The back is one of the most common places for cysts and blackheads to form, and also one of the most ignored. Because we cannot see it every day, a small bump can quietly grow for months before anyone notices it.
The skin on the back is thicker than on the face and has many large oil glands. When pores there become blocked with oil and dead skin cells, they can turn into blackheads, and sometimes into much bigger cysts under the skin.
An epidermoid cyst is a small sac under the skin filled with keratin, a soft cheese-like protein. It usually starts from a blocked hair follicle and can stay small for years, or slowly get bigger and become red, swollen and painful.
Many people are tempted to squeeze these cysts at home, but this is where problems begin. Squeezing can push the contents deeper, cause infection and leave a scar. In most cases the cyst simply comes back, because the sac wall is still under the skin.
Dermatologists remove cysts differently. They clean the area, numb the skin, make a small opening and take out the contents together with the sac. When the whole sac is removed, the chance of the cyst coming back is much lower.
