Infected sebaceous won’t go - and doc won’t lance it!

[Twinkletoes77]

Infected sebaceous cyst. Really sore maybe 2 x 3 inches. Had it since Saturday. Antibiotics not working. Doctor said they would never lance it and not to pop it. What do I do? I’m limping!

I had a sebaceous cyst and it was white little ball that gp dug out. It had had four sets of antibiotics but it kept getting infected so it was removed at gp surgery. It was more complex than "minor surgery" but at last it was out.
Mine had popped and all the bacteria got in and caused repeatedly infections.

Hmm, you can't stick a needle in it. The stuff in it is thick, it doesn't drain like pus.

DH had one removed by plastics who told him they are v rarely actually infected, they just collapse in on themselves and get highly irritated and inflamed. So antibiotics don't really help it settle down and go away. We paid about £300 for it to be removed as couldn't face all the faffing around you are having.

best bit was the consultant let me assist him

That’s interesting Anna, so was it ‘infected’ when he went to see the consultant? I’d happily pay £300 to get it removed but a cursory Google suggests no one will remove it till it calms down. It is very hot and very painful which suggests infection to me but what do I know.
I did wonder about the effectiveness of a needle. She stuck it in then waggled it about a bit in an attempt to widen the hole but it was so excruciating I couldn’t stand more than a few attempts.

How did you find your consultant, would you recommend him?

Rang local NHS hospital private wing, got told plastics did them. Booked with first available one. The end.

Am sure you could do the same self-referring to any private hospital - BMI, Spire, etc.

It was infected when he did it - it was on DH's back and just grew from small lump to tennis ball in a few days.

Gp tried to remove the cyst when it was infected but couldn't really locate it. I was given antibiotics and new try couple of weeks later.

Surgeon here .... Sebaceous chats become Infected occasionally and can be Incised and drained ( and sometimes we can get the sac out at the same time) but usually we just wait for all the inflammation to settle down and then carefully remove the whole sac to reduce the chances of the cyst reforming. The incision and drainage usually has to be done under general anaesthetic as they are so tender and local can force infection into surrounding tissues

Thank you for your responses. I did four days of flucloxacillin then started a seven-day course of amoxicillin yesterday. Still not going down. I sort of don’t believe it ever will unless it’s lanced, it just seems to big to be reabsorbed, but we will see. Got to go back to doctor if no improvement by Tuesday. Still limping around!

Similar to Anna, we found that under the NHS we were likely to be given antibiotics forever and surgery would be an absolute last resort. It was the size of a golf ball. A private hospital booked surgery within 48 hours and the consultant had rarely seen one as big

GP here... You cannot lance a sebaceous cyst.
You can do a minor op to remove the sac forming the cyst and occasionally this is done while one is infected.
Your gp sticking a needle in was useless thing to do as the stuff in side is thick as cheese. There is a specific tecnique for removing them without bursting the sac, if your gp does not do minor surgery then they shouldn't be going anywhere near it

The top of it burst last night and it’s discharging some pink juice. But that doesn’t seem to be all of it by any means. Also I drew a sharpie line round it on Friday and the pink seems to have spread outside the lines so I’ll call 111 for advice but I think it will be A&E for me. FFS.

Where is this seb cyst OP? Leg?

Did the burst nit release e the pressure ? Hope you get some results

Did I hear the Kato Klaxon?

Mumsnet made me go to A&E, for my massive bollicle.

I had to have it removed under GA. I feel your pain!

Blimey Kato just found your whole thread. You need a medal! Mine is just under the top of my knickers. It sort of burst just after I last posted. But lots of pus didn't some out. Just a small amount of pink plasma and blood. Since then the swelling has gone down a bit, but there is still hard pink inflamed skin around it. There's now an open wound at the top, that's white on top. In terms of pain it just feels like a burn -- much less sore than before when I was limping and wincing. So I stayed away from A&E and am going to see doctor tonight as she asked me to come back tonight. I wonder what the endgame is here. Sort of wish I'd had it removed by someone but that was never presented as an option. My antibiotics run out on Friday but I doubt it will be fully dead by then. Meanwhile can't exercise and have to wear a dressing to soak up the leaking.