Severe acne - cysts and nodules

Check it out, is this a cyst? can anyone with experience check the pictures please.
http://img519.imageshack.us/img519/6867/acn1nv8.jpg
http://img159.imageshack.us/img159/520/acn2kc1.jpg
http://img364.imageshack.us/img364/5138/acn3fo6.jpg
it started as small bump that i could feel under my skin, felt like a little ball was under my skin and after 3-4 days it grew to this monster. its a little bigger than 1 inch, other than how it looks it doesnt bother me at all. doesnt hurt itch or anything. when i lightly push down on it- it doesnt hurt either(i dont want to push down on it hard because i dont want to pick on it).
i dont have insurance so i cant really afford going to a derm :/, is this a cyst? if i dont pick on it will it go away without scarring?. i dont mind waiting it out because when i go out ill just put a band aid over it.
along time go i went to a doctor when i got my first cyst and he told me it was a sebaceous cyst
and just gave me minocycline. hetold me to wait it out instead of trying to cut it out since it was on my face. i wonder if this is the same thing..
any opinions/helpfull hints are welcome and thanks in advance

Anonymous

I am not sure if it is good or bad and how long it will last but i think I found a way that made two huge swollen cysts go down almost immediately (not completely yet) and over night. But I recommend that you DO NOT do this method for...
-use on normal pimples, or even large pimples. It must be a true acne cyst. And when I mean true, I don't mean just a pimple thats big. I've noticed people on here thinking their big pimple that eventually comes to a head is a cyst. A cyst will be the size of a dime, a penny, or even a quarter and look like a huge swollen bug bite. You will feel it on your face when you move your facial muscles and it will hurt.
-Don't use it if you are able to go to the derm for an injection almost immediately or within a week or a few days. An injection is always the best way to go. Use this method if you can't get a derm appointment and its so big that you need it to shrink soon.
-Don't use it on old cysts unless they are inflamed. If your cyst is a hard lump, I doubt it will work.
-Use only if warm compresses, icing, and taking advil or ibuprofen have not worked at all and things are only getting worse.
-Be advised, this may cause scarring. I don't know, my skin does not scar easily so I haven't a clue. And plus, the cysts haven't healed yet.
Okay, now that you know the warnings, this is what you'll need.
-Warm compress
-Hydrogen Peroxide
-A sterilized needle
-cotton balls
-neosporin
-hydrocortisone or preparation h
-bandaid
1. Take a hot shower or keep a warm compress on your face for a good 20 minutes or so to soften up the skin.
2. Take your sterilized needle and lightly prick a few whole in the cyst. DO NOT dig deep. Unless your cyst was already oozing or is on the verge of exploding, it should not ooze. You should not push the needle so deep that it punctures the actual cyst. You just want to go deep enough to puncture the first layer of skin.
3. Soak a ball in hydrogen peroxide. Yes, this in turn is not so good for the skin, but you shouldn't be washing your face with it or rubbing it all over.
4. Hold the cotton ball to the cyst real tight. It will burn. Suck it up. Hold it for a minute.
5. Get another cotton ball, and repeat step 4.
6. Repeat step 4 one last time.
8. If the puncture holes turned white, then it worked and you put the holes deep enough. If not, I wouldn't recommend trying it again because more pricks would cause more tissue damage.
7. Rinse your hands and lightly wipe off the remaining hydrogen peroxide on your skin with a damp washcloth.
8. You will notice already a slight flattening of the cyst, hopefully.
9. take both neosporin and hydrocortisone and place it on the cyst. The neosporin will kill more bacteria and prevent scarring and the hydrocortisone will reduce more swelling. Preparation H is also a good choice instead of the hydrocortisone. If you don't have both, one is fine.
10. Put a band aid over and hit the hay.
When you wake up the next day, the swelling will be significantly down. DO NOT attempt the whole series of steps again. I would suggest you just keep the warm compresses and the icing to help heal that ugly mofo. Also, continue to put the creams on with the band aid at night.
And also...DO NOT SQUEEZE. it will make it so worse, and you'll regret it.
Just use this as desperation. I had a cyst so big to the left of my mouth, it hurt to talk and swelled up half my face. My derm appointment is the 30th and I can't get in any earlier. This made the swelling go down significantly. The cyst is peeling as well, which is a good thing.
Don;t attack me for my experience, I just thought I would share. It isn't the best way to deal with cysts but it did give me relief.


Anonymous

Very bad ideas all the way around. Poking holes in a cyst? Great way to introduce more infection. Applying hydrogen peroxide to an open wound causes risk of increased scarring as hydrogen peroxide DAMAGES granulation tissue (ie, healing tissue). And hydrocortisone should not be applied topically to an infection on the facial tissue.


TJ

Does anyone know anything I can do or take in order to reduce this? I haven't experienced anything quite like this for a long time. Last night I looked in the mirror to see that I had lots of little bumps emerging on the bottom half of my face and on chin (including whiteheads). I saw my Doctor this morning; she assured me that I had had an allergic reaction to having my hair dyed on Tuesday. This is of no surprise to me, as I have a hugely sensitive and reactive body type. I am used to experiencing fewer but bigger pustules/cysts, and I think that my current situation looks a great deal worse! My face appears bumpy, wrinkled and unaviodably spotty.
I feel gross.
I'm due to work at a health spa tomorrow. HELP.

Milly

I have just started Accutane and I wonder if anyone else is out there who would like to go through the experience with me? Not just one person but any person. I've been hiding from my acne and have been embarassed by it for TOO LONG! I'm READY for the change! So if you're out there, just talk to me!

Tim

I had a cyst on my neck which was there for ages but eventually went down but its left a raised bump there, anything that can be done about it?


Anonymous

Especially with HD today, his acne scars are clearly visible, but that didnt stop him from being a sex symbol for years to come. Wasnt he named one of the 50 most beautiful people like 5 times in his life? This just shows you that fresh clothes and a charming attitude can overcome acne scars.

Anonymous

Does a moisturiser affect the work of benzoyl peroxide cream?
When i use BP and a moisturiser my acne looks really red and even worse.
P.S How long do anti-biotics like Minocycline take to have an affect. My doc said i need that first and then maybe erythromycine after before im even considered for accutane. Then he goes, you probably will need accutane. WHAT Why put me through another 2-3 months of this. Im really struggling and acne has ruined my life

Anonymous

Just posting this because I think it's helping my cystic acne so i want to share it with everyone. I was on the pill Yasmin and
it was not helping and all the things my derm gave me were not helping my cystic acne!
BUT-- for some reason I started taking my hubands vitamins Ecspecially for Men and
noticed that my face was clearing up. I don't usually buy a multivitamin so I got into
his and then read the ingredients--saw palmetto, stinging nettle, and pumpkin seed. All
of these herbs I know are anti-androgens and are probably added for men because of
thinning hair problems. (Anti-androgens help to reduce baldness as well) Anyway-
can somebody with severe cysts try these vits and get back to me? They are Vitamin Shoppe
brand and can be bought online too. Please let me know--they worked fast for me. I
only took a half because they are big pills too.

Anonymous

Tinted zinc cream!!! Hard to find, I live in NY and I found it in Montana. The brand is Margarite. I got a cyst and I just covered it up with that (it does cover up pretty well) and it shrunk so much by the next day. I always carry it on me now, in case of emergencies. Also great for bug bites!!


Anonymous

Hey everyone! I've been using bare minerals for about a year now and just recently, like 2-3 months ago, i had a very severe case of acne break outs.. the worst ive ever had. I had acne on my forehead.. all over my chin and cheeks (practically my whole face). For three months now, ive used almost every regimen to try to clear my acne and for some reason i never attributed the acne to bare minerals (having used it already for a year or so). So within those 3 months.. ive continued to use bare minerals thinking that it wasnt responsible for it.
Within those 3 months however my skin did begin to clear a little ( the acne that had been bulging before are now either really small zits or red flat spots on my skin which is probably why i didnt think my breaking out was because of BM) but just recently ive been breaking out again and the red little zits and spots arent disappearing. It was not until i read some of the reviews online that i realized it was the bare minerals.
I was wondering if anyone else had this problem and if they did, how long did it take for them to recover? did my continuous use of the BM during those 3 months further the damage?

Anonymous

I've developed 3 lovely cysts on my chin, which is bad enough, but they're really sore. Feels like somebody punched and bruised my chin every time I move it remotely. What can I do to make them calm down or even just hurt less?

Anonymous

Hey there! I don't know if anyone uses the Bare Minerals for acne or not but here is my story - i've been using bare minerals for about six month now and just recently i would say about 2-3 weeks ago, i had a very severe case of acne break outs..it was so bad...probably the worst ive ever had. I had acne on my forehead.. all over my chin and cheeks the whole face. For almost a month now, ive used almost every regimen to try to clear my acne . So within this time.. ive continued to use bare minerals thinking that it wasnt responsible for it till finaly realizing that it was the bare minerals
Within that period however my skin did begin to clear a little ( the acne that had been bulging before are now either really small zits or red flat spots on my skin which is probably why i didnt think my breaking out was because of BM) but just recently ive been breaking out again and the red little zits and spots arent disappearing. it was horrible experience to go through it again..then i finaly red something about the bare minerals that i was not the only one who have acne break out after using bare minerals.


Stan