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Large painful lump under arm

I am 34 and have an extremely painful large protruding lump under my armpit. I have never had anything like this every before. It is growing rapidly and now changing to a pinkish tone. I went to a doctor and he said it is an infected gland and put me on some antibiotics.  He said it should work.  It isn't.  I work at a job where I am irritating it constanly. It seems to grow more then.  Should I get it drained or wait for it to burst on its own? I am worried about the pain of the draining. I just don't know how much more pain I can take.  Help me please.  Any useful information would be very appreaciated.
      Thanks,
         April
85 Responses
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Icecream
ABeachCrazyLadyExternal User
STOP Shaving & STOP using antiperspirant deodorant! I suffered from these HORRIBLE lumps, had to have surgery & placed on antibiotics every time. One of the nurses said to me that her partner suffered from the same thing & that she stopped shaving & stopped using antiperspirants & she has never had them again.......well I stopped shaving & antiperspirants & IT WORKED!!! I have not had one since. I trim my underarm hair only with hair trimmers so there is enough hair sticking out of the pore to keep the bacteria out plus I wipe my underarms with hand sanitizer several times a day to kill any bacteria plus I use a deodorant that is NOT an antiperspirant.  
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Avatar universal
ok ive got one for who ever can answer this cause for 22 years nobody has been able to ive gotten sores under the arm & other places that go from small to huge thick very filled full of lots of puss & not one person can tell me or been able to help me get rid of them / Id live with the scares if I could get rid of the sores & never get them back & yes they are very painful at times / if you have an answer or even a thought you can reach me at ***@****
Helpful - 0
Icecream
ThankfullySavedExternal User
Stop using deodorants!!

1.Try taking activated charcoal (aka activated carbon) 20 to 30g [GRAMS] of activated charcoal in increments per day until the problem fades. Slur powder in WATER.

2. Next, Make activated charcoal powder to make a paste, (mix w/ corn starch just to thicken and WATER or just mix the carbon with raw honey or oats & water).. Pack it in and on the lumps. Use plastic cover (to keep activated carbon moist) and secure with fresh cotton (T-shirt, bandage, gauze, etc). Keep the carbon damp!!!  <This alone has cured people of hard, infectious lumps under the skin

3.After add a daily garlic supplement. This is natural and what I would do!!

** Do your own research.. I am not responsible. Do not take with any other medications!! Do not take with any dairy products.. Do not inhale the powder. Drink plenty of water.
**Activated charcoal should be taken under the guidance of a physician.
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Avatar universal
No! Cancer lumps are not necessarily soft - on the contrary. Never assume anything.  Please always refer a concern to your doctor as soon as possible.
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Avatar universal
That happens to me but not just under my arm. Every where.  My dr. Says I have folliculitis.  They have been lanced over and over but still come back. He said there is nothing he can do. Im Looking for another dr. Now. I can't take this. Its so painful.  The lump under my arm now is the size of a silver Dollar and is getting bigger. Its so painful
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Avatar universal
By all the stated symptoms this is an infection of a sweat gland- cancer lumps are soft- the inflamation also indicates infection and only sweat glands can pouf up hard to the size indicated- what may have started as an ingrown folicile infection and tiny hard bump is now a full blossomed infection it should have an offensive smell unlike perspiration- very painful- I don't know what US Dr.s do but in France it would be drained, topical anti-bac-viral applied plus anibiotic tabs- any infection this size is serious- perhaps a dermatologist is better qualified in the US- difference between cancer and and infection in this area- fast swelling, really bad odor, painful, quite firm. will grow, may try to self drain if left un-attended but why risk health?
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Avatar universal
well, on sunday the cyst decided to open up. i had a bit of tissue to it cos i had some gunk coming out of it then when i pulled the tissue away it took away the last layer of skin and opened a hole in my armpit for brown/green pus to come out like a waterfall. its slowed considerably now, got a nurse to dress it yesterday n she pushed more gunk out (ive been pushing it out too) this morning before shower i took dressing off and again a good lot spurted out , nasty! still painful but not as bad TG, jackie x
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Avatar universal
im a constant sufferer of cysts in my armpit, im on my third bad one now in as many years, im on antibiotics, they have never worked in the past, the first one i was admitted into hospital and had the surgery under general anesthetic, woke up with a gaping hole in my armpit, they had put some mercury strip into the hole to draw out the infection, patched me up and let me go 2 days later, the second was of the same degree of the first, i went to the doc, antibiotics, sent me into hospital when it had gathered itself together, had it opened whilst i was awake and fully aware of the pain. i think it was numbed but my god it didnt make a hell of a difference, i was in agony for a while after it, didnt help having to drive home, had stitches in this one which i got removed weeks later. this one started on sunday, i felt the lump, pressed it and said ouch,,, thought oh s**t. its swollen up pretty bad, i think the main pain is from it being underneath the second scar which is horrendously sore. i generally have a high pain barrier. i have a 4 year old and shes always saying 'mind your armpit, ill do that for u!!' shes an angel, but its at that stage that i cant move my arm, walk, wash pots, breathe-nothing, its just constant pain! ive until next friday until the antibiotics run out until i dare go back to the doctor, really prefer the surgery because its practically painfree afterwards, obviously u dont feel it when its being removed, and the scar is barely noticable compared to when they just slit it open. i feel sorry for anyone suffering with them, i was told because i have a family history of them that im gonna be suffering long term with them!!  jackie x
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Avatar universal
Im wondering if these are sebaceous cysts...basically infected hair follicles. Theyre prob not related to lymph nodes. I had one that was painful, pink on the skin, & visible just by looking at it. My doc said its not a lymph node. I get them occassionally (since jr high and im now 32) and they hurt like hell!!!! My doc said they were sebacious cysts which are basically pimples deep deep in the skin. They start in the hair follicle. They are caused from shaving, bacteria and hormones may play a role as well, as with acne. Mine do seem to show up about 10 days before my period. If this is what they are, there is really no way to prevent them, other than to stop wearing deoderant & shaving (gross). I guess the best things to do is to excercise regularly & eat well to keep your hormones balanced as much as possible. This would only minimize the hormonal role, but as long as we shave & wear anti-persperants, we will prob suffer with these.
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Avatar universal
Hi my name is Hannah I am 13 and also have the same problem. i excessively sweat under my arms and it is very embarrassing when my friends point it out to me.  I WANT IT TO BE REMOVED!!!  Please help me I really don't want a scar... Can the doc burn or freeze it off???  It is a pinkish red color and I already picked at it:( I have had it for about a year and it just keeps getting bogger... IF A DOCTOR Or SOMEONE ELSE Who RE ALLY Knows what to do is reading this please comment!!!  this is disgusting!!!
Hannah
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Avatar universal
I have the samething im freaking out a little because of all the research ive done. Ive had them before but they would go away really quick. Idk why this one is freaking me out. Its pretty big bigger than a quarter. Im going to wait a week and see if it goes away. It hurts but not enough to keep me from doing anything and when i squeeze it it feels like air. My sister had one but it was way worse than mine and bothered her alot. She went to go get it checked and they said happend because of shaving. They told her to keep an eye on it then it popped on its own. So im using that as a way to keep me calm. But mine shows no signs of going away it dosent even have a head.
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Avatar universal
I am 35 years old and have also had these infected sweat gland sores for the past 16 years! They are absolutely soooo painful... Mine occur most commonly in the groin area on both sides just where the underwear sits to make it even more painful as it rubs against the sores. I have had them under my arms and a couple under my breast but not as severe as the groin area. I saw a dermatologist 7 years ago as doctors had no idea! It took me 8 years to finally get some answers but unfortunately there is no cure it is a hormonal imbalance and all we can do is bathe regularly using an anti bacterial soap and wear loose cool clothing. Mine do get quite big but they tend to burst on there own now a days after a few painful days that is. I can tell you now I've totally had it with the problem and hope something is found to help soon!!!!
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1989770 tn?1326793432
hi i am kristan i am 19 i have had this problem since middle school now this morning one of them broke open and left a smallish hole i will go to the doctor but im so scared :/
Helpful - 0
1989770 tn?1326793432
hi i am kristan i am 19 i have had this problem since middle school now this morning one of them broke open and left a smallish hole i will go to the doctor but im so scared :/
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
I dont know what to do now ,,,,i experienced once in my right armpit but it go away after 3 days but now its 1 week lump under my left armpit at first it hurts soo bad but after 5 days it doesnt hurt much however i can still feel a hard thin under it what could be it? I really dont wanna go to doctor if i can do anything by myself ....is it worse? im not sqeezing it or anythin just keeping myself clean and eating lot of fruits...
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Avatar universal
Wow. This must be a common condition. I found a lump under my right arm.  It is very painful. It looks swollen and red. I guess i'll just wait till it gets so bad I have to go to the doctor.  Who knows,  maybe it'll go away on its own. Everyones advice and personal experiences have been very helpful.  Thanks so much.
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Avatar universal
i've been experiencing the same problem2...2 yrs back,i noticed i had a small pimple with ingrown hair under my left armpit..it was extremely painful and few days later, it grew bigger and bigger,the size was just like a ping pong ball..i went to doctor and immediately the doctor cut it off for me...green and yellow puss came out and flood the whole piece of tissue..yeeee....and few mths back, when recovered, i noticed there is a hard small lump at the same position again...and now is alr 2 yrs, i still haven't seek doctor's advice whether to cut it off again or how...just hope i can avoid fr taking antibiotics and med...
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Avatar universal
I use to get nasty lumps under my armpit and on my vagina, to the point where they would get really big, painful, and pop with blood and puss coming out. Then build back up again. All it is is toxins in the body that are trying to release and wherever there is hair, that's where they come out at. Personally I found that if I eat allot of meat, grease (especially), or my diet is unbalance, I get these lumps. So eating healthier helps but most importantly SWEATING! You have to get out and sweat. I haven't had lumps for 2 months now. I'm so glad I found a solution, instead of going to the doctor to have it drain. Because even so, they still come back. You have to excessively sweat your toxins out and eat healthy. Try it! I know everyone is different but I guarantee not sweating enough is the issue of this. After all, it is issues in the SWEAT glands. 
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Avatar universal
My aunt went through the same thing. Turned out it was actually a cyst. They can get pretty large too and they just randomly pop up. Doctors usually have to lance it open and cut out the cyst otherwise it wont go away. Antibiotics probably didn't work in some of your cases because it wasn't an infected sweat gland it was a cyst. Cysts don't go away with antibiotics. Infected sweat gland would because its made up of bacteria. Get a good dermatologist and they can sort you out. Good luck!
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Avatar universal
U just have a ubnormal sweat glance i have the same thing .

I had to get surgery,stitches, and packing

Mine still come back but u may need to get ur sweat glance out just tell ur doc and he/she should transfer u to a surgeian like he did me
You will be k i had 4 surgery under both of my arm like i said it will be k
:)
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Avatar universal
Several months ago I developed a hard, swollen bump under my left armpit.  It even sorta ached as it was coming on, which is what made me notice it first.  Then I immediately got one on my bikini line, which was about the size of a marble.  I only squeezed it a little (it felt so deep), but by the next morning it was draining.  Took a little while for it to go away, but it did.  Went to the Dr., and he put me on anti-biotics, which seemed to help. He thought there was a possibility they were swollen lymph nodes.  I was also very sick at the time.  The one under my arm never released, tho.  Recently I got another few spots under my left arm again.  Dr. suggested using a deodorant only and not a deodorant / antipersperant, since the antipersperant can clog the sweat glands.  Two months later, I have been lucky and haven't had any more lumps.  I'm crossing my fingers this will do the trick.  
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Avatar universal
i had the same prob, no insurance or money and really cant take of of work. so i tryied popin them on my own and it spread. finally i tried hydrocrotozone cream and for some reason it worked dnt no y but they dissapeared crazy but true mabey this will help u. my lumps were the size of peas to nickle size and they hurt!!
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Avatar universal
i have a small bump under my arm and it hurts but i think it will become bigger. if i go to the doctor can they stop it before it gets worse?
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Avatar universal
i have had the same thing except i get minds on the vagina to the one on my vagina i can pop i never tried popping the one under my arm they are reoccurring could this be from shaving because i shave both areas the bumps are painful on a scale 1-10 its probably a 8. Can someone please help could it be a std?
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