What is/was this bump on my leg?
July 17, 2011 10:26 AM Subscribe
What is/was this bump on my leg? Kind of gross details inside.
Last night I accidentally scratched a non-itchy, non-painful bump on my inner thigh, and blood came out. Because I'm one of those people who loves to squeeze things, I squeezed it and more blood (but not just blood, that thicker blood-colored substance I suspect may be blood and pus) came out. As I felt around, I discovered a round lump maybe the size of a nickel that the blood was coming from; after more squeezing and warm compresses, about 8 hours later there's still a lump, maybe the size of a lima bean, I can feel under the surface of the skin. It still doesn't hurt, but I'm curious about it and thought I'd ask MeFi what to do next. I have a doctor, but I won't have the time to go until Friday. YANMD, but do you have suggestions about what I should do next?
Potentially relevant detail: I'm overweight and my thighs rub together when I walk (and I walk a LOT), which can cause chafing or rashes in the area of the bump.
Last night I accidentally scratched a non-itchy, non-painful bump on my inner thigh, and blood came out. Because I'm one of those people who loves to squeeze things, I squeezed it and more blood (but not just blood, that thicker blood-colored substance I suspect may be blood and pus) came out. As I felt around, I discovered a round lump maybe the size of a nickel that the blood was coming from; after more squeezing and warm compresses, about 8 hours later there's still a lump, maybe the size of a lima bean, I can feel under the surface of the skin. It still doesn't hurt, but I'm curious about it and thought I'd ask MeFi what to do next. I have a doctor, but I won't have the time to go until Friday. YANMD, but do you have suggestions about what I should do next?
Potentially relevant detail: I'm overweight and my thighs rub together when I walk (and I walk a LOT), which can cause chafing or rashes in the area of the bump.
Best answer: Leave it alone and keep it clean. It could be a bug bite, a zit, a small infection or just about anything, but squeezing it and picking at it is sure to make it worse.
posted by xingcat at 10:31 AM on July 17, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by xingcat at 10:31 AM on July 17, 2011 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: I should mention that the lump was barely perceptible on the surface of the skin, and was felt mostly underneath the skin.
posted by c'mon sea legs at 10:33 AM on July 17, 2011
posted by c'mon sea legs at 10:33 AM on July 17, 2011
Best answer: If the non-blood stuff is more solid and has a weird smell, it could be a sebaceous cyst, but my vote would probably be for a swollen lymph node if it's close to your groin. For myself, I've found that they generally go away on their own, but only if you stop squeezing and picking at them, because that only makes them worse. There are almost no lumps or bumps I've encountered on my body that got better by my squeezing. At the risk of sounding gross, yes, the squeezing can be really satisfying, but it's never really helped the healing process.
posted by Diagonalize at 10:53 AM on July 17, 2011 [2 favorites]
posted by Diagonalize at 10:53 AM on July 17, 2011 [2 favorites]
Best answer: Maybe a boil, they can be nearly flat but with thin windowpane tops and generally contain stale blood and some puss. Big boils can be serious wounds once opened and drained be careful to not give infection an additional avenue into your body.
Keep it clean and dry and don't pick at it or squeeze it anymore for now. I doubt there is any exigence in coaxing out the lima bean structure, if it's even a thing that needs coaxing.
IANAD, but my dad had super severe boils and for years insisted on lancing them himself 'til one big boil just got bigger and became an extremely serious infection requiring weeks of treatment.
posted by Matt Oneiros at 11:44 AM on July 17, 2011
Keep it clean and dry and don't pick at it or squeeze it anymore for now. I doubt there is any exigence in coaxing out the lima bean structure, if it's even a thing that needs coaxing.
IANAD, but my dad had super severe boils and for years insisted on lancing them himself 'til one big boil just got bigger and became an extremely serious infection requiring weeks of treatment.
posted by Matt Oneiros at 11:44 AM on July 17, 2011
Best answer: Yeah, I'm going with Sebaceous Cyst also. I get them on the inside of my upper leg too. It's really pretty common. They can hide under the skin's surface. Don't pick at it. If it gets hard and painful, you might have to see your doctor. A doctor will lance it for you and give you an antibiotic if needed. It will probably go away if you leave it alone though.
I had one on my cleavage that I messed with too much and it got infected and hard (and really painful!). I had to have my doctor cut it out. It was really gross and now I have a scar.
posted by dchrssyr at 11:47 AM on July 17, 2011
I had one on my cleavage that I messed with too much and it got infected and hard (and really painful!). I had to have my doctor cut it out. It was really gross and now I have a scar.
posted by dchrssyr at 11:47 AM on July 17, 2011
Best answer: In my experience, these things hate being touched. Keep it clean (this is the only time I use antibacterial soap, but any soap will do) and keep your hands off it unless you are in the shower and there's soap on them.
It's an awkward spot, but if you can use bike shorts or something similarly tight to hold a gauze pad with Neosporin over it for a couple of hours today, it should help with healing.
posted by Lyn Never at 12:56 PM on July 17, 2011
It's an awkward spot, but if you can use bike shorts or something similarly tight to hold a gauze pad with Neosporin over it for a couple of hours today, it should help with healing.
posted by Lyn Never at 12:56 PM on July 17, 2011
Best answer: I get these... horrible things... from ingrown hairs on my inner thigh/groin area. They start as just tiny bumps and go away as long as I don't touch them, but once I start squeezing they puff up and just produce more yuck. So another vote for soap and then keep your hands off it and let the area dry out.
posted by anaelith at 2:16 PM on July 17, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by anaelith at 2:16 PM on July 17, 2011 [1 favorite]
Did it start with a pimple like whitehead? Maybe could be MRSA infection.
posted by Sweetmag at 3:59 PM on July 17, 2011
posted by Sweetmag at 3:59 PM on July 17, 2011
Ahem. Wrong button.
FWIW, that sounds totally unlike the sebaceous cysts I get, but that's very anecdotal and I've never (knowingly) ruptured one. If you have health insurance, you probably do not need a reference to go visit a dermatologist. (Again, anecdotally, that is how mine works.) It's not an emergency, but if you can afford it, I don't see any reason you couldn't have it looked at.
posted by maryr at 6:11 PM on July 17, 2011
FWIW, that sounds totally unlike the sebaceous cysts I get, but that's very anecdotal and I've never (knowingly) ruptured one. If you have health insurance, you probably do not need a reference to go visit a dermatologist. (Again, anecdotally, that is how mine works.) It's not an emergency, but if you can afford it, I don't see any reason you couldn't have it looked at.
posted by maryr at 6:11 PM on July 17, 2011
Nthing boil. Keep it clean, and put a plaster over it so it doesn't infect the other thigh it's rubbing against. If it hasn't cleared up by Friday, ask your doctor to check it out.
posted by hot soup girl at 6:59 PM on July 17, 2011
posted by hot soup girl at 6:59 PM on July 17, 2011
Best answer: Oh, and make sure to wash your hands well after touching it: you don't want to transfer that bacteria to another bit of you, least of all your eyes.
posted by hot soup girl at 7:01 PM on July 17, 2011
posted by hot soup girl at 7:01 PM on July 17, 2011
Response by poster: It has now totally gone away, so I will mark as best answer all the people who told me (rightly!) not to mess with it!
posted by c'mon sea legs at 11:31 PM on July 18, 2011
posted by c'mon sea legs at 11:31 PM on July 18, 2011
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by rmhsinc at 10:30 AM on July 17, 2011 [2 favorites]