Large painful lump under arm

[Mz Finewine]

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

[JoAnnaRF]

April,
First of all, if the antibiotics aren't working where the doc felt confident they would, then you need to follow up with him/her or seek a second opinion. It does sound like the dx is right and the change in color to pink is probably due to the tightness of the skin as the growth enlarges. Believe it or not, the act of it draining will probably feel like a huge relief. It will take the pressure off and most likely be more relieving than painful. But given it's size, you need to make sure that a doctor is the one that drains it. Don't just start poking at it with a needle or something or you will find yourself with an even worse infection. So get back in touch with your doc and good luck!

[Christie2004]

Good advice.  Go back to the doctor right away.

[harley5]

My cousin just went through the same thing in the dr removed it ! it was a infected sweat gland! She is so relieved! after surgery she was given painpills for pain! went in had stictches taken out ! Was put on more antibiotics and pain pills again but she is so much more relieved than what she was before she had the surgery! You need to go back to the dr!

[Mz Finewine]

Well ladies.........it finally popped.  I didn't even know it was seaping until I went to go have a shower and looke at it.  It was oozzing green puss....yuck!!  It did bleed and doesn't hurt nearly as bad as before.......,however, it is still a hard lump especially under the skin.  Should I be alarmed or not?  I think if it doesn't go away by Monday I will go back to the doctors.  Is it normal to still be a large lump even after the drainage?  Could it be cancer if it doesn't hurt?
Very concerned,
April

[JoAnnaRF]

April,
It drained on its own because the pressure built up and basically it ran out of room. The fact that there is still a hard mass or lump is not surprise and what you will find hapeneg is that the infection will start to build up again, then drain again since it now has found an exit. Eventually scarring may take place. It is an ugly cycle and your best bet is to go and have the entire thing removed. Some of the infection has drained but there is no way to get all the yuckiness out of there and so like I said, it will just start all over. So see a docor.. Dermatologist will probably be best and sees this ALL THE TIME!! And I know how embarrassing it can be so it helps knowing that they do see it often. Also when they remove it, they will biopsy it just to be on the safe side which will also ease your Cancer concerns. Sadly, even removing it surgically does not gaurantee that you won't have another one in the future. The doc will be able to give you all the facts, so please make an appt. and let us know how you are doing.
--J

[freesia18]

Hi April and Everyone,

I too am experiencing the same thing and it's a recurring one.  I'm 31 years old and 21 weeks pregnant.  I have this painful lump under my arm that is getting bigger.  I have a 21-month-old daughter and when she was 6 months old, I had the same thing and I went to the emergency room because the pain was too much.  The doctor gave me antibiotics and said that it was too early to lance it (drain it).  I was a bit happy about that because I was afraid of them cutting it open.  Well, a couple days later, I saw my GP because the pain was getting worse and he gave me stronger antibiotics and put this anaesthesic cream on the painful bump and he lanced it and squeezed the stuff out.  It hurt a little bit when he was squeezing it out, but well worth it.  He told me there would be more and later that evening at home, I squeezed more out--It was so gross, but needed to be done.  There's a small, painless bump that remained and I stopped breastfeeding because my daughter didn't like the taste of the milk after that.

Well now, the small bump from before has gone much bigger and it's painful.  I'm worried now because I'm 21 weeks pregnant and I'm thinking that the doctor this time will not be able to give me antibiotics as well as much pain medication because of my pregnancy.  I'm hoping, like yours April, it will come out on its own.  

Does anyone have any other advice or information for this situation?

Many thanks.

[steph6678]

I too am 30 years old and I have a pink lump under my right arm. I pray that it isnt brest cancer as my family is prone to cancer. I called my breast surgeon and made an appointment but just for times sake as I am going out of town I may go ask my PCP and get started on an antibiotic.

[SammyxO]

Hi, i found a lump on my armpit  it got soo big, i ended up going to the doctors about it and he drained it, but didnt give me any antibiotics  which i thought was abit mean... anyway i found another one, on the same armpit but just next to my old one... i went to the doctor and he gave me some antibiotics and said if it doesnt go away then i will have to go to the hospital =O  and get like knocked out :[ so they can clean it better and all that, which i DONT want to go.. im soo SCARED :'[ but the antibiotics have work alot, but i have finished them today, but im going to go back to the doctor just to check it... the lump is no longer there and the redness has gone... but when you press on it, you can feel something... its hard =S .... Can anyone help !! as i dont want to go to hospital and get like knocked out :'[  Do you think the hardness will  go?.. or will another lump come up? Any advice.. i would be so gratefull if someone could help me :]

Thanks :] x

[ShayShay23]

OMG, I am experiencing the same thing except I believe it may be a little worse. It all started when I noticed an ingrown hair under my right armpit. Well, I tried to squeeze it out but it did not work. I noticed a few days later that it did have a head so at that time I got to pop it out. It let a little whole, but the only thing that came out was puss, so the hair was still inside. The next day I noticed another lump underneath the first one. I decided to leave it alone until I saw a head, but that never came to pass. Day after day it got bigger and a lot more painful. I decided that I needed to get the **** out before it got worse so I looked at another forum for some type of help. One person stated that they had gone through the same thing and said that after he poked it with a sterile needle he was fine one that puss was released. Well, listening to him I decided that it may work for me (wrong answer). Now on my arm the infection is spreading and now (besides the large lump that did return) I also have another lump plus a bundle of small white bumps that are everywhere. Both are extremely painful and feel as if my armpit is on fire. I went  to the doctor today and he put me on some antibiotic pills plus Vicodin. The vicodin is not working. What can I do to relieve the pain, I am scared and in pain..

[miss_turbo]

I have had 3 large painful bumps now for a week under my armpit, there all close to one another (the lump under my skin is as big as a baseball)  no joke about that.  It hurts and i can't lift my arm up at all!! Ive been to the hospital before, i had the same kind of bump on my thigh that got as big as a golf ball, the dr. said it was caused by an ingrown hair and was so infected that he would have to cut it open and drain it, and cut out the glands in there(because he says it will only keep coming back if the glands aren't cut out) I'm not going to lie,  It frickin hurt!!!!! I have 2 kids, 1 i had naturally (labor 24 hours) I can honestly say depending on the size of the bump it hurts worse then labor them cutting and draining it then stuffing it with gauzze. But AFTER its al ldone with , it does feel better, not during the proceedure though.

The reason your not suppose to pick at it or shave or things like that is cause if someone else uses your razor or you touch your bump (without washing your hands afterwards) and then touch someone else, they'll get them also, my boyfriend got a bump on his leg awhile back it does spread quick, and the dr. said that their are only 2 antibiotics in this world that can clear this form of Staff infection, and then what are we all gonna do when we are immune to those?? Good question huh...... He said we start droppin dead like flys. So he said only last resort use antibiotics, the more we use them the less likely we will be the ones to live when the world has no cure for Staff or different forms of it.  

Use Tea Tree Salves  he suggested vitiman C also. It works and since I have no health insurance I need all the home remedies possible.

[dragons_eyes]

I have the same thing.  Only mine grew in one day.  From pea sized to large marble size and it hurts.  I can feel it when my arms are down by my side.  Im going to the doctors soon its been 2 days no improvement.

[Kayshira]

Hi everyone,

I have the sme issue, i have been getting mine on and off since high school, it usually goes away but the 2 that i have now has been there almost a year and it hurt like hell. I went to the doc he gave me vicodin- it eased the pressure but as son as they were finished they swell right back up. I wanted to go back but i needed to research who would be considered a speacialist in this area  (my first thought was a dermotologist but i needed to be sure).

I got one to pop but after it drained there was still hardness under the skin, i drained almost 2 weeks straight, eventually the opening closed up and it festered again. I am to the KNOCK ME THE HELL out and get these PIANFUL **** from under my armpit ALREADY-point....thats how fustrated i am with these thing. I even stopped wearing deoderant because the doc said it probably has something to do with it so now i am wearing perfume- which burns by the way!

Thank you guys for sharing you story i am relieved that i am not in this alone.

[optimist625]

I had the very same thing all of you are describing when I was 17 yrs old.  It grew so big I could hardly stand the pain the the doctor tried to drain it, but kept coming back.
After losing weight and getting thinner by the day and the lump continually growing, the doctor talked to my parents the night before surgery. Told them that the possibility existed that it was cancer.
I had it surgically removed, it was an infected gland.  Never returned and the pain quickly went away.  Please DO NOT DESPAIR or think it's malignant.  Apparently it's rather common. Don't let your minds defeat you.
Twenty years later I had breast cancer with some lymph nodes compromised, but it was on the other side and that too is curable!

[fallenanngel]

I am now 22 years old...and for the past 12 years I've had these bumps on both arms.  I haven't used deoderant since I was 17. I highly recommend milk of magnesium as oppose to deoderant.  And to shave less frequently....I haven't had any surgeries...but I did once have a horrible experience at 17, with a fever and all...from a huge lump on my left arm. I couldn't even walk from the pain becuz every step I took...seemed to vibrate my whole body and pain under my arm. I couldn't move my arm.

They said it was a swollen lymph node.

The surgeon said he wouldn't operate because they'd continue to come back anyway....and he was right.  They did give me antibiotics, but we all know none of those work.  

I've also had been suggested by friends to test my estrogen levels.

I know these mofo's hurt like hell...

Good luck!!

[John123456789]

What type of underarm deodorant or antiperspirant do you all use?

[steffiepie14]

I too have the same problem and thought that i may have been alone... at present i am an 18 year old college student.. i have had these lumps since i was round 16 and i have to say i completely undestand how painful they can be... mine sprout out in different pattern, one could last a week... others a day or 2... it is highly frustrating and i dont know what to do..... i rarely use deodarant anymore and am worried shaving as the pain is sooo sore, i wouldnt dare chance it?

Does anyone know if wax strips mite b a better option as my problem seems to reflect the hair when shaving.. i have tried antibioticx but nothing has worked so far:(

Thanks for ur stories....... i hope someone will b able to answer my query in regeards to the way strips!!

[mommyhurts01]

i had one of these under my left arm and it hurt soo bad . i went to the  e.r. and they literally sliced it open and green yucky stuff can out it even had an odor. i was fine after that but i continue to get them now i get them under both arms and it is very painful. what causes this and what can i do to make this stop?????
                                  mom in pain

[Shamonwhi]

Same thing happened to me.  A couple of years back, I had two lumps under my left arm pit.  I couldn't even lift that arm and I needed to be healthy for work.  I went to the doctor and he said that he will have to drain it.  Depending on how bad it is, they can do the surgery with you awake or sleep.  They had to put me to sleep.  It didn't take long cause as soon as I feel asleep they was finished.  I woke up and ask my mom if they started yet, and she just laughed at me and told me that it was over.  I was glade of that.  
As an outpatient I had to have a nurse stop by the house to change my guase and bandages.  Now that was painful. The two holes had to heal from the inside out ward. If it healed from the outside first then healed inside, it was cause a pocket of infection, there would be no air for it to dry up. Just having the nurse changing my guase, and feeling her touch the inside of flesh was horrible. When it started healing it wasn't so bad (I guess if anything is healing it's not so bad. right). Once it healed I was so happy, the pain was gone and I could use my arm again.  Some people say that the lumps under your arm can come from your deorderant or from shaving too much.  Now I try to stick to one kind or brand of deoderant .   This was close to 6 years ago.  A couple of months another lump grew under my left arm pit.  The same spot where I had the surgery 6 years prior.  I was nervious at first, but I was trying to see what it was doing.  If it started hurting I was going to go to the doctor, but it didn't hurt, I was waiting for it to give me some kind of pain, but it didn't.  My scar that I had from the surgery started to seep, and the lump started to drain.  I helped it, I pushed it a little thinking well if it hurts I'll stop pushing it, but it didn't so I pressed on it and pus came out of it.  It was kind of greeish grey with a little bit of blood.  I continue to squeeze the infection out and this solid grey matter came out, and the lump under my arm stopped hurting.  I felt so much better.  I cleaned the surrounding area with a Q-tip and let it air out.  And by the next day the sore was healed up.  I just figure that when ever I get a lump under my arm, that it's just like a big painful pimple, just need some room to pop.

[loobylou87]

i am 21 years old and i notied a small lump under my armpit , i havn`t realy been taking much notice off it untill yesterday when i cudn`t put my arm against my side without it hurting, i went to c the doctor today but he wasn`t very helpfull at all, just said it was a sweat gland that has grown to infection when i asked questions he just gave me yes and no answers, gave me DOXYCYCLINE, to take for a week and sent me on my way, i have never had anything like this before and im realy scared. I have read your comments and they have been realy helpfull but alot of u have had them drained . He told me this wasn`t possible and just take my tablets but its realy big now and soooo painfull, im new to all this and never wrote on anything like this , im so scared can some1 please help with any usefull info
   thank you

[musicloverr]

Alright, so its been about a week to two since I've had this cyst (not even sure didn't go to the doctor yet)
My mom got a patch for me to put on it to *make it disappear* but it does not seem to affective
It hurts SO MUCH! even from the slightest poke
It is around 1.5 inches in diameter, however, I did not go to the doctor

Does getting it drained hurt? I had rough nights with this freaking thing under my armpit...

[ninasanchez]

i too have been experirencing this issue. have had the lumps appear under the left arm firsrt, now under both arms. have had them lanced,cut drained 4 times now!!!! im frustrated and in pain embarrased, i havent worn deoterant in 2 going on three years, have had antibiotics3 times already, do i really need armpits? its so painful and embarrassing when you leak or drain staining your shirts,bed, partner,and the smell ewww!!!! chop these dang armpits off, i cant take it anymore,and the scarring, i cant even hug my husband whithout pain and being insecure about the issue, i dont know what to do, the antibiotics arent working, and for the pain all i got was motrin 600 mg, wth?!! why is this happening? im 34 now, i been having the issue since 2004,plez help!!!!

[ninasanchez]

i did some more research on the web and found a site called skincell.org/hidradinitis and it gives good info on this armpit issue, but no cure or remedy, i wish there was more the doctors could do, i feel like a leper!!! im tired of taking antibiotics,which dont help at all, i dont like taking pills,drugs, medication. im scared to hell of surgery because of superbug in hospitials that causes staph, and im afraid (becuz im a uber germaphobe)of getting the flesh eating bacteria under my arms and then losing them altogether, im freaking out!!!! Doctors ,Researcher DO SOMETHING FOR THOSE OF US SUFFERING FROM THIS ISSUE!!!! i feel like a recluse, i cant enjoy the things i used to, i was more outgoing, now im freaking out because im scared of germs getting into the open holes in my armpit, im scared of the antibiotic resistance i may get, and then whats left? cell cancer from all the scar tissue this disease is leaving in its wake, im pulling my hair out  trying to cope here. im gonna try to find a support group, or something,someone gotta know how to deal with this. thanks for letting me vent, im just so darn tired of suffering, ihave never been this ill in my life.

[keya911]

I know exactly what your talking about. Im currently experiencing this right now. I starting getting this about two years ago. I went to the hospital and they lance it and gave me antobotic and sent me to a specialist. I went to the specialist and he told me that i had to get them surgically removed.  So I did the right arm first in dec of last year. Then I started getting them under my left arm and i had them surgically removed. Just this week i got another one right under my right arm and its even more painful. Its does start with the sweet gland and it is infected that is what causes the lumps under your arm. I going to get a second opinion because i cant function at work or home. and when i moved this arm the swelling occur and the pain imcrease. I suggest you go to specialist and do some research because im quite sure something can be done.

[Votorcs]

WOW. Reading this, I don't feel so alone. I am not the only one out there suffering from this!  I have been getting these large bumps in my armpits for 4 years now. I have a LARGE one in my right armpit now. I am a normal house wife, mother of five great health... I don't get what the deal is... I don't take Tylenol or any other non natural pain killers, I am a healthy person. I only shop at healthy organic food stores. So ladies it is not what you are eating, It is so something else.

My husband wants me to go to the doctor to get it drained! I want to let it go down by itself.  I am tired of the doctors wanting to give non natural drugs, needles and cutting me open.

I started talking vitamin E,  all natural vitamin E as well as cutting the top off a vitamin E and rubbing it on my LARGE bump. Believe it or not it is alot SMALLER this morning than it was last night. The pain is still there. I will continue to take the vitamin E and Hope this works.  I have also increased my fruits and veggies to try to oxidize my body. The more oxidized your organs and blood stream are the less infection and yeast can grow or survive in your body.  


Everything I have said is my experience and belief. Please don't take anything I have said out of context, I am only sharing my issue and feel for all of us women dealing with the horrible issue we are going threw together!