Hard bump on my face

[shinerttu]

I have a dense ball about the size of a pea on my face directly underneath my left cheek bone. Most of the ball is beneath the skin. At the surface there is a noticable bump that is either slightly whiter then my skin, or its is slightly red. If I squeeze the ball it feels hard, and not squishy what so ever. I have had this for about 2 years now and it is very frustrating. I have completely left it alone for long periods of time, and that has only helped slightly by making the bump at the surface slightly smaller. The ball doesn’t really seem to change size at all. About 6 months ago I was picking at it when it randomly burst.  What came out was a white puss and blood like you would see in a zit, only much more of it. For several months after it felt as if the “ball” had been deflated but I could still feel the “pouch” under the skin. After about 3 months it filled back up and is back to the same size it was before.
I have had a cyst on my face in highschool and had it surgicaly removed and never had any problems since. This doesn’t feel like my cyst did, plus it popped once already. I also recently noticed I have psoriasis, not sure if that might be related. The psoriasis is on my elbows and under-arms.  Cortizone cream usually clears it up. I would goto a dermatologist but I’m a broke college student. Any advice on what this is would be greatly appreciated.

[ripvanwinkle000]

A related discussion, Hard Facial Bump was started.

[mohan_2011]

A related discussion, Cyst on Face was started.

[maz224]

I have a facial cyst which ive had for the last six months its red but not that noticable and can be covered by make up im getting married in two months time and would like to know what affect going on the sunbed would have on it could it make it more noticable.

[Alan Rockoff, MD]

This sounds like a cyst, not an acne pimple.  Cysts are balls of tissue under the skin that contain a white, puslike substance.  They are not infected or dangerous.  because they can only be removed by surgery that would leave an unpleasant and untreatable scar on your face, I advise you to leave this alone and live with it.  Next time you see a doctor in person, you can confirm this.

Best.

Dr. Rockoff