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What Is a Skin Lump? Symptoms, Causes, Diagnosis, Treatment, and Prevention

Megan Wilson

The term “skin lump” may be vague — and the symptom can stem from many causes. By decoding how it feels and looks, you can gain some clarity about what’s going on, gain peace of mind, and work out how to move forward with treatment (as well as determine whether you even need to treat it).

“When patients complain about lumps, it usually refers to something on the skin that feels elevated or something under the skin that elevates it,” says Lucia Seminario-Vidal, MD, PhD, a board-certified dermatologist at USF Health Morsani College of Medicine in Tampa, Florida.

Signs and Symptoms of Skin Lumps

Skin lumps can have many causes that affect how they look or feel. The following are some signs and symptoms that describe a skin bump, says Rebecca Hartman, MD, MPH, a cutaneous oncologist at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston. Keep in mind that a single lump can’t match all the descriptions on this wide-ranging list.

A lump that feels soft, mushy, or squishy
A lump that feels mobile
A lump that’s fixed
A firm lump
A lump that feels hard
A lump that’s red and inflamed
A painful lump
A lump that has a central pore
A lump that looks well-defined under the skin
A lump that has an irregular contour
A lump that is growing

In addition, depending on the cause, you could experience other symptoms along with the skin lump. For instance, one sign of lymphoma, or cancer of the lymphatic system, is enlarged lymph nodes in your armpits, neck, or groin, along with fever and night sweats.

Causes and Risk Factors of Skin Lumps

A skin lump is a specific symptom of a medical condition, so the cause behind it depends on exactly what the condition is.

Skin lumps can be divided into three different categories, says Dr. Seminario-Vidal:

Benign The lump is noncancerous and may not require any treatment.
Inflammatory or Infectious The lump requires treatment but is not life-threatening.
Malignant These are cancerous and would require treatment in the short term (rather than a wait-and-see approach).

Skin Tag

These are skin-colored growths on the surface of the skin.

Skin tags often appear in areas of irritation or where skin rubs together, like the neck or armpit, says Seminario-Vidal. These are benign. They’re more common after age 40 and can happen to anyone, but they are more likely to appear on people who are obese, have diabetes, or have a family history of skin tags.

Cyst

This is one of the most common causes of a skin lump, says Dr. Hartman, and they often appear on the face or back. “These are smooth and mobile, are oval with a defined border, and they aren’t entirely squishy, but they’re not firm and hard either,” she explains.

The giveaway sign of a cyst is a lump with a central pore.

This happens when skin does not mature properly and folds into itself, forming the pore. Hartman advises that not all cysts will have a visible pore. Cysts might become red and painful or secrete fluid if inflammation or an infection develops. If you suspect you have an infected cyst, seek medical care.

Wart

These are skin growths that develop because of human papillomavirus (HPV).

More than 100 different types of HPV can pass between humans, and they don’t cause symptoms in most people.

But when HPV causes symptoms, they develop in the form of warts. Many types of warts can develop, often appearing on the hands, feet, or genitals.

They are contagious, meaning that contact with a wart can transmit HPV. The most common type of wart has an almost cauliflower-like appearance.

Dermatofibroma

These are benign nodules that often develop on the lower legs. They look like a small, red raised bump and are firm and “rocklike.” They do not have a known cause.

If you pinch a dermatofibroma, it often appears to pucker inward, creating a small dimple. Rarely, a dermatofibroma may turn out to be a dermatofibrosarcoma after further examination, which is a type of connective tissue cancer that looks like a cluster of lumps on the skin.

Lipoma

This skin lump is a benign tumor of fat that most often grows between the skin and muscle.

Lipomas can develop anywhere on the body. “It can run in families, so there may be a genetic cause,” says Hartman.

A lipoma, which consists of fat, is soft and mushy and measures around 2 inches in diameter, but it can grow.

They are typically not painful but can cause pain if they press on nearby nerves.

Enlarged Lymph Node

Lymph nodes are part of your body’s immune system and are located in certain parts of the body, such as your armpit, groin, or below your chin in your neck.

They can swell if you get sick, as immune cells gather there to fight off an infection.

Common infections that lead to swollen lymph nodes include:

Strep throat
Measles
Ear infections
Dental abscess
Mononucleosis
Skin infections
Human immunodeficiency virus

Seminario-Vidal adds that lymph nodes in the groin may also enlarge and become inflamed due to extreme exercise, such as participating in a long endurance event like a marathon. You should seek medical attention if your lymph nodes feel or appear swollen.

Lymph nodes shrink to their normal size after recovery from an infection. They should still feel smooth and mobile. But a lymphoma, or cancer in the lymph node, may become firm or hard and fixed. Cancer may cause symptoms alongside swollen lymph nodes like decreased appetite, weight loss, fever, and chills.

Diagnosis of Skin Lumps

Your dermatologist can perform a physical exam to diagnose your skin lump. If they note something concerning (for example, a skin lump or bump growing), they will likely recommend a biopsy, says Seminario-Vidal.

A dermatologist can usually take the biopsy, depending on the lump’s location or how deep it is under the skin. In areas where the skin is particularly thick, like the back, a plastic surgeon may have to open up the skin under local anesthesia, she says. If the lump is extremely deep, an individual may need general anesthesia for the biopsy.

Doctors may first evaluate deeper lesions or potentially cancerous lumps with imaging, such as a computed tomography scan, magnetic resonance imaging, or an ultrasound scan.

Treatment of Skin Lumps

Many skin lumps won’t resolve without treatment. Often, however, the lump is not dangerous and will not need treatment, if it does not cause functional problems.

Skin Tag

Skin tags are benign and do not need to be removed, but a dermatologist can remove them using one of three methods:

Snip excision
Cautery
Cryosurgery, or the use of a cold liquid, like liquid nitrogen, to freeze the skin tag

It’s best not to remove a skin tag yourself, as they can bleed when taken off.

Cyst

Removal is necessary to get rid of a cyst, says Hartman. She advises against taking matters into your own hands. “I tell people not to pop them. Squeezing it may press out keratin, but that does not eliminate the problem and may make it worse by causing more inflammation,” she says.

Your doctor can cut out the cyst to remove its wall, or lining, as this prevents it from coming back.

They may delay surgery if the cyst shows signs of inflammation.

Doctors can also drain cysts as a temporary solution and give a cyst a steroid injection to help calm the inflammation.

Wart

It may take quite a while (potentially years), but some warts will eventually resolve without treatment. Others, however, may spread if you don’t treat them.

At home, you can use an over-the-counter wart removal kit that includes salicylic acid.

At the doctor’s office, they can freeze off warts with liquid nitrogen.

Dermatofibroma

These are benign, but surgical removal is an option.

If dermatofibrosarcoma develops, surgery can remove it, although a doctor may also request radiation or targeted therapy drugs to destroy any cancer cells that remain after surgery.

Lipoma

If a patient has many lipomas, doctors don’t usually recommend removing them, says Hartman. But if the lipoma is large, growing, or bothersome, a doctor can do surgery to remove it.

The minor procedure requires an injection to numb the area and takes just 30 minutes, she says.

Enlarged Lymph Node

You don’t need to treat an enlarged lymph node itself, but treatment may be necessary for the underlying cause. If lymph nodes have swollen because you have a viral infection like a cold, they should return to their standard size once you recover, says Hartman.

That said, if you find an enlarged lymph node that’s 1 centimeter or less in diameter, is soft, and you can move it around, that’s less concerning, says Seminario-Vidal. Doctors may take a wait-and-see approach and follow up to make sure it’s gone down.

If you receive a lymphoma diagnosis, you will receive the appropriate cancer treatment, which may include chemotherapy, radiation, targeted drugs, and a bone marrow transplant.

Integrative and Complementary Approaches

For many lumps, there is little you can do at home. But a warm compress on a red and angry cyst can relieve inflammation and ease soreness, says Hartman.

When it comes to warts, many alternative treatments have circulated — some are mainstream (duct tape), while others are more radical (distance healers that channel energy into the wart). None of the homeopathic remedies are effective, and warts should resolve without treatment once the body develops an immune response.

Lifestyle Changes and Prevention of Skin Lumps

Many skin lumps, like lipomas, may have a genetic cause, says Hartman. That’s one reason why you won’t be able to take steps to actively prevent all skin lumps. To avoid skin lumps or bumps that could be a type of skin cancer, it’s crucial to wear a broad-spectrum sunscreen with at least SPF 15 every day.

When it comes to cysts, you won’t be able to prevent them from forming, and you should also make sure that you don’t try to “pop” a cyst yourself, to avoid infection and scarring.

Skin tags aren’t always preventable, as they can have genetic causes. But controlling conditions like diabetes and obesity that increase the risk of skin tags will discourage their formation. This is achievable through body weight management and effective blood glucose control.

Prognosis of Skin Lumps

The outlook of a skin lump depends on the cause and whether it is benign, potentially cancerous, or cancerous. “When patients notice a lump, they’re often understandably concerned, but most are benign,” says Hartman.

But even people with cancerous skin lumps can improve their outlook if they seek treatment before it has a chance to spread. The outlook for cancers that cause skin lumps, including lymphoma, depends on:

The type of lymphoma
The person’s age
The person’s overall health status

How long skin lumps stick around and the recovery time completely depend on what has caused the skin lump and whether removal is necessary.

Some issues, like skin tags, will be lifelong and typically do not need treatment, unless they cause a problem like catching on clothing.

A red, painful inflamed cyst may shrink over a few days as inflammation subsides, but a cyst will need treatment if the patient would like to get rid of it permanently, says Hartman.

Sometimes, Hartman may suggest leaving a cyst alone if the location of the lump, such as the face, means that treatment could be more disfiguring than the cyst itself. Surgeons also typically do not remove lipomas, adds Hartman, unless they are large, growing, or bothersome.

Complications of Skin Lumps

Most benign skin lumps are not harmful, says Hartman. However, she says that skin tags, cysts, and lipomas can become bothersome if they are on visible areas like the face. They may also catch on clothing or develop inflammation and tenderness.

Trying to drain or remove a skin lump at home risks complications like bleeding and infection.