Sore on scalp with recurring infection

[james0056]

About a month ago I noticed a small bump on my scalp which I thought was a pimple. It started to get bigger and I asked my mom to look at it. She said it was infected and full of pus. She tried to get everything out of it and then it seemed to be healing. A few days later it started getting bigger again and the same thing happened, full of pus. A couple of days later I was feeling it and I pushed on it and something came out of it. It was the color of pus but it was solid and about the size of a pencil eraser. After that it seemed to be healing again, but it keeps coming back. Now we are on the fourth time of draining significant amounts of pus from it and now I have a dent around the area that is about an inch wide. I've been putting off a doctor visit because of the cost. Could this be something serious or am I blowing it out of proportion?

[james0056]

I also forgot to mention that there is now a bald spot that is about half an inch around the area as well.

[Bhupinder Kaur, MD]

Hello,
It looks like a cyst which can be sebaceous or pilar cyst(less likely). 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.

To confirm the diagnosis please get an evaluation done from a dermatologist.

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.