What should you know about a hard little lump under the skin?

A lump may sit in the skin, within a hair follicle, or in the fatty layer beneath it. A blocked or irritated follicle can become tender and may resemble a boil. Scar tissue can feel firm after an injury, piercing, injection or inflamed spot. Some harmless growths remain stable for a long time and have little change in the surface skin.

A lump that changes, bleeds, crusts, opens, or repeatedly returns deserves a closer look. Basal Cell Carcinoma can sometimes appear as a persistent skin growth, although a lump is not proof of cancer. Compare its size and appearance with a dated photograph rather than repeatedly squeezing it.

Record where the lump is, when you first noticed it, whether it moves under gentle pressure, and whether the skin is warm or discoloured. Keep the area clean and avoid piercing, cutting or forceful massage, which can worsen inflammation or introduce infection.

If it is sore, a comfortably warm compress may ease surface discomfort. Arrange a dermatology assessment if it persists, enlarges, or interferes with clothing or movement. A clinician may inspect and feel it, then discuss observation, drainage, removal or an injection when appropriate; intralesional steroid injection is one treatment used for selected inflamed lesions.

Seek prompt medical care if the area becomes rapidly more painful, hot, red or swollen, if pus appears, or if redness spreads. Fever or feeling unwell alongside a tender lump also needs timely assessment. Contact a clinician soon for a firm lesion that bleeds, forms a recurring crust, becomes fixed, or does not heal.

Ask whether the lump seems to arise from the skin, a follicle or deeper tissue; whether its location and mobility suggest a cyst, boil or other growth; whether it needs imaging or sampling; and which changes should trigger an earlier review.