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.
Warm compresses and acne stickers can help to bring a pimple to a head so that the sebum, dead skin cells, and bacteria can exit to the skin's surface. Using ice can relieve inflammation. If blind pimples occur frequently or are particularly inflamed and painful, a person should seek advice from a dermatologist.
Blind pimples can develop when sebum (oil), bacteria, and dirt become trapped deep within a hair follicle. The end result is a painful lump under your skin that doesn't have a “head” as other pimples might have. If you have oily skin, you may be more prone to blind pimples than people with dry skin.
Treatment often involves taking oral antibiotics and applying prescription-strength topical gels or creams to the skin. Cystic acne treatments include: Antibiotic creams, gels solutions and lotions to kill bacteria and decrease inflammation.
Use topical creams and gels: Antibiotic creams, retinoids, salicylic acid and other lotions, cleansers and serums can reduce bacteria or dry out pimples. There are many types of topical acne creams, including benzoyl peroxide.
If ignored, cysts can take anywhere from 1-4 weeks to go away by themselves. Although your body will eventually deal with the inflammation, some cysts can persist for extended periods of time and often leave behind scars.
Place warm compresses on the pimple: Gently place a clean, warm, wet washcloth on the area for about 10 minutes, several times a day. But make sure the washcloth isn't too hot. The warm washcloth helps pus dissolve or rise to the surface. Use topical treatments: Benzoyl peroxide products kill bacteria.
If irritated, these can become painful. They can also turn red from swelling. Like other types of acne, you shouldn't try to squeeze out a cyst in order to “pop” it.
Start with Benzoyl Peroxide and Salicylic Acid
“Benzoyl peroxide helps to reduce inflammation, treat acne bacteria, and unclog pores,” he says. “Cleansing with salicylic acid or using it as spot treatment is a tried-and-true treatment to help stop breakouts.”
Try applying a hot, wet compress to the cyst a few times a day. The heat will help pull out the pus, allowing the cyst to drain. This can relieve pain and itching. You might also try soaking the area in a warm, shallow bath.
Causes of Cystic Acne
Cystic acne occurs when bacteria, dead skin cells, and sebum (the substance that makes your face feel oily) get trapped beneath the skin's surface and become infected. This leads to a large, swollen cyst (bump) that can hurt just to touch.
Unfortunately, cystic acne often doesn't go away on its own and requires treatment from a doctor or dermatologist. Cystic acne has psychological effects as well as visible effects on the skin.
If a cyst is infected, a hot compress will also help bring the lump to a head. If the cyst begins to drain, keep it covered with a bandage. Be observant regarding any drainage that is coming from your cyst.
Do not squeeze the cyst or poke it with a needle to open it. This can cause swelling, redness, and infection. Always have a doctor look at any new lumps you get to make sure that they are not serious.
While it might seem that pimples form overnight, it actually takes between 1 – 2 weeks for an acne spot to fully develop.
Leave It Alone! That's right—stop touching it, squeezing it, poking it, and prodding at it altogether. “Trying to pop cystic acne is one of the worst things you can do for your skin,” says Schlessinger.
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. The heat from the compress can also help to relieve pain.
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.
Cystic acne forms deeper in the skin than other types of acne, and this makes it more complicated for a number of reasons. For one, cystic acne takes longer to form and go away. Since this acne can grow longer without risk of popping, cystic acne nodules become much larger than traditional acne.
On the surface, cystic acne can look like large, red boils. Cysts, like nodules, reside deep underneath the skin's surface. But because they're filled with pus, cysts are softer than nodules. The pimples that define cystic acne burst open, often leading to infection.
Pimples start when a pore in your skin gets clogged, usually with dead skin cells. Bacteria can also get trapped, causing the area to become red and swollen. Cystic acne happens when this infection goes deep into your skin, creating a bump that's full of pus.
Why Is Cystic Acne so Painful? Simply put, cystic acne causes pain due to the pimple's size, depth, and inflammation. Because they're so deep in the skin, they're closer to nerve endings, so high amounts of inflammation may be especially painful in certain areas.
Acne affects up to 50 million people each year in the U.S. However, severe or cystic acne is far less common — only 1% of adult females and 3% of adult males suffered from severe acne. For many women, cystic acne is the result of hormonal imbalance, meaning they'll likely experience breakouts on or around menstruation.
A skin cyst is a fluid-filled lump just underneath the skin. It's common and harmless, and may disappear without treatment.