Odd lumps and bumps in skin... - Skin Problems Message Board

sonick · 07-26-2003, 10:53 PM

I've always had a question about two particular lumps/bumps, but never had a place to ask, i guess this might be a good place...

Okay, these dont seem too harmful (cancers, whatnot) but im curious of what they might be.

First one is a small lump, about 3mm inside my earlobe. Its a hard little lump on the underside of my earlobe (like if i were to pinch my earlobe, my thumb would feel the lump). Its been there for several months already. What could this be? pimple? I don't think a pimple can last this long can it? And on my earlobe?

This second one is strange. Its in my 'jaw' on the outside of my face. Its exact place is hard to describe in writing, but ill try.
Going from the tip of my chin, I follow the edge of my jaw up towards my ear. About an inch before the place where the jawbone ends.
When i show it to people (say, doctor), its hard for them to feel, but i can feel it easily coz its my body. Its a little ball, it feels as though its about 7mm under my skin, and lying about 1mm above my jawbone in the flesh.
When i use my index and middle finger to touch it, it moves around inside the flesh in my jaw about 1cm in any direction, and if i let go, it goes back to the same position it was at before i pushed it around.
The lump is about 3-5mm in diameter (that what it feels like).

I doubt ill get much info from this, but its worth a shot.. Thanks in advance!

SimpleSally · 07-29-2003, 11:47 AM

Its sounds like it could be a cyst. What I like to think of as a pimple without a pore to escape. Cysts also shrink and are dormant, then they act up and become swollen again. If you have ever had a cyst and you are sure it isnt that, you should have it checked out by a doctor.

midex · 09-11-2003, 11:01 PM

I have what seems like a cyst in my earlobe too. I have only ever been ale to pop it twice - once today! - and once several months ago. I've had the cyst since February when I had this girlfriend that loved to often bite my earlobe. I saw a doctor recently but he said it was cartlage. So I stopped playing with it a few weeks ago and then today for the first time a a real good go at squeezing it and it popped. Problem seems to be though that I think my left earlobe is getting larger because of this cyst which is about 3mm radius. I guess it will gorw back now because all the puss is inside my earlobe still.

The lump under your chin you describe - are you sure it isn't a gland? IF it is, then you should be able to find one on your other side as well. I remember the first time I found my glands there I was concerned. I was about 10 years old.

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Jake

Susannah · 09-12-2003, 09:52 AM

The first bump you describe might be a lipoma, which is just some fat that for some reason built up under the skin. The way to tell is if you can squish it at all, then it's probably a lipoma. I get them behind my ear (and so does my mom and grandfather, must run in the family). I went to an Ear, Nose, and Throat doctor about it and he said it was a lipoma, nothing to worry about, except if it gets bigger and starts pressing on a nerve or something. Then, he can remove it. He says the fat squishes right out when he makes an incision (yuck!). I wouldn't recommend trying to squish it too hard, I did that with mine, and it squished and spread (it got flatter, but bigger, I guess I just squished the fat down).

The second one sounds like it is a lymph node (last poster called it a gland, same thing). You have lymph nodes under your jaw line. Lymph nodes get swollen from all sorts of infections, it could be a sore tooth, a sore throat, or who knows? If it stays swollen, you might want to go to the doctor just to make sure you don't have any underlying infection. I've got one in my neck that stays swollen to about 5mm for no good reason. The ENT doc said come back to him if it gets to be 2cm or more, and they will biopsy it. Also, if you start getting more of them, be sure to have it checked out, that indicates that you do have some sort of underlying illness.

Something that helped me with all of the bumps on my body (LOL) and trying to figure them out was to go to the library and check out an anatomy book. Then, once and for all, I was able to see where all the lymph nodes were in the body, so I could see if the bump was likely a lymph node or something else.

Susannah