What should you know about an infected lump under the skin?

A tender, hot lump can be a boil or an abscess, where inflammation and infected material collect beneath the skin. A cyst can also become inflamed and infected. Not every lump is an infection: a firm, painless, slowly changing lump needs a different assessment, and some skin growths can resemble harmless bumps. A clinician may examine its depth, mobility, surface, and surrounding redness; they may also check whether drainage or another treatment is needed.

Keep the area clean and covered with a loose, clean dressing if it is draining. Warm, moist compresses may ease discomfort, but stop if the skin becomes more irritated. Do not squeeze, lance, or massage the lump, because pressure can push infection deeper or spread it to nearby tissue. Wash your hands after touching the area and do not share towels. A clinician may recommend drainage, prescribed medicine, or treatment for an underlying cyst; steroid injection into the skin is not a substitute for treating a pocket of pus.

Seek prompt care when the lump is rapidly enlarging, very painful, soft in the centre, leaking pus, or surrounded by spreading redness. Get urgent help if you develop fever, shaking chills, confusion, severe weakness, red streaks, or swelling close to the eye. Care is also especially important when the lump keeps returning, is hard and fixed, bleeds without explanation, or does not heal.

Ask what type of lump is most likely, whether it contains an abscess, whether it needs drainage, and which warning signs should bring you back. Mention how quickly it appeared, any drainage, recent shaving or injury, and medicines or conditions that affect healing.