Bumps on chest?

Hi, I'm an 18 year old male in good health.  Starting about 4 years ago I started having these small bumps on my chest. In the last year or so the number of them has doubled, they don't itch, burn or bother me at all besides the look of them, and they just make me self-conscious in the summer and such.  A few months ago I went in to see a dermatologist, and he took one of them out, basically I was told that they were cysts of some sort, and he gave me some deflammatory cream, and thats it. I just feel I need to find a second answer as they are getting worse.

Also, I have popped a few of them, (Leaving scars). And once in a while, I can just barely squeeze on and they burst, and it just looks like what would be inside a zit.

  Thanks.

[Bhupinder Kaur, MD]

Hello,
From the symptoms it looks like a sebaceous cyst. A sebaceous cyst is a closed sac occurring just under the skin which contains a "pasty" or "cheesy" looking substance called keratin. They may occur anywhere on body but scalp, ears, back, face, and upper arm, are common sites for sebaceous cysts. Blocked sebaceous glands, swollen hair follicles and excessive testosterone production will cause such cysts.

Generally no treatment is required but they become painful then it means they are infected, Then surgical excision by traditional wide excision, minimal excision, and punch biopsy excision may be required.
It is very difficult to precisely confirm a diagnosis without examination and investigations and the answer is based on the medical information provided. For exact diagnosis, you are requested to consult your doctor. I sincerely hope that helps. Take care and please do keep me posted on how you are doing.