Red Spot on Nose

I have been unable to determine what this spot on my nose is. I'm a 21 year-old male, and I suffer from *very* light acne on the face. Never severe, and never cystic. I'm VERY fair-skinned, and avoid sun exposure as much as possible.

In mid-May, I got a pimple on my nose. Not a bad one, just a normal kinda tender pimple, the sort of which I've had countless times in the past. I left it alone, and it eventually decreased in size, and faded into a red mark.. like all pimples I've had before. However, this red mark remained, and the skin is still slightly raised. It's been nearly three months, so I'm not sure WHAT on earth this thing could be.

It's small in size, no larger than a capital "O" (well, maybe a little bigger) does not APPEAR raised (it looks exactly like your run of the mill red mark left behind from a zit, but for the fact that it will NOT go away) however, it feels very slightly raised to the touch. Not hard, but extremely soft, and I can even press down on it and flatten it out entirely.

So what exaclty is this? A cyst? I've never had cystic acne before, or a cyst.

Is this regular post-pimple hyperpigmentation? I've had red spots left behind by zits, but they ALWAYS improve and disappear within a couple of months. And more importantly, they are ALWAYS flat to the touch. This thing has not improved, or changed in size/texture in three months.

Is this scar tissue? It seems unlikely that after 8 years of suffering from pimples FAR worse than this one, that THIS would be the first pimple ever to leave a permanent mark on my face.

I went to my family doctor, who said that "all pimples leave a cyst like mark on the skin when they're gone" which sounds like a load of BS. As of writing this, I'm considering scheduling an appointment with a dermetologist, but that would be quite expensive as I'm uninsured.

So hopefully, I can get a straight answer on what this is, because if it's not something permanent, and it'll fade without a trace sometime in the near future, then I won't waste time visiting a specialist.

In the meantime, I have been using benzoyl peroxide on the area, thinking that perhaps it's a pimple trapped so far under the skin (unlikely after three months, and it's soft to the touch, and totally painless).. and washing with salicylic acid, and moisturizing with an AHA moisturizer in an attempt to exfoliate this spot away (assuming it IS just hyperpigmentation from a pimple.)

In any case, I *have* seen some skin peeling off of it, so perhaps the exfoliation is working, though I see no real change in the spot at all.

Any information that you could provide would be helpful.

Thank you.

[Alan Rockoff, MD]

Your family doctor is correct.  Pimples can leave a mark for a long time, sometimes months.  Using benzoyl peroxide, exfoliating, and otherwise messing with it just delays things.  It should go away by itself if you give it a chance.

Take care.

Dr. Rockoff

[BM745]

So it's not a scar? Or permanent?

I've had acne for a long time, and I know that pimples usually leave a red mark behind that can stick around for months. But usually the marks left behind are flat, and improve drastically over the course of several months.

This spot is raised, and has not changed in three months.

[BM745]

And you're saying that salicylic acid and benzoyl peroxide DELAYS this thing from going away? Because I use these products to keep my acne under control. Should I discontinue using them until this heals?

[Alan Rockoff, MD]

Yes--they won't help and by irritating may delay the resolution of the redness that's concerning you.  It's OK to put them elsewhere on your face if you want.

Dr. Rockoff

[BM745]

Ok. I'll try to avoid putting stuff on it.

What of the fact that it's a raised spot that shows no improvement after three months? As I said, a normal acne spot is totally flat when the pimple has faded, and has always shown improvement in a few weeks, and vanished after a few months.

Because this spot is raised, and not improving, it really makes me wonder what it IS.

So, what is it??

[jonthomps]

Could medication such as Tazorac & Benzoyle Peroxide irritate the penis??  Should I was my hand after I put that stuff on so I don't go to the bathroom without washing and potentially gettin it on my penis???

Can pubic lice cause irritation and redness???

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