Acne Cyst Health Facts

An acne cyst is often similar in appearance to a nodule, but it pus-filled, and has beed described as having a diameter of 2 inches or more across and is often very painful. Again, scarring is common with cystic acne. Squeezing an acne cyst may cause a deeper infection and more painful inflammation which will last much longer than if you had left it alone.

At times when the sebaceous material and bacteria leak into the surrounding skin, the infection spreads wider and deeper causing scarring and the formation of nodules or cysts. These are the deep “pizza face” acne lesions that are very painful and resistant to over-the-counter treatments.

Medications that help at this stage include:

• Prescription tretinoin products like Retin-A, Retin-A Micro, and Avita reverse the “stickiness” of the skin cells allowing them to slough normally.
• Prescription oral antibiotics also kill the P. acnes bacteria and are often used to calm down the infection with cystic acne.
• Isotretinoin (Accutane) may be prescribed to treat moderate to severe cystic acne. Accutane does have serious side effects and needs to be monitored closely if it is used.