Infected Pimple: What It Looks Like, Causes & Treatment (2024)

FAQs

Infected Pimple: What It Looks Like, Causes & Treatment? ›

An infected pimple happens when bacteria enter your skin, causing pain, redness and swelling. Popping, squeezing or picking at a pimple can lead to infection. You can treat mild infections at home with warm compresses and acne-fighting creams. Some infections require antibiotics.

An infected pimple may be larger than a regular pimple because of swelling. It can also be warm and sore to the touch. There may also be more redness when a pimple becomes infected. An infected pimple is also going to be more painful and inflamed.

Molluscum contagiosum is a skin condition that is common in children but can occur at any age. It is caused by a virus that gives you pimple-like spots with a dimple in the middle. It can be spread by skin-to-skin contact, or when you bathe or share a towel with someone who has the infection.

Antibiotics. For moderate to severe acne, you may need oral antibiotics to reduce bacteria. Usually the first choice for treating acne is a tetracycline (minocycline, doxycycline) or a macrolide (erythromycin, azithromycin).

Staph skin infections, including , generally start as swollen, painful red bumps that might look like pimples or spider bites. The affected area might be: Warm to the touch. Full of pus or other drainage.

If the crust is yellowish and if there is a formation of pimples on or near the wound, it could be septic. Sores that look like blisters. If there is a formation of sores which look like pockets of fluid around the area, they could be septic. Pain that gets worse after a few days.

The bottom line. Hydrogen peroxide used to be a popular antiseptic for cleaning wounds and treating acne. But it's not a good idea to use it for those purposes, since it can irritate your skin. If you don't want to throw away your brown bottles, you can use hydrogen peroxide to clean and disinfect around the house.

If you have a pimple, using benzoyl peroxide, salicylic acid, or a pimple patch can help it go away faster. Your dermatologist can give you a cortisone injection to make a deep, painful, inflamed pimple heal quickly. Avoid picking or trying to pop your pimple — this can lead to more inflammation, redness, and scarring.

Call a doctor or go to the hospital right away if you think you might have a skin infection and: You have a fever of 100.4 degrees or higher. You're in a lot of pain. The redness or swelling spreads.

What is a fungal infection that looks like a pimple? ›

Fungal acne is a common skin condition that occurs when hair follicles become infected with a fungus called Malassezia yeast. The condition is also called Malassezia folliculitis or Pityrosporum folliculitis.

Nodules are a type of hard pimple that can be large and painful. They form when an infected skin pore or follicle is located deep below the skin surface. Cysts are found deep below the skin when a pus-filled membrane forms around the infection. They are likely to scar.

What does cystic acne look like? Acne cysts resemble boils, a type of skin infection. An acne cyst may be: A red lump under the skin.

Neosporin does not kill the most common acne-causing bacteria, so it won't typically be effective at fighting pimples or cystic acne. Because it has many moisturizing, skin-healing oils in its ingredients, Neosporin may temporarily tame irritation and also heal areas of damaged, broken skin.

Place warm compresses on the pimple: Gently place a clean, warm, wet washcloth on the area for about 10 minutes, several times a day. But make sure the washcloth isn't too hot. The warm washcloth helps pus dissolve or rise to the surface. Use topical treatments: Benzoyl peroxide products kill bacteria.

Topical antibiotics are typically used for mild to moderately severe inflammatory acne. Medications like clindamycin and erythromycin are most commonly used for this purpose. Topical tetracycline is another option, but it's prescribed less often because it is known to cause skin discoloration.

Squeezing can push bacteria and pus deeper into the skin, which might cause more swelling and redness. Squeezing also can lead to scabs and might leave you with permanent pits or scars. Because popping isn't the way to go, patience is the key.

Skin abscesses usually are red, swollen, and warm to the touch, and might leak fluid. An abscess that forms in the surface of the skin might look like an unhealed wound or a pimple. An abscess that forms underneath the skin may create a swollen bump. The area can be painful and tender.

Pustules are another kind of inflamed pimple. They resemble a whitehead with a red ring around the bump. The bump is typically filled with white or yellow pus. Avoid picking or squeezing pustules.

Causes of pimples (acne) include blocked pores, overproduction of oils from glands in the skin, and hormone changes. Both boils and pimples appear as red bumps on the skin but boil usually gets larger and has drainage of pus, fever, and pain. Pimples are typically smaller and localized.