Had And Ingrown Hair. Developed A Cyst After Shaving. Is It Sebaceous Cyst?

Posted on Thu, 12 Sep 2013

Question: I have a question about a sebaceous cyst. About a year ago I had and ingrown hair on the base of my penile shaft, kinda on the underside of the shaft in the fold where your scrotum meets the base of the penis. I believe it was a result of shaving from about a week earlier. It became painful and a bit red and raised so i tried to dig out the follicle with a sterilized pair of tweezers. I was pretty sure i removed the in grown hair, however i do believe it formed a small cyst as a result of me digging at it. So here is where im at now. for the last 9 months or so a have been keeping it clean with 99.9 % alcohol and betadine, but it seems the cyst wont fully heal and close because I maybe didn't get all of the cyst out? not sure what to do, have no insurance and no extra cash at the moment to go and see a doctor. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Answered by Dr. K. Naga Ravi Prasad (3 hours later)

Brief Answer:
I suggest you to consult a doctor.

Detailed Answer:
Hi, thanks for writing to XXXXXXX

First of all, your condition has to be diagnosed by a qualified doctor as a sebacious cyst.

Secondly, as it is persisting since more than 9 months duration, it needs a thorough evaluation to know the cause for its chronicity or nonhealing nature.

Trying to remove the sebaceous cyst by yourself is not advisable because it inevitably recurs unless its lining cyst wall is completely removed surgically (so,simple squeezing out the contents of the cyst again leads to recurrence).

Also, a strict aseptic technique is to be followed while removing a cyst, otherwise there is every chance of spreading the infection to the deeper tissues and ending is untoward complications.

So, if it not bothering you much, just leave it alone or consult a qualified physician for further management.

Hope I have justified your query. I welcome any clarification

Regards

Note: For more detailed guidance, please consult an Internal Medicine Specialist, with your latest reports. Click here..

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar