What is this bump on my shoulder?
July 31, 2015 5:46 PM Subscribe
I just noticed this inexplicable bump. It's right where my collarbone meets my shoulder. No pain, no itching, no redness, no bite mark. What the heck is it?
No "How to Get Ahead in Advertising" jokes, please.
I've had impacted sebaceous glands various places on my body, including one on my shoulder, but never one that got that big. No pain or redness.
When I noticed that one of them had swollen up, I would just squeeze the sebum out. Most of them eventually resumed normal operation.
posted by Bruce H. at 5:55 PM on July 31, 2015 [1 favorite]
When I noticed that one of them had swollen up, I would just squeeze the sebum out. Most of them eventually resumed normal operation.
posted by Bruce H. at 5:55 PM on July 31, 2015 [1 favorite]
If I had a lump that big more or less suddenly appear I'd be going to the doctor to get it checked ASAP.
posted by feckless fecal fear mongering at 6:07 PM on July 31, 2015 [18 favorites]
posted by feckless fecal fear mongering at 6:07 PM on July 31, 2015 [18 favorites]
Soft or hard? Painful at all on palpation?
Get an appointment with your PCP next week.
posted by amaire at 6:12 PM on July 31, 2015 [1 favorite]
Get an appointment with your PCP next week.
posted by amaire at 6:12 PM on July 31, 2015 [1 favorite]
The add-on questions are, "How fast did it get this big?" and "Is it still getting bigger?"
Fast is bad (overnight?), getting bigger is bad.
posted by Cool Papa Bell at 6:13 PM on July 31, 2015
Fast is bad (overnight?), getting bigger is bad.
posted by Cool Papa Bell at 6:13 PM on July 31, 2015
As an addendum to my previous answer - the differential diagnosis for clavicular swelling include a bunch of other pretty serious diagnosis so get to a doctor as soon as you can.
posted by srboisvert at 6:19 PM on July 31, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by srboisvert at 6:19 PM on July 31, 2015 [2 favorites]
I once had a large, hard lump that looked a lot like that on my arm that was a hematoma, but that was after vascular surgery. I can't think of a way you could've gotten a hematoma there without a wound or some obvious bruising, unless there was some kind of deep vein rupture, which is something that seems fairly serious to me.
posted by WasabiFlux at 6:23 PM on July 31, 2015
posted by WasabiFlux at 6:23 PM on July 31, 2015
Response by poster: I would describe its consistency as spongy. No pain at all, even when it's pressed and palpated.
posted by crazylegs at 6:35 PM on July 31, 2015
posted by crazylegs at 6:35 PM on July 31, 2015
Could be a whole lot of things - I just had a lipoma removed, and it was painless and more or less spongy. But that took years to get to a visible size. I also have a ganglion cyst that is also harmless, fluid-filled, and appeared suddenly on my wrist. But this is probably doctor-visit-worthy regardless.
posted by restless_nomad at 6:42 PM on July 31, 2015
posted by restless_nomad at 6:42 PM on July 31, 2015
Oh man I don't know how you're going to get a good answer here. The answer is always going to be call your doctor. If your question is, what would you do if this weird bump appeared on your shoulder? My answer would be 'I'd take an antihistamine or some aspirin' and then probably be dead in two days.
You say nothing about how long you have had it. 'Suddenness' as a genre makes me assume spider bite. Your mileage is going to vary like crazy. It could be everything from 'nothing, don't waste your time' to 'oh that's a sign your heart is about to explode'.
Find someone less dumb than the internet. Call the emergency room--they're generally not too terrible about being able to discern 'life threatening' from 'call your doctor on Monday'.
posted by A Terrible Llama at 6:44 PM on July 31, 2015 [15 favorites]
You say nothing about how long you have had it. 'Suddenness' as a genre makes me assume spider bite. Your mileage is going to vary like crazy. It could be everything from 'nothing, don't waste your time' to 'oh that's a sign your heart is about to explode'.
Find someone less dumb than the internet. Call the emergency room--they're generally not too terrible about being able to discern 'life threatening' from 'call your doctor on Monday'.
posted by A Terrible Llama at 6:44 PM on July 31, 2015 [15 favorites]
Go to the ER immediately. Better safe than sorry.
posted by pando11 at 6:52 PM on July 31, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by pando11 at 6:52 PM on July 31, 2015 [1 favorite]
If something of that size appeared on my person, unaccounted for, I would trek to the ER.
posted by thomas j wise at 7:00 PM on July 31, 2015
posted by thomas j wise at 7:00 PM on July 31, 2015
Go to one of those clinics, if the ER sounds too terrifyingly serious/expensive. They can forward you on to the ER if necessary.
posted by you're a kitty! at 7:09 PM on July 31, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by you're a kitty! at 7:09 PM on July 31, 2015 [1 favorite]
I'm thinking a lipoma, and I have one in the same place, but smaller. It's firm and not painful to palpate or move around slightly. It has been there for years and has not enlarged. These are completely benign, if a little weird to observe, and I would check with my doctor for confirmation. There are characteristic qualities "lumps" - for lack of a more specific description - have which can inform a skilled clinician. If your doctor is not positive, he or she will probably recommend testing, like an ultrasound to see if there is fluid inside - this could indicate a cyst, and the fluid could probably be aspirated, though it might collect again. Something that appeared rapidly is more likely to be a cyst than a lipoma.
posted by citygirl at 7:26 PM on July 31, 2015
posted by citygirl at 7:26 PM on July 31, 2015
Oh god, I have had these on my scalp, and gotten them removed. I currently have one growing again. It's a sebaceous cyst, and you can certainly go to the ER, or go to your regular doc, but the main thing is is it growing quickly? Can you press it and make it move around under the skin? Is it like a giant pimple? Because that is what is really is. They can cut it out and remove it. But it's not an emergency, for god's sake. It's just a cyst.
posted by Marie Mon Dieu at 7:30 PM on July 31, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by Marie Mon Dieu at 7:30 PM on July 31, 2015 [2 favorites]
If it were me, I'd want to avoid the ER at this hour (10:32 EST) on a Friday (because it would probably mean waiting all night at an understaffed hospital), so I'd probably go to a dodgy walk-in that's open late, but not really be reassured, and maybe then either spend all of Saturday in Urgent Care or worry all weekend and then try to see my GP on the Monday. But you could call a nurse helpline to get their informed recommendation.
posted by cotton dress sock at 7:32 PM on July 31, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by cotton dress sock at 7:32 PM on July 31, 2015 [2 favorites]
It looks just like the cyst I have on my shoulder! I didn't even notice it at first, my husband did, so for me it seemed like it appeared overnight but who knows what the reality is. When asked, my doctor said not to worry about it unless it's red or painful. I don't think this is an emergency either - get a regular appointment with your GP and see what they say. Unless it changes dramatically in the next 24 hours, it doesn't seem like it's worth wasting your time or money at an ER.
posted by saturnine at 7:38 PM on July 31, 2015
posted by saturnine at 7:38 PM on July 31, 2015
I lost some weight recently and I had these two inch high visible bony spurs poke straight up out of the middle of my shoulders. It turns out that they are the plain bony spurs that poke straight up out of your shoulders when you build up a bunch of bone mass as a younger person and drop a bunch of upper body weight in middle age.
That being said, mine aren't spongy in any way. If you think they're cancer/tumor based, get that shit checked out yesterday.
posted by Sphinx at 8:20 PM on July 31, 2015
That being said, mine aren't spongy in any way. If you think they're cancer/tumor based, get that shit checked out yesterday.
posted by Sphinx at 8:20 PM on July 31, 2015
I preference this with IANAD nor am I your doctor. In fact, I am somewhat of a mad scientist when it comes to these sort of things. I would take a pin, sterilize it, and stick it in and see what happens. Then I would probably go to an emergent care center tomorrow when I woke up just to check.
The short of it is you need a pro to look at it. To me, the only room for debate is how critical is time. I doubt it is so time critical that it cannot wait until next week.
posted by AugustWest at 8:34 PM on July 31, 2015
The short of it is you need a pro to look at it. To me, the only room for debate is how critical is time. I doubt it is so time critical that it cannot wait until next week.
posted by AugustWest at 8:34 PM on July 31, 2015
Probably just a cyst. If such a thing were to appear on me, I'd cut/poke it open with something sharp and squeeze it to see what comes out. (If you do this, please video it and post the link to /r/popping, thanks.) If I didn't get a bunch of zit pus as expected, *then* I'd go see a doctor.
posted by Jacqueline at 9:08 PM on July 31, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by Jacqueline at 9:08 PM on July 31, 2015 [1 favorite]
For a better opinion than AskMe, check and see if your health insurance has a nurse line for questions and call them.
posted by Jacqueline at 9:09 PM on July 31, 2015 [3 favorites]
posted by Jacqueline at 9:09 PM on July 31, 2015 [3 favorites]
Dr. Google says that shoulders are a common site for lipomas, which are benign, not-serious fatty tumors. You're the right age to get one, too. Google images. That would be my guess. If it were me, I would wait until Monday and call my doctor unless something changed before then, but you could go to urgent care tomorrow. I wouldn't go to the ER on a Friday night for this.
posted by ArbitraryAndCapricious at 9:12 PM on July 31, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by ArbitraryAndCapricious at 9:12 PM on July 31, 2015 [1 favorite]
That's....a rather large lump. Urgent Care on Sunday/Monday, especially if it changes in any unpleasant ways (grows, is red/irritated, etc). They can tell you whether it's just some soft tissue bruising (do you often carry a heavy bag on that shoulder?) or if it's scarypants, and their prices are usually pretty reasonable.
By the way, the best Urgent Care places are in the bougie parts of town IME. Usually pretty empty so less waiting and less stressed docs, not as sketchy and the same price as the more in-demand clinics.
posted by zinful at 9:39 PM on July 31, 2015
By the way, the best Urgent Care places are in the bougie parts of town IME. Usually pretty empty so less waiting and less stressed docs, not as sketchy and the same price as the more in-demand clinics.
posted by zinful at 9:39 PM on July 31, 2015
Go to a clinic or something, or your gp/family doctor. Likely requires a cut/poke and a drain, then oral tetracycline for a week and maybe a topical like clindamycin.
It's likely a clogged gland. Happens more often in the summer. If you don't want to bother with a doctor, see if you can get it to "express" with hot compresses (run a thick [paper/cloth] towel under hot water until it's steaming. Wring dry, apply to bump and massage. Repeat once it starts getting not-hot starting with running the towel under hot water again. Sometimes this can unclog the pore and you can squeeze out the bacteria (and the lymphocytes; white blood cells that get called to the scene of the crime) that have been feasting inside that sealed hall. It'll speed up the healing process.
If you get a "chunky" cream-ish coloured... chunk to come out, mission accomplished. Fish around and remove any other smaller chunks that may be left behind. The chunk is mostly your own phagocytes that have gobbled up foreign microbes but couldn't get shuttled away because of reasons (adhesion molecules, cellular responses to differential inflammatory responses, etc.). Removing it removes most of the triggers for inflammation and everything starts relaxing once it's gone.
posted by porpoise at 10:04 PM on July 31, 2015
It's likely a clogged gland. Happens more often in the summer. If you don't want to bother with a doctor, see if you can get it to "express" with hot compresses (run a thick [paper/cloth] towel under hot water until it's steaming. Wring dry, apply to bump and massage. Repeat once it starts getting not-hot starting with running the towel under hot water again. Sometimes this can unclog the pore and you can squeeze out the bacteria (and the lymphocytes; white blood cells that get called to the scene of the crime) that have been feasting inside that sealed hall. It'll speed up the healing process.
If you get a "chunky" cream-ish coloured... chunk to come out, mission accomplished. Fish around and remove any other smaller chunks that may be left behind. The chunk is mostly your own phagocytes that have gobbled up foreign microbes but couldn't get shuttled away because of reasons (adhesion molecules, cellular responses to differential inflammatory responses, etc.). Removing it removes most of the triggers for inflammation and everything starts relaxing once it's gone.
posted by porpoise at 10:04 PM on July 31, 2015
I do poke myself with luer-lock needles and I've cut myself open with scalpels, but I don't recommend that without training or without a similar lack of giving a crap as myself. Preferably a combination.
It takes a bit of skill to know where to poke to gain entrance into the cavity, and to create a large enough opening to remove the contents of the cyst. Beware of overly picking at it as scarring can form easily. Be thankful that isn't on your face (repeatedly again and again and).
posted by porpoise at 10:15 PM on July 31, 2015
It takes a bit of skill to know where to poke to gain entrance into the cavity, and to create a large enough opening to remove the contents of the cyst. Beware of overly picking at it as scarring can form easily. Be thankful that isn't on your face (repeatedly again and again and).
posted by porpoise at 10:15 PM on July 31, 2015
Reading these directions to express or otherwise poke, cut or pry this out of you is horrifying. I think there's a good chance it's a lipoma or lymph node. Lipomas can grow fast but then stop when they get whatever size it ends up being. Cutting or poking a lipoma will make you bleed like crazy, it's still attached to your skin and muscles. It's not like a zit or wart, it's essentially a part of you that's grown weird.
A swollen lymph node is a different thing entirely but they're usually painful to manipulate. Unless it looks like a sarcoma or is turning black, this can likely wait until you get in to see a regular doctor.
The ER is not the place to take this problem unless it's affecting your sleep or eating. Especially on a Friday.
posted by fiercekitten at 11:28 PM on July 31, 2015 [3 favorites]
A swollen lymph node is a different thing entirely but they're usually painful to manipulate. Unless it looks like a sarcoma or is turning black, this can likely wait until you get in to see a regular doctor.
The ER is not the place to take this problem unless it's affecting your sleep or eating. Especially on a Friday.
posted by fiercekitten at 11:28 PM on July 31, 2015 [3 favorites]
I too get sebaceous cysts on my head. I just had one removed, and another is growing. Anyway, it's likely that. They numb the area and cut it out.
posted by persona au gratin at 3:30 AM on August 1, 2015
posted by persona au gratin at 3:30 AM on August 1, 2015
The clogged gland porpoise mentions above is what I'm calling a sebaceous cyst.
Anyway, I'd leave it alone and go see your GP.
posted by persona au gratin at 3:33 AM on August 1, 2015
Anyway, I'd leave it alone and go see your GP.
posted by persona au gratin at 3:33 AM on August 1, 2015
Don't cut it open, but I also think that can wait until you go to your regular doctor, or at most a walk-in clinic. You don't need to go to the ER. Is it moveable? Moveable is good.
posted by queens86 at 4:46 AM on August 1, 2015
posted by queens86 at 4:46 AM on August 1, 2015
Do not try to squeeze or drain a sebacious cyst! They can get infected! Trust me; I know this.
posted by jgirl at 8:04 AM on August 1, 2015
posted by jgirl at 8:04 AM on August 1, 2015
Please don't DIY; if this is a sebaceous cyst, a skilled practitioner will go beyond drainage to excise the cell body. Excision prevents the cyst from re-forming and swelling again. And you might need antibiotics. Another vote for an urgent care clinic, or RN-staffed minute clinic at a chain drugstore, for evaluation.
posted by Iris Gambol at 9:01 AM on August 1, 2015
posted by Iris Gambol at 9:01 AM on August 1, 2015
Response by poster: To put all you worrywarts at ease: I have absolutely no intention of cutting into myself, and that opinion would not change even if all of Metafilter and the rest of the world were telling me to do so.
My wife is an RN and we are keeping a close eye on it. Thanks for all the advice!
posted by crazylegs at 11:02 AM on August 1, 2015 [2 favorites]
My wife is an RN and we are keeping a close eye on it. Thanks for all the advice!
posted by crazylegs at 11:02 AM on August 1, 2015 [2 favorites]
IANAD, IANYD.
But, I'm going to buck the trend here and say that this is a second or third degree a-c joint (where the collarbone meets the scapula) separation, with accompanying bursitis. That is, the sac that normally surrounds that joint has become inflamed and due to the separation has been pushed up out of place and is now resting above the joint.
This can happen gradually over time with minimal pain if you are constantly doing activities like swimming or yoga that put low-level stress on that joint. if there is any grating or restricted range of motion, then even more likely.
Best to see your gp next week. Definitely don't cut into it- if it is your bursal sack, that's what lubricates and cushions that joint and you're in for a world of hurt in the future.
posted by susiswimmer at 3:44 PM on August 1, 2015
But, I'm going to buck the trend here and say that this is a second or third degree a-c joint (where the collarbone meets the scapula) separation, with accompanying bursitis. That is, the sac that normally surrounds that joint has become inflamed and due to the separation has been pushed up out of place and is now resting above the joint.
This can happen gradually over time with minimal pain if you are constantly doing activities like swimming or yoga that put low-level stress on that joint. if there is any grating or restricted range of motion, then even more likely.
Best to see your gp next week. Definitely don't cut into it- if it is your bursal sack, that's what lubricates and cushions that joint and you're in for a world of hurt in the future.
posted by susiswimmer at 3:44 PM on August 1, 2015
IAAD, IANYD.
Given that it's not red or painful it is quite unlikely to be infected/something you could drain pus from, so I'm very glad you wouldn't take advice to cut it open! The lack of pain also suggests against any sort of inflammation such as bursitis or injury such as AC separation.
Other corrections of above: enlarged lymph nodes are not always painful. It depends on why they are enlarged. That's not a spider bite.
You mention keeping a close eye on it but the advice to see your doctor is good advice and I hope you do take that. Calling a nurse line is always fine, but calling the ER for advice is not a good idea. At every ER I've ever worked at (and I've worked at numerous ERs) if you call and try to chat with the person who answers the phone about whether what you have is an emergency or not, they'll generally robotically repeat a line such as "if you believe you have an emergent condition, come in and we'll be happy to see you." The people who answer the ER phones are unit secretaries or techs, not even nurses, generally speaking. I've overheard a few of them trying to give people advice over the phone, but they're not supposed to be doing that and not qualified to do so. If you want medical advice contact a medical professional.
posted by treehorn+bunny at 8:43 PM on August 2, 2015 [1 favorite]
Given that it's not red or painful it is quite unlikely to be infected/something you could drain pus from, so I'm very glad you wouldn't take advice to cut it open! The lack of pain also suggests against any sort of inflammation such as bursitis or injury such as AC separation.
Other corrections of above: enlarged lymph nodes are not always painful. It depends on why they are enlarged. That's not a spider bite.
You mention keeping a close eye on it but the advice to see your doctor is good advice and I hope you do take that. Calling a nurse line is always fine, but calling the ER for advice is not a good idea. At every ER I've ever worked at (and I've worked at numerous ERs) if you call and try to chat with the person who answers the phone about whether what you have is an emergency or not, they'll generally robotically repeat a line such as "if you believe you have an emergent condition, come in and we'll be happy to see you." The people who answer the ER phones are unit secretaries or techs, not even nurses, generally speaking. I've overheard a few of them trying to give people advice over the phone, but they're not supposed to be doing that and not qualified to do so. If you want medical advice contact a medical professional.
posted by treehorn+bunny at 8:43 PM on August 2, 2015 [1 favorite]
This thread is closed to new comments.
(No idea, just a shot in the dark)
posted by Ms Vegetable at 5:51 PM on July 31, 2015