In daily life, we may occasionally notice a “little bump” appearing on some part of our body. These unidentified protrusions on the skin always look particularly obtrusive, making us wonder:
What is this condition? Can it be squeezed out or scratched off by oneself? Is it necessary to visit a hospital? Could it be hiding some health risks?
Today, let’s list those common “little bumps” and how to deal with them.
What is a lipoma? What are the symptoms? Lipomas are the most common benign soft tissue tumors. They are composed of mature adipocytes and have a thin fibrous capsule, often feeling slightly bouncy to the touch.
Lipoma
Lipoma
Where are they commonly found? Lipomas can be found anywhere on the body, usually in superficial locations, such as subcutaneous tissue.
In rare cases, they can involve the fascia or deeper muscle layers. Especially in areas with abundant subcutaneous tissue, such as the neck, shoulders, back, abdomen, and buttocks. These areas have more adipocytes, making lipomas more likely to form.
In addition, lipomas can also occur in extremities, face, but relatively less frequently.
How to diagnose and deal with them? Generally, doctors can preliminarily diagnose lipomas based on the “bump” morphology, and ultrasound examination can also be performed for clarification.
If a suspicious lipoma presents the following conditions, a biopsy is needed to confirm the diagnosis and rule out other possible malignant tumors.
● Causes symptoms such as pain or limited movement; ● Rapid enlargement; ● Or hard rather than soft.
If lipomas need to be treated due to pain, aesthetic reasons, or concerns about diagnosis,
What is an epidermal cyst? Epidermal cysts, also commonly referred to as epidermal cysts or pilar cysts, are
surgical excision can be adopted.
Epidermal Cyst
a common skin condition that can occur on any part of the body.
What are the common symptoms? Generally manifested as:
● Asymptomatic skin-colored nodules, clinically often visible central depression; ● The diameter of the skin lesion ranges from a few millimeters to a few centimeters.
Epidermal Cyst
Most cysts are primary, and a few are caused by trauma or acne leading to the implantation of follicular epithelium into the dermis. After the cyst appears, it may remain stable or progressively enlarge, and some cysts may undergo spontaneous inflammation and rupture, severely involving surrounding tissues. Currently, it is not possible to predict which lesions will remain static, which will enlarge or become inflamed.
In addition, epidermal cysts may be secondarily infected by normal skin flora. Compared with aseptic inflammatory cysts, infected fluctuant cysts are often larger, redder, and more painful, but non-infected cysts that rupture can also cause a severe inflammatory response.
How to deal with it? Treatment can be surgical excision.
However, if inflamed or purulent, ruptured, it is necessary to first anti-inflammatory and anti-infection(such as applying fusidic acid, mupirocin ointment, and oral antibiotics as needed) or incision and drainage of purulent material, and then surgery is not easy to heal or recur.
Pilomatrixoma, also known as Malherbe’s calcifying epithelioma.
What are the symptoms and characteristics? Pilomatrixomas can occur at any age, with no gender difference, and the incidence has a bimodal distribution, being highest in children and adults over 50.
50% of tumors occur in the head and neck.
The manifestations are:
Pilomatrixoma
● Skin-colored to blue-gray hard papules or nodules; ● The surface has no opening, but sometimes there is transepidermal discharge of (perforation) contents (calcified or ossified materials of the tumor).
Pilomatrixoma
How to deal with it? Treatment can be done through surgical excision.
What is a furuncle? A furuncle is a suppurative inflammatory nodule involving the hair follicle, sometimes also called a boil or furuncle, which is a skin condition caused by bacterial infection of a single hair follicle and the surrounding tissue. The main bacteria involved are Staphylococcus aureus, followed by Staphylococcus albus.
Furuncle
What are the symptoms? Common manifestations include:
● Clear boundaries, painful; ● Erythematous nodule; ● The center may show hair.
The rash of a furuncle begins as a red solid papule consistent with the hair follicle orifice, gradually enlarging into a red hard nodule, which is painful and tender. Usually 2-3 days later, the nodule will suppurate and necrose to form an abscess, sometimes accompanied by systemic symptoms such as fever and headache.
Furuncle
Where are they commonly found? Furuncles can occur in any area with hair follicles, especially in areas prone to friction and maceration(such as the face, neck, axillae, groin, thighs, and buttocks). These skin lesions can spread to the dermis and subcutaneous tissue, causing cellulitis and skin abscesses.
How to deal with it? In the early stages before pus formation, moist heat therapy can be used as an adjunct treatment, soaking a clean towel in warm water (sterile saline and sterile gauze are better) and applying it to the surface of the furuncle. When the towel cools, soak it in warm water and continue to apply.
When pus forms, topical antibiotic ointment(such as mupirocin ointment, fusidic acid cream, compound polymyxin B ointment, etc.) can be applied.
For larger or multiple furuncles, or patients with systemic symptoms, oral penicillinase-resistant penicillins, cephalosporins, macrolides, or quinolones can be taken.
If the red and swollen area of the furuncle expands and feels fluctuant, it may be necessary to incise and drain to help discharge pus and speed up healing.
Three to four times a day, for about 15 minutes each time.
What are hypertrophic scars and keloids? Hypertrophic scars and keloids are fibrous proliferative diseases caused by abnormal wound healing after trauma, inflammation, surgery, or burns in susceptible individuals.
Considering the unrestricted growth of hypertrophic scars and keloids, some scholars call them tumors, but tumors are cellular proliferative diseases, while hypertrophic scars and keloids are fibrous proliferative diseases triggered by chronic inflammation.
The pathogenesis of hypertrophic scars and keloids is not fully understood, but the factors currently agreed upon include genetic predisposition(meaning it often runs in families) and external mechanical force stimulation (tension can both cause and exacerbate pathological scars).
What are the symptoms? The clinical manifestations of hypertrophic scars and keloids are hard, raised erythematous lesions with a shiny surface. Clinically, based on the growth pattern, keloids and hypertrophic scars can be roughly distinguished:
Hypertrophic Scar/Keloid
The former does not exceed the edges of the original wound, while the latter continues to grow beyond the original wound and invades adjacent healthy skin.
● Horizontal growth beyond the original wound edge is a typical characteristic of keloids;
● Hypertrophic scars will eventually reach a growth plateau, then usually enter a regression phase, while keloids show continuous growth.
Keloids often present different shapes in different parts, reflecting the direction of the main local tension forces, such as butterfly, crab claw, and dumbbell shapes on the shoulders, chest, and upper arms, respectively.
Hypertrophic Scar Keloid
How to deal with it? Hypertrophic Scar: The first-line treatment for hypertrophic scars is conservative treatment, including topical or intralesional corticosteroid injections, pressure therapy, and gel sheets, etc..
Keloid: The treatment of keloids needs to be cautious and often requires considering multiple factors, such as assessing the severity of keloids and whether conservative treatment will be effective, and the main goal of treatment is to reduce inflammation, improve aesthetics, and prevent recurrence (which means it is difficult to achieve the “cure” we Chinese people love).
One by one
Small to medium-sized keloids(<20cm2) mostly adopt conservative treatment, including intralesionally injected corticosteroids, corticosteroid tapes/patches, or intralesionally injected chemotherapeutic drugs;
Large/multiple keloids consider surgical excision/reduction + postoperative adjuvant therapy(such as radiotherapy).
Finally, a reminder, no matter which of the above bump conditions, please stop your hand that can’t help but squeeze and scratch, as they are not effective solutions and even risk exacerbating the condition. So, if a bump appears, let’s control our hands and, if necessary, visit a dermatology clinic for assessment and diagnosis.
References
