“I never recommend attempting to pop, pick, or poke a blind pimple—this inevitably leads to more harm than good because the pimple does not have a connection to the surface of the skin, attempting to pick it will just increase your risk of an infection or scarring,” advises Dr. Zeichner.
A blind pimple, also known as cystic acne, is a pimple that lives beneath the surface of your skin and doesn't come to a head. It is often in the form of a red, painful bump beneath the skin. A blind pimple, also known as cystic acne, is a pimple that lives beneath the surface of your skin and doesn't come to a head.
Wait until your pimple has a firm white head. That means the pus is close to the surface and ready to be drained.
Doing so can lead to scarring. You should never pop a pimple that does not have a whitehead or is deep under the skin. Deep inflamed acne can be due to nodular breakouts or cysts and should not be squeezed.
While it might seem that pimples form overnight, it actually takes between 1 – 2 weeks for an acne spot to fully develop.
Hard pimples are caused when dead skin cells, oil, and bacteria get under the skin's surface. Certain types of hard pimples should be treated by a doctor to prevent them from getting worse and leaving scars.
Nodules are a type of hard pimple that can be large and painful. They form when an infected skin pore or follicle is located deep below the skin surface. Cysts are found deep below the skin when a pus-filled membrane forms around the infection. They are likely to scar.
Blind pimples are the most common types of pimples — and the most painful. The two types of blind pimples are: Cysts: These blind pimples contain pus and may feel more spongy to the touch. Nodules: These blind pimples do not contain pus and feel more firm to the touch.
Basically, what happens if you don't pop a whitehead is that it goes away on its own, usually in 3 to 7 days. It may happen that you wake up one morning and notice the pimple is gone. Or you may notice the pimple draining.
Apply a warm compress
Applying a warm compress can help to treat a blind pimple. The heat can open up pores, which may draw the pimple closer to the skin's surface and create a head. The formation of a head enables the sebum, cells, and bacteria to exit the skin.
When this happens, the body's immune system is activated and sends out white blood cells to fight the infection. It's these white blood cells, along with other debris, that can collect in the wound and make pus. When pus collects and can't drain out, the area forms a painful abscess.
However, antibiotics alone may not be enough to clear a skin abscess, and the pus may need to be drained to clear the infection. If a skin abscess is not drained, it may continue to grow and fill with pus until it bursts, which can be painful and can cause the infection to spread or come back.
A pimple is a result of a pore becoming clogged. A boil, or furuncle, is a pus-filled lump caused by bacterial infection. It can appear red and swollen. While a person can treat both boils and pimples at home, boils can sometimes turn into a severe infection known as a carbuncle.
An infected pimple may be larger than a regular pimple because of swelling. It can also be warm and sore to the touch. There may also be more redness when a pimple becomes infected. An infected pimple is also going to be more painful and inflamed.
Nodular acne is a severe type of acne. It causes hard lumps or knots (nodules) to develop deep under your skin. The nodules start below the surface and appear on the skin as red bumps.
"You can encourage a pimple to do this by applying warm compresses to the area often. Over time, you should see a white bump come up in the center of your pimple. This is called a pustule, and is what can be successfully popped and make the pimple go away with no scarring."
Nodules are hard lumps that form deep inside the skin. Cysts are large, soft, and filled with pus.
A sebaceous cyst will grow into a moveable, sometimes significantly large (up to two inches in diameter) mass beneath the skin. Sebaceous cysts can grow and develop in weeks, months or even years. Acne, on the other hand, is characterized by smaller, more conical-shaped growths, often with a visible whitehead.
Blind pimples usually tend to go away on their own after a few weeks. It can even take upto months for them to fade away. Under treatment, a blind pimple may take a few days and upto weeks to heal (5).
A primary feature of blind pimples is the tenderness they can cause. If you feel pain around the area, know that this is a normal sensation. The accumulation of pus and bacteria places pressure on the skin which can cause varying degrees of tenderness.
Most abscesses can be managed at home. If you think you have a skin abscess, avoid touching, pushing, popping, or squeezing it. Doing that can spread the infection or push it deeper inside the body, making things worse. Try using a warm compress to see if that opens up the abscess so it can drain.
However, larger abscesses may need to be treated with antibiotics to clear the infection, and the pus may need to be drained. This will usually be done either by inserting a needle through your skin or by making a small incision in the skin over the abscess.