soft lump behind ear, appeared suddenly

[radracer]

well i am pretty self aware and two days ago i noticed a kidney bean shaped soft bump directly behind my left ear. it took less than a day to go from nothing to bean sized. it is soft for the most part, if i feel near the top of it, it feels kinda hard, like a layer under the puss maybe. i can move it a little, definetly feels like it is filled with puss. i have in the past had a bump appear, only to shrink and harden and eventualy i will forget about it, i had one on my upper eyelid. back to the ear bump, physicaly i feel fine, the bump feels a little warm when i mess with it. i have recently used a foaming earwax remover, i dont know if that matters. i do not have insurance, so if it is serious it will have to get really bad before i see a doctor, so i will let it be for a while at least a few weeks, it has been only two days since it appeared. the top of the bump is just on top of the bottom of my skull, from there it extends to almost my jaw, directly behind my earlobe. im thinking it is an abscess or a swollen lymph node, but i dont feel sick. it is a little reddish, maybe from touching it. i just want to know what it more than likely is. thanks.

[pplate]

hello. i am a 20 year old Male. i have  a nickel sized lump behind my Letf) ear. and had it since i was 13. i got up one morning and it was just there?. anyhow i now am starting to get my wisdom teeth in. No bottoms just the Right Top one is almost fully in. it Doesn't hurt but reciently the lump behind my (Left) ear is starting to hurt And  i wonder if this could be cause'd from the wisdom tooth? i went to the clinic a few months ago for the tooth  And the Doctor said. she required a dentist for the tooth problem. she looked inn my ear and said everything looks normal. i have had swollen glands in the past. and i had her look at thoes also. she replied they Look normal!!
iam fairly scard about this situation and dont know what to do? PLEASE ANY HELP WILL BE WONDERFULL AND CINCEARLY THANKFULL
-pau

[Bhupinder Kaur, MD]

Hello,

The painless lump that you are 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, 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.

Other possibility is of swollen lymph node. Lymphadenopathy (swollen lymph nodes) is usually caused by a viral or bacterial infection along with other numerous causes.Treatment is usually cold compresses,over the counter anti-inflammatory analgesics(pain killers) like acetaminophen or ibuprofen,antibiotics if cause of infection is suspected to be a bacteria and surgical drainage if there is any abscess formation.

Hope it helps.Take care and pls do keep me posted on how you are doing or if you have any additional queries.Kind regards.