Okay, so, I’m really sorry about how gross this is, but I’m kind of concerned about this, and I’m too embarrassed to ask someone I know about it.

I have an acne bump that’s a little bigger than normal acne and it has been there for over a year now. It’s located on the edge of the, uh, ridge in my rear. When I first got it, it was kind of painful and I had to watch what angles I sat at. It was just like a normal acne bump when I first got it, but after I drained it, it remained. Every so often it fills back up and I drain it again. A few days ago I realized it had been over a year since I got this thing, so I decided to do some research and found two things: An acne cyst and a pilonidal cyst. The acne cyst fit the description better, but the only information on them I could find was about them being on faces. The pilonidal cyst occurs exactly where my bump is at, and it exhibits some of the same behaviors, but what I have is hardly painful any more and the people talking about those seem to be in some intense pain. Also, I looked them up on Wikipedia and there were some lovely pictures. The plus side of having seen a hole in the top of someone’s buttocks with stitches through it was that I can say that what I have looks nothing like that.

Some more information: It still looks like a normal pimple, except that it’s borderline dark red around the head (which forms when it fills up). It leaks pus sometimes (I’m making myself gag! I’m so sorry!), and lint from my underwear gets stuck to it. I read that if it’s an acne cyst you shouldn’t drain it, but it’s very difficult not to when there’s a wad of lint sticking to my rear…

This is one of the most embarrassing things that’s ever happened to me, and I only want to tell folks if it’s something I should be genuinely concerned about. I’m terribly sorry for giving those graphic details to you folks, but I could really use some advice.

Thanks in advance!

I have 2 cysts on my chin, one I think is done developing but will probably sit there for at least a few days before it shrinks, the other is larger, not as fully out of the skin, not sure if it will continue to push out through the skin. I read that Tea Tree Oil is the best way to reduce size of acne cysts… but how do I use it? just dab it on the cyst or dilute it? Anyone have luck with this?

I have a wonderful 17 year old daughter named Joanna who’s been suffering from moderate to severe acne for most of her teen years. I think I read somewhere that if she put curdled breast milk on her face, it would help kill the bacteria.

I think I read in an article in Family Circle that you leave a jar of breast milk on the kitchen counter for a few days until it starts to curdle. That way, the enzymes in the milk are able to develop (kind of like in petri dishes).

I haven’t had a baby in years, so I’m not lactating, but one of my girlfriends down the street, Brenda, just had a baby girl. She said she’d be happy to help and offered to donate some of her milk.

I sent Joanna over this afternoon to Brenda’s house with an applesauce jar to collect the milk. Has anyone else heard if this helps though?

I have a wonderful 17 year old daughter named Joanne who’s been suffering from moderate to severe acne for most of her teen years. I think I read somewhere that if she put curdled breastmilk on her face, it would help kill the bacteria.

I think I read in an article in Family Circle that you leave a jar of breast milk on the kitchen counter for a few days until it starts to curdle. That way, the enzymes in the milk are able to develop (kind of like in petri dishes).

I’m haven’t had a baby in years, so I’m not lactating, but one of my girlfriends down the street, Brenda, just had a baby girl. She’s happy to help and offered to donate some of her milk.

I sent Joanne over this afternoon to Brenda’s house with an applesauce jar to collect the milk. Has anyone else heard if this helps though?

My acne flares up a few days before my period, then almost completely disappears a few weeks later. It seems to be a hormonal thing, and I was wondering if the hormones in contraceptive pills would help. There seem to be lots of different types of the pill, so which would be best for my case?