Do you have acne on your face that doesn't go away? Be careful, it may be a cyst.

Our skin is quite fragile and is often troubled by blackheads and acne. But what if a pimple appears on your face and it takes a long time to go away? In fact, you should pay attention at this time, because this may not be acne, but a cyst.

Do you have acne on your face that won’t go away?

"Pimple" is the common name for sebaceous cyst, which is generally larger in shape than acne and will show symptoms of white pus when squeezed. Many people think that the problem can be solved by squeezing the cyst, but the cyst will actually recur in the same place and slowly grow larger. Psoriatic carcinoma is mainly caused by obstruction of the sebaceous gland excretion duct, which causes the sebaceous gland cystic epithelium to swell with gradually increasing contents to form a retention cyst. It is characterized by a slowly growing benign lesion. There is white bean curd-like secretion in the cyst. It can occur at any age, but is more common in young and middle-aged people, and is prone to occur on the head, face, neck, chest and back. Sebaceous cysts protrude from the surface of the skin and generally have no subjective symptoms. If secondary infection occurs, they may cause pain and suppuration.

Sebaceous cysts protrude from the surface of the skin and are prone to occur in areas rich in sebaceous glands, such as the scalp, face, chest and back, and most of them grow slowly. When there is no concurrent infection, patients generally have no symptoms. The tumors are spherical, single or multiple, and vary in size, ranging from a few millimeters to nearly 10 centimeters. It is of medium hardness and elasticity, protruding from the skin surface, adhered to the skin, not easy to push, with a smooth surface and no sense of fluctuation. There is a needle-head-sized umbilicus-like opening in the center, which is blue-black in color and shaped like a needle-head acne. Squeezing can produce tofu dregs or noodle mud-like contents, which are sebum and broken sebaceous gland cells, often with a rancid odor. It is extremely rare for sebaceous cysts to become cancerous, but they are prone to secondary infection. If infection occurs, inflammatory reactions such as redness, swelling, heat, and pain may occur. The cyst may rupture and temporarily disappear under external force, but it will form scars and is prone to recurrence.

How to eliminate cysts? Should I go for surgery directly, or should I take medicine or get an injection? Because there are different opinions about eliminating cysts in the market.

There are generally two types of cysts

First of all, unlike acne, acne will not gradually disappear with changes in the body's hormones.

On the contrary, most cysts will remain on the body, and only extremely small cysts may disappear without treatment. There are generally two types of cysts: one is an epidermoid cyst that grows from the epidermis of the skin, and the other is a pilaris cyst that grows from the hair follicles.

Unlike acne, acne can form not only on the face, but also on other parts of the body such as the scalp, ears, and arms. However, most patients will only have one or two cysts, and it is very rare for a large number of cysts to appear.

It is said that you can reduce the size of cysts by getting more sun exposure and applying hot towels, but these methods do not actually have a scientific basis. The main method to eliminate cysts is still surgery to remove the blockage of the sebaceous gland excretion ducts. In fact, there are not many ways to prevent cysts from appearing on the body. But we can try to avoid skin injuries and stay away from certain medications, such as anabolic androgenic steroids.

These medications can make cysts more likely to worsen, become inflamed, and may also cause new cysts to appear on the body.

The most commonly used radical cure is surgical resection under local anesthesia. Sebaceous cysts are small tumors on the body surface. The surgery is simple and can be performed in an outpatient clinic. The cyst should be removed as completely as possible without leaving any cyst wall, otherwise it is prone to recurrence. Since sebaceous cysts mostly occur on the face, the cosmetic effect should be considered during surgical excision. A small incision can be used to remove the sebaceous cyst on the face and neck, and the skin can be sutured without tension to avoid the growth of scars and achieve a beautiful effect.

Antibiotics should be used appropriately if there is infection before surgery and to control inflammation after surgery. Sebaceous cysts that have been infected should be surgically removed after the infection is controlled. For patients whose local infection cannot be controlled or has been complicated by abscess, incision and drainage should be performed.

CO2 laser and electro-ion minimally invasive methods are considered to be good methods for treating cysts without concurrent infection. They are particularly suitable for the treatment of sebaceous cysts on the face due to their simple operation, small incision, little bleeding, no need for sutures, almost no scars, and low recurrence rate.

Squeezing the area by yourself can cause redness, swelling, and inflammation

Once a cyst is discovered, we should not squeeze it ourselves, as this will cause redness, swelling and inflammation.

The fundamental reason for the formation of cysts is that the sebaceous gland excretion ducts are blocked. Therefore, unless they are thoroughly cleaned, the blocked excretion ducts will swell due to the increasing contents, which will cause the cysts to slowly grow larger.

In some cases, doctors may also use injectable medications to eliminate atheromas, including intralesional steroid injections. However, this type of injection is only suitable for cysts that have not yet been infected by bacteria, and it cannot achieve permanent cure, and there is still a possibility of recurrence. Only after a doctor's diagnosis and surgical removal of the cyst can recurrence be avoided.

Whether it is oral or topical antibiotics, they can only make the enlarged cyst smaller, but cannot completely remove it. When considering cyst removal surgery, patients need to be aware that the surgery will leave scars. Taking the head as an example, most small atheromas can be easily removed under local anesthesia and no hospitalization is required after the operation. The scalp will be sutured during the surgery and will heal in about a week.

However, the surgery will leave scars on the skin, and the size of the scar depends on how big the cyst is, but it will slowly heal over time.

However, some patients may develop keloid scars, which cause the scar to become itchy and thick. During the recovery period, patients can avoid strenuous activities to ensure that the scar is not stretched. In addition, the doctor will also give the patient scar cleaning wipes and keep them clean every day to prevent wound infection.