Most types of pimples form when dead skin cells, oil, or bacteria block the pores. Hard pimples, such as nodules or cysts, are often deeper and more inflamed.
In this article, we will talk about how to treat and prevent the formation of hard pimples. We also look at the different types of acne and their causes.
How to pop a pimple correctly
The first thing to do is determine the safety and relevance of the event. Check if the pimple is ripe
. To do this, lightly feel the pimple itself and the skin next to it. If pain occurs, even if it is very mild, it is too early to squeeze the pimple.
Trying to squeeze out immature pimples, you can only aggravate the inflammatory process, drive the infection deeper under the skin and, in addition, leave visible scars. Only a cosmetologist using special sterile instruments will help solve the problem of a painful pimple, as well as closed comedones or milia. At home, you can use Bazeron or iodine - by smearing the pimple with these products, there is a chance that the infection will be eliminated from the inside and the pimple will blow away.
“A pimple with clearly visible white pus under the skin is considered safe to squeeze. Touching it, no pain is felt. "
Before starting the home procedure, prepare everything you need:
disinfectant (alcohol, chlorhexidine, calendula tincture), iodine, bandage or rubber fingertips, cotton pads, cotton swabs.
Disinfect your hands, the area of the pimple, and the skin next to the pimple. Put finger caps on the two fingers you will be pressing with (or wrap your fingers in a bandage). This will help prevent infection in the open wound, and will also prevent involuntary slipping of the fingers during the procedure.
Place your fingers on two opposite sides of the pimple and begin to apply pressure. First apply pressure downwards, then upwards
. It only takes one or two attempts to pop a pimple. This is enough for a mature pimple. Trying to “finish off” a pimple again and again, you risk only making the situation worse.
If you feel pain during the squeezing process, treat the pimple as recommended above (about unripe pimples).
An indicator of a successful procedure will be the release of pus, followed by droplets of ichor (clear liquid) and blood.
Cauterize the wound with alcohol (not iodine!). Of course, the disinfectant will sting.
It is better to squeeze out pimples in the evening, so as not to injure the wound by applying decorative cosmetics, but to let it dry thoroughly. In the morning, evaluate the results obtained. When the pimple is completely eliminated, all that remains is a tiny, barely noticeable sore, which will disappear very soon. But sometimes pus is again visible under the crust. In the latter case, the extrusion procedure can be repeated.
“Scabs and sores formed after squeezing out a pimple are prohibited from being picked off! This is a direct path to the formation of scars and pits on the skin. "
Restoring damaged skin
Be sure to take care of skin regeneration. Special products help not only heal the wound faster, but also completely restore the density of the damaged dermis layer.
“An untreated wound becomes a dimple-scar in 70% of cases. "
Restorative ointments, creams or spray are applied only to the wound that has been dried with alcohol or calendula tincture - ichor or blood should not ooze.
Forbidden
Apply rich cream, foundation and even powder to the damaged area. You yourself can notice from the example of other girls that covered wounds on the skin look much worse than just dried out crusts. Even if you have the gift of a makeup artist, the time will still come to wash off your makeup, and along with your foundation it’s easy to peel off the dried crust. Therefore, do not take risks - let your skin recover calmly.
The appearance of acne on the face or body certainly upsets even the most unassuming owner about his appearance. Representatives of the fair sex react especially painfully to acne, trying to get rid of them by any means. The easiest way is to squeeze out the pimple before it completely ruins your appearance. However, is this method safe, and is it possible to squeeze out pimples at all?
How do acne appear?
There are several reasons for the appearance of acne, so if you notice an “uninvited” guest on your face or body, you need to think about why the pimple appeared and how to eliminate the immediate causes of this phenomenon. There are several most common causes of inflammatory lesions on the skin:
- adolescence;
- use of low quality cosmetics;
- hormonal changes;
- dysfunction of the sebaceous glands.
Human skin in normal condition is capable of independently getting rid of the secretion secreted by the sebaceous glands. In some cases, the passages of the glands can become clogged with dirt or dead skin flakes, making it difficult to evacuate the sebaceous secretions. It is its stagnation that leads to the proliferation of pathogenic bacteria, which multiply well in the absence of oxygen. In this case, the secretion of the sebaceous glands itself becomes an irritant to the skin. To fight bacteria, the body throws leukocytes, which, when they die, turn into a purulent core. Thus, a person sees a pimple that has appeared on the face or body.
Causes
Many different factors influence the development and growth of hard pimples, including:
- Excess oil on the skin. When the body produces large amounts of facial oil or sebaceous glands, dead skin cells can clump together and clog pores. This increases the chances of developing hard pimples.
- Changes in hormone levels. Increasing testosterone levels in men and women can lead to increased sebum production. This is a common occurrence during puberty.
- Bacteria. Once the pores are blocked by a combination of sebum and dead skin cells, it is easier for bacteria to get in and create a pimple.
- Family History Acne can run in families.
- Medicines. Some medications cause pimples or acne as a side effect.
For people who already have acne, the following factors can make outbreaks worse:
- emphasis
- friction and rubbing of the surfaces of the affected areas
- trying to pop or squeeze out existing pimples.
- rough cleaning of affected areas
Is it possible to squeeze pimples?
When an inflammatory lesion occurs on a visible area of the body, it is unlikely that anyone will resist the tempting decision of squeezing out the pimple and ending it once and for all. Most people often do this, without even thinking about why they shouldn’t be pressured. Cosmetologists note that you can stop yourself from this solution to the problem with several arguments:
- when squeezing, you can introduce infection from dirty hands into microscopic cracks in the skin, which will subsequently result in an even greater inflammatory reaction;
- after “manual” removal, ugly scars often remain on the skin that do not go away for a long time;
- in some cases, even after successful extrusion, the stain remains on the skin for a long time;
- when squeezing out a tumor in the area of the nasolabial triangle, an infection can be introduced into the angular vein passing in that area.
If the desire to get rid of a pimple overcomes common sense and the principle of waiting, then you need to know how to properly prepare for this process. The most important thing is disinfection of the skin of the face and hands. If this is not done, the risk of infection increases significantly. When squeezing, do not be too zealous and squeeze the surrounding healthy tissue. When pus comes out and gets into microscopic skin lesions, inflammatory foci may appear again, but in a nearby place. After getting rid of a pimple, it is useful not only to disinfect the surface of the skin again, but also to apply an anti-inflammatory agent, with the help of which the skin will calm down and recover faster.
Why do they appear
Any doctor will tell you that you need to fight not with the symptoms and manifestations of the disease, but with the root cause of the problem. Painful subcutaneous acne on the face never appears just like that.
In severe cases, hypodermic ulcers are the result of serious diseases that require long-term and careful treatment under medical supervision.
A good dermatologist will help you understand why the subcutaneous patches constantly appear on your face, but first, you can familiarize yourself with this issue yourself.
Causes
There are many reasons for the appearance of subcutaneous acne. Some of them are quite common, some are much less common.
The list of the most likely causes of the appearance of subcutaneous lesions includes the following:
- improper facial care or complete lack of skin care;
- poor nutrition, excessive consumption of foods containing large amounts of sugar, fatty, fried and smoked foods, dairy products, and so on;
- deficiency of vitamins, macro- and microelements essential for the normal functioning of the body;
- improper functioning of the sebaceous glands, which leads to the emergence and development of the inflammatory process in the sebaceous ducts;
- skin diseases;
- genetic factor;
- demodicosis or subcutaneous mite is a parasite that causes skin problems;
- too frequent and uncontrolled use of peelings;
- endocrine diseases, adolescence, pregnancy, lactation, menopause, taking hormonal drugs;
- metabolic disorders;
- severe hypothermia;
- low-quality or incorrectly selected cosmetics;
- diseases of internal organs: stomach, liver, gall bladder;
- unhealthy lifestyle: lack of physical activity, constant stress, lack of sleep, depression.
Symptoms
The appearance and development of a subcutaneous pimple is indicated by a small lump under the skin. A small bump may initially be almost invisible or rise above the skin by 1-2 mm.
The skin over the tumor may retain its normal color, but more often there is mild redness, the intensity of which increases as the subcutaneous pimple matures. Sometimes the surface of the skin above the pimple, on the contrary, becomes white.
At first, the compaction does not cause significant discomfort, but over time the person begins to notice painful sensations that occur when touched or lightly pressed.
A subcutaneous pimple may not form a pustule (an abscess on the top of the pimple) for quite a long time.
Ripening can take weeks, and in some cases, the pimple simply resolves, leaving behind an area of damaged skin in which a spot may form.
Prevention
To eliminate unpleasant and painful subcutaneous pimples, it is necessary, first of all, to eliminate the causes of their occurrence.
To begin with, it is recommended to reconsider your lifestyle. Changing your eating habits and diet is often enough to solve skin problems once and for all.
The following recommendations will also help:
- drinking large amounts of water;
- giving up alcohol;
- moderate exercise and regular walks;
- proper skin care;
- regular full medical examination.
For skin problems, regular visits to a dermatologist or cosmetologist are especially recommended. Treatment under the supervision of a specialist has a much higher chance of success than trying to solve the problem on your own.
What acne can you get rid of yourself?
For a person predisposed to skin inflammation, you need to learn the axiom - you can only get rid of acne that has already matured. How can you determine which pimple can be squeezed out and which cannot? Here it is worth taking a closer look at the inflammatory process itself. Usually, if a person squeezes out a pimple, but it is not yet ripe, then such neoplasms appear again. This means that there is a focus of inflammation underneath, from which the pain spreads. Under no circumstances should you squeeze it out; it must ripen. Based on the following signs, you can identify a ripe outbreak that you can say goodbye to:
- the inflammatory process around the pimple has passed;
- there is no pain when pressing on the surface of the skin;
- a yellow-green or white head is clearly defined in the center;
- The pimple may be dry in appearance, with a dry crust on top of it.
As a rule, mature lesions are squeezed out without any problems and do not appear again. This means that the leukocytes have overcome all pathogenic bacteria, the inflammatory focus is limited, and suppuration will not occur again.
How to get rid of acne carefully and painlessly?
Before carrying out the procedure, you should prepare clean cotton pads, hydrogen peroxide or alcohol, cotton swabs and iodine. The face must first be steamed so that the pores open as wide as possible and the purulent contents come out without hindrance. After the bath, the face is degreased with tonic and wiped with alcohol. Next, with two clean fingers, press on the area at the base of the fire so that the contents open and come out on their own. When pressing, you should not bend it - enough pressure is enough for pus to flow, but there is no point in pressing until blood appears.
When pus gets into even small vessels, foci of inflammation can appear all over the face in the most unexpected places, as the infection spreads through the bloodstream. They will be much more difficult to remove and the person will need antibiotic therapy. If a tumor appears after squeezing, it’s not scary - this is how the skin reacts to pressure. In a few minutes the swelling will go away. But if the pimple is not squeezed out, then you need to be more careful. This means that it is not ripe, and under the external purulent core in the depths of the skin there is an active inflammatory process. In this case, the procedure must be postponed until full maturity.
If everything went well and the purulent contents are completely removed, the face must be wiped with cotton pads soaked in alcohol. If capillary bleeding opens, you can point-cauterize the inflammation with iodine so that it dries. After this, ointment Levomekol, Actovegin, Radevit, Baneocin or Panthenol is recommended to relieve inflammation. For several days after squeezing, it is forbidden to apply cosmetics; it is recommended to wash with hypoallergenic soap.
Apply tea tree oil to a red subcutaneous pimple without a head
Tea tree oil can serve as a gentle alternative to both harsh antibiotics and chemical-laden creams and ointments. You can find the oil in beauty stores, but there are also tea tree oil products available in pharmacies.
For optimal effectiveness, you need to use a product that contains at least 5% tea tree oil. Use it twice a day until the subcutaneous pimple is completely healed.
Pure tea tree oil should not be used unless you dilute it in equal parts with water. Popular carrier oil products include coconut, jojoba, and olive oils.
Once you have diluted the oil, apply it to the affected area and leave it on overnight. Wash the area where you applied the oil in the morning during your regular face wash routine.
Tea tree oil is safe enough for daily use, but it is harmful if ingested. It should only be used externally.
