Cysts are abnormal growths enclosed in various tissues of our body and separate from surrounding tissue. They can be filled with all kinds of foul things like dead skin cells and hardened greasy skin oil—but they are just as often filled with keratin, air, or innocuous bodily fluids. What distinguishes cysts from abscesses is the presence of pus. A cyst can contain pus if infected but is quite different from something like an abscess or a boil.
Sebaceous cysts are fairly common and are caused by problems with sebum-producing glands around the hair follicles covering our bodies. There are a couple of other dermatological cysts that have similar treatments—all of which you will learn when you visit a doctor for an initial diagnosis. Other kinds of cysts, as explained in the left sidebar, have nothing to do with sebaceous cysts except that they share a name. This article doesn't cover their treatment methods.
Getting Rid of Cysts
Visit your doctor anytime an unusual growth pops up on your body. Many abnormal skin growths are similar in appearance and presentation. The test to determine the nature of a growth, whether benign or malignant, is something you can only have done through a medical professional. Even if you have had such growths before, a new batch could be a sign of something bad going on in your skin cells. It's better to be safe than sorry. Even if the growth is benign, the doctor should have some advice as to a course of treatment.
Most cysts will be fine if you leave them alone. In fact, messing around with them will probably make them worse. If the cyst is in a place where it can be easily irritated it might be a good idea to try to bandage it in a way that will protect it without squeezing it. If the cyst is in a place that is causing you some kind of stigmatizing embarrassment there is absolutely no reason for you not to get the cyst removed whenever you have the time or money to do so. Remember, the cyst probably isn't your fault. There really isn't anything you can do to prevent them completely.
Keeping your cyst and the area around it clean will help prevent complications. In the case of sebaceous cysts, the cyst forms in the area of the hair follicle where our skin's natural lubricant sebum is produced. It is thought that if the sebum gland is plugged, damaged, or infected somehow, a cyst may form. It stands to reason that if we can do something to keep our follicular (hairy) areas clean and healthy the threat of cysts could be minimized. Practice good hygiene and don't use products that add oil to your skin. Although cysts aren't necessarily hygiene-related, they can be genetic in origin or a total mystery.
Sebaceous cysts can sometimes be reduced in size with heat treatment. Because the contents of some cysts are basically hardened body oils, some home treatments for minor cases include using heat to liquefy those oils to make it easier for our bodies to reabsorb them. Placing a heating pad or hot washrag gently against a cyst for fifteen to thirty minutes a day over the course of a week or two could have an effect on the size of your cyst. However, messing around with cysts could actually make them worse and even if it does shrink there is no guarantee (other than surgery) that it won't return later.
If the cyst gets infected, bursts, or begins draining fluid, clean and bandage the area and visit your doctor. An infected cyst can be very painful and cumbersome and runs the risk of breaking open—thus spilling its contents for all the world to see. A draining cyst is going to be a real burden to anyone who has one. The stuff that comes out can be smelly and plentiful—not ideal for polite human interaction and not recommended for first dates or job interviews. Go to a doctor! They will be able to drain it properly and if it is too large, remove it entirely. They also have antibiotics at their disposal that can get rid of an infected cyst.
Cysts Requiring Surgical Removal
Cysts located in socially awkward places (like your face or genitals) or cysts that become physically handicapping are all prime candidates for surgical removal. Any cyst can be treated by a doctor. If it is small enough, they will administer a local anesthetic, lance it, squeeze out all of the goop, clean it up, and send you on your way.
Larger cysts require slightly more drastic steps. They might be cut off entirely or cut open and scraped out. The area will be numbed with a local anesthetic and you will probably leave with a couple of stitches.
You shouldn't try to lance or remove a cyst yourself. You are probably not a doctor and in all likelihood any at-home operations you perform will only make things worse—thus necessitating a trip to a doctor anyway.
