for it? Is there something short of my buying a heating pad that I wouldn’t use for anything else? …and have already tried many of the methods suggested, but none seem to be working, and some googling has shown me that what I have is a “blind pimple”. The thing is HUGE but not budging. (I’m about to cave and try the bacon trick). Anyone have any new ideas? Proven remedies? Commiseration? Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![Rachellelogram](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rachellelogram/32/8689_2.png) [@Rachellelogram](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rachellelogram)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2012, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pimple-arrrgggh/611553/2 "2012-02-02T17:57:58Z")
Apply hot compresses and don’t put pressure on it. You don’t want it to bust under the skin, the pus will just spread and new pimples will pop up. Once the head is showing, you can try to pull apart the skin around it (wear latex gloves if you have them, to minimize the chances of contaminating it–this could cause more future pimples). This will probably cause it to open. If not, you can lance it (just poke a very tiny hole) with a sterile needle–heat the needle in a flame for about 10 seconds, then allow it to cool. And spread apart the skin and allow it to drain. It may seem counterintuitive, but you shouldn’t pop it by pressing the skin around the pimple together–this will push pus back into your body. You should spread the skin apart, this causes the pus to leave your body. Learning that tidbit completely revolutionized the way I deal with pimples, and my recurrence rate is very low. Compresses until it’s at a head, though. Nothing else you can do (please don’t smear bacon fat on your skin). ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2012, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pimple-arrrgggh/611553/3 "2012-02-02T18:21:27Z")
So fun to read old threads and find out what you posted a long time ago! Apparently I was still going through acne hell in 2004 (I’ve been cured by a dermatologist since then). I was going to say the very same thing…try an ice pack. However, that works best if you catch it early. ---
**Author:** ![Zulema](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/db5fbb/32.png) [@Zulema](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zulema)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2012, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pimple-arrrgggh/611553/4 "2012-02-02T18:27:57Z")
Mint Julep mask by Queen Helene, sold at WalGreens and other assorted stores has sulphur in it; a glob on a pimple overnight will often calm it down even if there’s no apparent skin opening. Sometimes I mix a drop of tea tree oil into the mask. Adult Clearisil has sulphur too and might be easier to find. I’m having a weird current problem: I’m using steroid eye drops in one eye. If any of the drops drips down my face I get a painful, deep cyst that stays underground forever. It only occurs in the stopping point of the drip, not the path. I have a few pink healed spots in a line down my cheek. Now that I know what’s happening I’m more careful to blot the excess right away. ---
**Author:** ![FlyByNight512](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/82dd89/32.png) [@FlyByNight512](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlyByNight512)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2012, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pimple-arrrgggh/611553/5 "2012-02-02T20:18:26Z")
[Differin (Adapalene)](http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0000245/) is available over the counter and works like a charm for me. At least for me it makes the zit fade in a day or two without popping, so there’s no scab/scarring/irritated red spot left over. ---
**Author:** ![perfectparanoia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a5b964/32.png) [@perfectparanoia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/perfectparanoia)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2012, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pimple-arrrgggh/611553/6 "2012-02-02T21:17:16Z")
Oddly, I put polysporin and a bandaid on it overnight and it seems to pop up. Works on my huband’s back boils, too. ---
**Author:** ![CanvasShoes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/74df32/32.png) [@CanvasShoes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CanvasShoes)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2012, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pimple-arrrgggh/611553/7 "2012-02-03T02:46:55Z")
Thanks all! I’ve tried the hot compresses, soaking in alcohol and witch hazel (not at the same time), warm tea bags…etc. I think I actually have some polysporin (or a reasonable facsimile). I’ll be extra careful not to squeeze or do anything else to cause scarring. I’ve never had one this big or painful before ever, I was one of those lucky teens who had clear skin. I had maybe 2 zits in HS, one right before prom, and one before some homecoming event or another. And those were the “normal” type pimples, the kind that come to a head fairly quickly. This one just refuses to do that! The only other skin blemishes I’ve ever had are those little rash-like pimples you get when you have to talk on the phone for long periods of time during work, so this is a kind of new experience for me. Thanks again. ---
**Author:** ![SeaDragonTattoo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@SeaDragonTattoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SeaDragonTattoo)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2012, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pimple-arrrgggh/611553/8 "2012-02-03T03:47:13Z")
If your honker of a pimple does end up rising into a whitehead, here’s a lovely demonstration by Dr. Oz on the Oprah show on how to pop a pimple. [Ew.](http://www.oprah.com/oprahshow/Dr-Oz-Demonstrates-How-to-Properly-Pop-a-Pimple-Video) ---
**Author:** ![toofs](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/4491bb/32.png) [@toofs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/toofs)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2012, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pimple-arrrgggh/611553/9 "2012-02-03T03:53:22Z")
Sterilize the entire area over and around the zit, your hands, and the needle. Take a video of it. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2012, 4:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pimple-arrrgggh/611553/10 "2012-02-03T04:59:56Z")
This could be a boil, not a pimple. Do you have full coverage? Call your advice nurse, maybe going in and having it lanced is not a bad idea. ---
**Author:** ![CanvasShoes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/74df32/32.png) [@CanvasShoes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CanvasShoes)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2012, 5:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pimple-arrrgggh/611553/11 "2012-02-03T05:06:25Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > This could be a boil, not a pimple. Do you have full coverage? Call your advice nurse, maybe going in and having it lanced is not a bad idea. If it doesn’t start doing something by this weekend, I definitely will. But a boil on my face? What causes them? At first I thought I’d bonked my face on something (not a long shot, I’m accident prone, I’m always clobbering some body part or another :D), it started out just feeling like a bruise, and didn’t start raising up for a day or so. ---
**Author:** ![CanvasShoes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/74df32/32.png) [@CanvasShoes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CanvasShoes)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2012, 5:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pimple-arrrgggh/611553/12 "2012-02-03T05:21:11Z")
DOUBLEarggh! I just went and researched boils. siiiigggggghhh. ---
**Author:** ![Clothahump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Clothahump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clothahump)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2012, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pimple-arrrgggh/611553/13 "2012-02-03T17:20:13Z")
If you decide to go the squeeze route, be sure to set up a video camera and post it on popthatzit dot com. ---
**Author:** ![CanvasShoes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/74df32/32.png) [@CanvasShoes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CanvasShoes)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2012, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pimple-arrrgggh/611553/14 "2012-02-03T23:09:22Z")
> [@Clothahump](#): > > If you decide to go the squeeze route, be sure to set up a video camera and post it on popthatzit dot com. Eeeeuuuuwww…😃 update. I think the hot compresses might be working. ---
**Author:** ![redtail23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/3e96dc/32.png) [@redtail23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/redtail23)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2012, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pimple-arrrgggh/611553/15 "2012-02-03T23:18:45Z")
If it’s not ready by tonight, try the polysporin/bandaid before you go to bed. Often brings mine to a head, or makes them go away, one or t’other. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2012, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pimple-arrrgggh/611553/16 "2012-02-22T03:00:46Z")
So, what happened? ---
**Author:** ![elbows](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b3f665/32.png) [@elbows](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elbows)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2012, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pimple-arrrgggh/611553/17 "2012-02-22T03:09:41Z")
Try putting the adhesive of the bandaid on it overnight. By morning the skin should be soft, then do the pulling it apart thing, NOT squeezing it!