Is there anything that one can do to help reduce, if not remove, a sebacious cyst from the face? This thing is real pain esp. when shaving. I am surprised there’s no way to drain the thing. I hear these things are caused by a clogged oil gland. But, how come the body will reject a hard-to-remove splinter, but it can’t reject whatever foreign material is clogging the pore/gland?
Anyone have any home remedies?
No home remedies that I know of. Just a dermatologist with a scalpel!
I don’t think it’s a foreign substance that’s clogging the pore. I think it’s the oil itself and the body’s misinformation about how to handle it.
Ruby
The Sebacious Queen
Sebaceous (also called epidermal) cysts are sort of like infolding of the skin. The inside is lined with epithelium which makes the keratin that fills the cyst.
It may develop from a “clogged pore,” sort of a big deep pimple, but not necessarily. If you remove the contents without removing or destroying the epithelial lining, it will just recur. This makes them difficult to remove at home.
They can become inflamed which may not be pleasant, but the inflammation can destroy the lining so when it resolves, the cyst won’t come back.
From a medical text about their removal:
So I forgot to ask. How do you know it is a sebaceous cyst? Did a Dermatologist tell you? Does it look like one that was diagnosed as such before? I’m asking to make sure we’re talking about the right thing.
P.C.
Do I know about sebaceous cysts!
Warm compresses. No squeezing. It should come to a head and burst in a few days. If it turns red or becomes very tender— see a doctor!!! Most of the time they go away by themselves, but they can become infected and abcess they will tunnel and. . . well, mostly that doesn’t happen unless you’re me. If you get these cysts often and in clusters it could be hidradenitis suppurativa.
Clean your hands and when the thing does burst and you handle the fluids.
Am I the only one thinking “Ooohh…sterilize a sewing needle and pop it, then give it a BIG SQUEEZE!!!”?
I guess you could, but they go away by themselves after a while and popping it incourages infection. Also the stuff that comes out is chock full of yuck. When you squeeze, stuff comes out but also goes in. You don’t want to be pushing that stuff into your face.
Of course infection doesn’t happen most of the time. You squeeze ya cysts and you takes ya chances.
You can’t pop those things with a needle. Believe me, I’ve tried. They are way tough.
I get them under my arms (can’t wait to see a derm. about this) and the last one I had I was able to make pop by a week of 1-2 hours of holding a hot (yeah, i microwaved it) compress on it every night.
The stuff that comes out will make your stomach churn. I made sure to keep it clean by slathering the whole area with antibiotic cream 2 or 3 times a day. (BTW has anyone ever tried antibiotic cream as deoderant? it works!)
The last one I had under my arm got so bad that I had to have surgery on it, and it was none too pleasant. That’s why I endured the pain this time to get it over with. The pain was nearly unbearable, but it beats having to wait around in the OR waiting room with other folks having major surgery just so you can get a big zit removed 
]No offense, but I just threw up.
Usually these things can be removed in the office with local anesthetic. Of course, the face is a different thing. If I were you, I’d insist on a plastic surgeon if this is in a conspicuous or tenuous (as far as nerves, blood vessels, etc. in the area) place. If not, a good family doctor should be able to take it right out with just the pain of the injection of lidocaine and a sensation of pressure.
Hidradenitis suppurativa is a different story…it’s a chronic, recurring collection of abscesses which are infected. These most commonly occur in the axillae and are commonly called boils. They are treated differently.
A simple sebaceous cyst is just a downgrowth of the hair follicle parts which forms a cyst and fills with keratin and sebaceous secretions. It is not usually infected, but if it becomes erythematous, inflamed, hot to the touch, etc, it should be treated with antibiotics. Otherwise, you can choose to live with it with the knowledge that it will probably continue to grow (thus requiring a larger incision to remove it) or you can have it removed!
Ah, Friendly DO, if only you had been one of my 5 GPs for those 12 years of pain and suffering! Not that it makes one little bit of difference in treatment-- except I get anti-biotics a heck of a lot quicker whenever I get a cyst or ten.
Seriously, not one of my GPs diagnosed me correctly. It was done by a surgeon that I was sent to for a good ole fashion lancing.
I request a description of the contents of these cysts, ie consistency, color, etc. :eek: 
Seriously. 
Gross junk ahead…
Czech, since mine are under the arm (I assume there’s more bacteria there than on the face) here’s a gory description:
Like warm whole milk that’s yellowed and often has green streaks in it. If you squeeze it once it bursts it comes out like a river. Smells much like if you left a dead rat covered in limberger cheese behind a radiator all winter. I seriously almost passed out last time I had to clean one up. Had to turn on the bathroom fan and spray some air deodorizer. Oh, and after the goo there’s usually some blood. I have a stash of men’s white undershirts that I keep on hand to wear under my real clothes as a shield for when one bursts. Sometimes I stick a pantyliner under there too because it drains for at least a day or two.
We laugh indulgently at your bravado. This thread is just a taste of how disgusting the SDMB can be. You have no clue what you are asking for. There are threads out there in the darkness about the human body and it’s contents that have caused mods to want to be re-assigned to other forums.
Beware what you ask for … you may get it.
Favorite pimple stories (maybe TMI)
Before opening this thread you really need to understand that for once in your life you will need to take the concept of TMI seriously
and that’s even not the most disgusting thread
Jinx, I have had a similar cyst on my labia for several months. If I were you, I would hie myself to the doctor ASAP. I went in and my doctor told me it didn’t look big enough to do surgery on, but I’ve been through several rounds of managing to burst it and having it refill painfully and it’s not getting any better. I’ve been through the normal home remedies (compressess, Neosporin, sterilized needles, hard squeezing) and it is just not a happy picture. I would advise you to save the trouble and get the darn thing taken care of.
Wow… am I happy to see this thread! I’ve been considering posting a question on my own sebaceous cyst, but hadn’t gotten around to it.
I’ve had a fairly large cyst right in the middle of my cheek ever since age 14. This thing appeared, literally, overnight. I woke up one morning, looked in the mirror, and thought I’d developed a gigantic pimple (no uncommon occurrence when you’re 14.) What surprised me was the difficulty of popping it, and by difficulty I mean impossibility. I squeezed and squeezed at this thing for days, weeks, months; put Oxy on it every night before going to bed–all with no effect. I got my mom to take me to the doctor, who told me that it was a sebaceous cyst, that excision was required for removal and could leave a scar, that a plastic surgeon could remove it without scarring, and that it could go away on its own. We went to a plastic surgeon, who also told us removal would leave a scar. Not wanting a scarred face, I’ve been living with it, but of course I’d much prefer it not to be there.
Having said that, I’d like to ask a few questions of the apparent sebaceous cyst experts here:
Why do some people’s go away on their own, or grow until they require removal, but mine has remained unchanged since the day it appeared 12 years ago?
Why is it that some people can pop theirs, but I can squeeze my cheek until the skin bleeds, to no avail?
When applying a hot compress (can’t wait to try this), are you suppoesd to wrap it in a wet towel?
Friendly_D.O., welcome to the board from another (relative) newbie who’s also a doc.
“I have had a similar cyst on my labia for several months.”
Could be a Bartholin’s cyst rather than a sebaceous cyst. Favorite Bartholin’s cyst story: A young woman I know had a Bartholin’s cyst that burst while she was having dinner with the veep.
Since we are in GQ and this is about sebaceous cysts, here’s a relavent question.
They usually are sterile, but can become inflammed. If the inflammation kills the epithelial lining, the cyst will not recur. Why can’t we just suck out the gunk and inject some hypertonic saline or something to kill the lining. That way there’d be no need for an incision and therefore little if any mark left.
PC
Labial cysts can also be caused by ingrown hairs. Nice to have more docs on the board, Friendly_D.O. and Mahma, Joe.