I pulled a Dental-floss like substance out of a pimple on my chest

I had what I believed to be a pimple on my chest below my breast on my rib cage.  I left it alone for several weeks until it became tender.  I gently squeezed it and at first I thought pus was coming out, but it wouldn't wipe away.  I grabbed the white tip that began to protrude with a pair of tweezers and ended up pulling out about a 3-inch long elasticy white string that resembled dental floss.  A week later, I pulled another string out from the same spot.  The area is completely healed with a small scar and nothing like this has happened since then.  What could that have been?  I can't seem to find any information anywhere!  Please help!

[Bhupinder Kaur, MD]

Hello,

The pimple that you were having seems 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,chest, 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.If the lesion that you had is healing then it should be left as such without much messing.

Hope it helps.Take care and pls do keep me posted in case you have any additional queries.Kind regards.

[SteroidHell]

Are you sure it wasn't an ingrown hair?  Sometimes they are white and dental floss-like.