I thought it was pimple... Bumpy lumps and bumps. Why you shouldn't squeeze them out

Sep 04, 2025

data photo source=Pixabay

When I touch my skin, I find bulging bumps or lumps. If the size is small, it may be thought of as trouble such as acne or try to extrude, and bumps or lumps touched on the skin are likely to be benign tumors such as epidermal cysts and lipomas.

Intracystic infection can develop into systemic inflammation if unintentional extrusion is attempted. External pressure may damage the red blood capillaries in the cyst, causing pus bacteria to spread throughout the body through the blood vessels and cause sepsis. Therefore, if a benign tumor is touched, it should never be extruded and a surgeon should be sought.

Director of the Surgery Department of Seran Hospital, Ko Yoon-song, said "Epodermal cyst and lipoma are common benign tumors of the skin. Epidermal sacs are common in areas with a lot of sebaceous glands, such as the face, neck, back, and shoulders, and lipoma is common in areas with a lot of fat, such as shoulders, back, arms, and thighs, he explained. "If a small and soft lump is touched under the skin, you should consult a specialist, and if you touch or squeeze it carelessly, there may be greater side effects."

Both epidermal cysts and lipomas are benign tumors that develop subcutaneously, but there is a difference in appearance and tactile touch. The epidermal sac may have a rounded bump rising on the surface of the skin and a small dot visible in the center. This is a hole in which the cyst and the skin surface are connected. When the epidermal sac is infected, it becomes red and swollen, and the sebum accumulated in the sebaceous sac festers and becomes an abscess.

The epidermal sac is characterized by a feeling of not moving well as if fixed to the skin, and has a hard and elastic touch. When pressed, a lump of dead skin cells that smell like cheese may come out. When pressed and squeezed, it is discharged into a hole in the skin, but the pocket of the epidermal sac remains the same and the contents are filled again. When this process is repeated, it grows in size and turns into an abscess upon infection.

Fatty species are soft and gently touched and feel like 'Oil mass'. It has little adhesion to the skin, so it moves well when held by hand. It grows in size more than a few centimeters, and unlike epidermal sacs, there are no special holes or changes on the skin. Lipoma is almost painless.

Koh Yoon-song, head of the abdominal center, said, `Lipoma does not have to be removed unless there are symptoms, but if there is an inconvenience such as cosmetic reasons or pain, a resection is performed.'"The fundamental treatment of the epidermal cyst is to completely remove the cyst (pocket). If the cyst wall remains, it will recur again, so after local anesthesia, the skin will be incised to remove the cyst," he stressed.

"If the inflammation of the epidermis is severe, it is difficult to remove it immediately, so it is recommended to remove it before the inflammation occurs." The epidermis and lipoma are not life-threatening diseases, but if they are left unattended, the size of the skin section increases, so they should be diagnosed and treated in advance by a surgeon."," he said.