Infected acne pimple

My son has acne mostly on his neck, chest and back.  He shaves his chest and one day while doing so, he nicked a large pimple and it started to bleed.  That night, it started to hurt so he decided to squeeze it.  The next day, the pimple was swollen and red, however, there also was a large lump underneath it and slightly above it.  The lump was about the size of a grape.

We went to the doctor who said he had an infection in a lymph node.  They suggested he use warm compresses 3x a day and continue to take his acne medication (Tetracycline).  However, it has been a week, and the lump is still there (although it might be just slightly smaller).  The doctor said it could take two weeks or more to go away.

My question is , does this sound like an infection from squeezing the pimple, and if so, how long can it take to go away?  The surface pimple appears to be gone but the lump underneath remains.  I'm a little nervous the lump could be something else (although it was not there before the pimple was squeezed).

[Alan Rockoff, MD]

Yes, it does.  Lumps under pimples, squeezed or not, just represent inflammatory tissue.  This can take weeks or even months to be reabsorbed.  It's important to avoid any squeezing, examining, or manipulation, because these actions will perpetuate the problem, delay reabsorption and disappearance of the bump, promote further manipulation, and so forth.

Patience is best, and should be rewarded.

Take care.

Dr. Rockoff

[ro2ma]

A related discussion, More on infected acne pimples! was started.

[rinky086]

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