What should you know about keratin lumps on skin?

Keratin lumps on skin can include cysts or other bumps, so examination matters before choosing treatment. A lump may be firm, smooth, white, skin-coloured, tender, or inflamed. Its location, duration, growth pattern, and surface help a clinician decide what it represents.

Keratin is a structural protein in the outer skin and hair. When it becomes trapped beneath the surface, it can contribute to a cyst or a small keratin-filled bump. A red, painful lump with warmth may instead fit an infected follicle or boil. A persistent changing growth, a sore that does not heal, or a lesion that bleeds needs examination because some skin cancers can resemble ordinary lumps. A skin lump itself is a symptom, not a diagnosis.

Do not pop, lance, or scrape a keratin lump. Reduce rubbing, keep the area clean, and take a clear photograph if its appearance changes. Arrange a dermatology review for a new, growing, recurrent, or uncertain lump. Treatment depends on the diagnosis: a cyst may be removed, while selected inflamed lesions may be treated with an injection into the skin. Steroid injections are not suitable for every lump and should only follow assessment.

Seek prompt care when a lump becomes rapidly painful, hot, swollen, or drains pus, especially with fever or spreading redness. Arrange timely assessment for bleeding, crusting, ulceration, marked colour change, a firm fixed lump, or a sore that keeps returning. Urgency comes from these features and from how quickly the change is happening, not from the presence of a lump alone.

Ask what diagnoses are being considered, whether the lump needs examination with a dermatoscope or sampling, and which changes should prompt a return visit. If treatment is offered, ask its purpose, possible skin-colour or texture changes, wound care, and what happens if the lump recurs.