Hello doctors i decided to post this under general health.
I have recently been suffering from really bad stress and axiety due to my exposure to a possible HIV infection. I have written to both Dr Sean and Dr Jose and you have both said that there is indeed no risk from my exposure (having oral sex performed on me) So lately i have been getting on with my studies and a such but i was a little worried about a little like lump under my right arm pit. It was causing no pain but i am worried as to if it could be a swollen lymph node. It's hard, about the size of a pee, does not move and it feels like its attatched under the skin. It's also red on the surface but this could be because i have been poking it. Its been there for about a month not getting any bigger or changing in any way at all. Since i have messed with it, It seems to have become really really sore.
From what i have described does it sound like a lymph node? I have checked the other arm and no problems there. I also use the computer a lot because im forever typing essays and researching on the internet. I often sit with the back of my chair under my right arm (the one im having the problem in) Could this contribute to the problem? - I would see a doctor but my timetable for uni is packed out and then i have my part time job on top of that and im barely making ends meat now!
I would appreciate your input on this matter and it's been a pleasure using this service
Hi, there!
It sounds to me that what you have is an infected sebaceous cyst in your armpit. They are very common and not a major problem. They are just blocked skin glands that swell up and sometimes get infected, when you play with them too much. That would have never happened with a lymph node. All you probably need is an antibiotic cream and possibly some antibiotics tablets. In the meantime, stop using deodorant, and you might need to change the type of deodorant that you use, becuase that sometimes can be the cause for this problem to happen in the first place.
Best wishes,
Jose
Hello Dr Jose thanks so Much for your reply. Come to think of it, It did hurt within the first few days of me getting it when i was applying deogrant! - Not now though, I removed a little of the hair under my arm and moved the skin about, The lump stays with the skin where ever i move it so it can't be a lymph node can it?
I will stop using the deogrant and will make a doctors appointment asap thanks so much for your time!
As someone who has had several bouts (and surgeries) on sebaceous cycst in both armpits, I can give you a bit more info. When mine are not infected, they are flesh colored lumps that vary in size, but are generally from pea size to olive size. When they are infected, depending on how bad the infection is and how much water I drink and rest I get when the infection occurs, well, the bad ones can grow very large, very red, the skin around them will also turn red and pretty painful - to the touch, and when I move the arm in the wrong ways. With an infected cyst, you want to be careful not to rupture it, keep it very clean, don't let anyone lance it. Drink a ton of water and try your best to relax and go easy on that area. As a last resort get antibiotics from your doctor - remember antibiotics in the long run make your body less capable of fighting off that infection on its own.
You usually get sebaceous cysts from some type of skin trauma - I assume I committed shaving trauma. I stopped using anti-perspirant for years and still got infected cysts. I stopped shaving and still got them. So I started both back up. It's been 17 years and there is no pattern to it. I can go two years and then suddenly an infected cyst arises.
17 years ago, the first doctor I went to thought it was a boil and lanced it - and then offered to remove the spider veins in my legs - jackass. Then he figured out it was a cyst and sent me to a surgeon who failed to remove 3 cysts she excised told me she couldn't remove anymore in either arm because she had torn up all of the available tissue trying to get those out. When I asked her if there was anything I could do to prevent them or prevent infection, she actually laughed at me. That's about when I stopped going to doctors.
Really Confused
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