Where Did the Two Year Whitehead Go?

January 30, 2006 2:50 PM

Dermatology question.

I've had this small whitehead/zit-like thing on my forehead for the last, oh, two or three years. And at some point in the last few days it disappeared or "popped." Just plain went away, basically, although I'm not sure how.

The main question: What was it? Can a zit last on your face for two years or more without popping? Was it some benign growth? An ingrown hair? What, exactly? I'm not really worried from a health standpoint, per se, but I am really curious.

posted by anonymous to health & fitness (9 comments total)

Could it have been a small wart? I had a wart on my arm for several years and one day it was just gone.
posted by clarahamster at 3:20 PM on January 30, 2006

Possibly a sebaceous cyst - totally benign and harmless "white zit" filled with sebum (hair/skin oil). They can hang out for years and years, never grow, don't bother you, then just disappear.
posted by tristeza at 3:22 PM on January 30, 2006

Sounds like milia. I have them all the time.
posted by oflinkey at 3:35 PM on January 30, 2006

what tristeza siad
posted by matteo at 3:37 PM on January 30, 2006

I'd like to retract my answer - I think oflinkey is dead on
posted by tristeza at 3:38 PM on January 30, 2006

I think I might have one of these. Just appeared within the last couple of weeks. Is there any way to get rid of it? Or help it along?

Also - I get similar bumps on my eyelids occasionally. Are these the same thing, or are they different (considering they're around the eyes)?
posted by MsVader at 6:50 AM on January 31, 2006

Also - I get similar bumps on my eyelids occasionally.

I believe this is called a "stye" and can be looked at by your family physician. I was taken to E.R. in high school after one became so enlarged that the dr. lanced it, causing it to burst over the surface of my eye.
IANAD, but I was told to wash my eyes with baby shampoo, to reduce the bacteria and other gunk that can clog up the pores around the eyes.
posted by UnclePlayground at 9:36 AM on January 31, 2006

MsVader, if the eyelid bumps are a little worse than the other bumps then they are likely styes.
posted by nflorin at 9:38 AM on January 31, 2006

I have a tiny one beside my nose and was wondering the same thing over the weekend. I'm glad someone asked.
The article says "As the surface of the white pearly bump wears away, the trapped dead skin is lost, and the bump disappears." I'm guessing that means that exfoliation would help?
posted by denimflavored at 10:48 AM on January 31, 2006