I have similar. Except, the bumps I have had we're not actually pimples. They were bumps from my poor getting clogged with keratin. The Keratin plugs were white and hurt really bad to try to get out. When I get the scab, they're underneath the scab is well. I just started using a soap with sulfur in it. I've used everything else. In my shower today, the plugs were falling out by themselves. It seems that the sulfur unbinded them for my skin. Without that, it's like they're super glued into my skin it feels like I'm ripping my skin apart when I pull them out.
Hi guys, for those of you out there who are still looking for the answer to those white plugs under your scabs, the semi-solid ones that, when you are able to pull them out, leave a tiny red hole in your skin; plus there are a dozen more to pull out, right beside it....Anyway, I wanted to tell you: those little white plugs are your neutrophils, macrophages and fibroblasts that make up the skin granulation stage of the healing process. That’s why you find them in skin that has been traumatized previously, and not freshly torn skin. I have wasted many months in the past year, trying to pull them all out of my face, too, not knowing what they were and convinced that they should not be there; I didn’t ever see them in my fresh wounds. But when I learned that the plugs were created by my skin’s standard granulation response for healing its own damaged tissues, and that those little semi-firm rods sticking out of my pores were actually something good, it helped me ease off of the skin picking a bit, in direct relation to the plugs. I still have to make a concerted effort to not open up my wounds and tear out the plugs that I find inside, but it does help me fight the urge, knowing this. Finally, I have found that retinol 0.25% is helping my wounds close faster and scar less. It says you’re not supposed to put them on open lesions, so proceed at your own risk if you wish to try, but I had a four-month-long, peach-sized, dug-out wound on my cheek that I eventually withered down to a faded pink area of two inches across, where the open wound once sat, ruining my life. When it was that huge lesion, I only applied the retinol to the surrounding edges, but it helped dry them out and I believe that, combined with my red light, was what helped stop the infection that was raging below the surface. It gradually shrank with the combined use of these two things. I don’t know if that will help anyone out there, but I really hope it does, because I know how awful it is to look in the mirror and have to face what you’ve done. I wish all of you luck in the future, and remember that self worth is not based on how you look; it’s predicated on what comes from within. Find your worth. x
I should note...That this only happens on my face. The only thing that really help them heal quick is Manuka Honey. I use Wedderspoon 100% Raw Manuka Honey. But even that doesn't seem to help heal the wound fast enough to beat these plugs. It's crazy...It can't be a fungus...There's no way it could materialize that quick...Like overnight.
For me, it it PN. I am on Dupixicant for it now. Still battling. It's the ING worst!
I have this issue too! It is soooo painful! It takes months and months for them to heal. I've been trying to research it and the only thing I can find is testimonies like yours. But no real help. I haven't been to a dermatologist because, frankly, I think they would tell me to just stop picking or removing the "plugs" and blame me for the problem as opposed to really trying to help me. I finally convinced my husband that it's necessary for me to remove them because it's the only thing that brings me relief from the awful pain. Because he would yell at me to just stop touching/picking my face, believing that it was making it worse (which, normally, is totally understandable).
Sadly, the latest flare-up just keeps expanding on my skin and won't dry up. Anything that has worked previously, has become ineffective and aggravates my skin now, making the problem worse. The plugs are often combined with what looks like fatty tissue in some areas. They are clustered together, sometimes growing (plugs) in all different directions and intertwined within the "fatty tissue". I'm at my wits' end. The current location is on the back of my earlobe and it's migrating in front of my ear. The swelling and subsequent attempted removal is making my earlobe deformed, which is making me even more stressed. Btw, this all started from a pimple also. It was on the back of my ear and I tried squeezing it, which was the WRONG thing to do, because I think it just created the trauma response and started me on this nightmare again. The pimple is long gone and my skin is not infected in any way. I'm super careful about using clean tweezers or removal tools (using barbicide to disinfect them). But I can't find anything to "dry out" the afflicted area before the plugs re-form, which can happen in less than a day and/or before the "treatment" causes my sensitive skin to go crazy. I can't even use first-aid tape or certain band-aids/bandages to cover it because my skin is so sensitive to the adhesive and leaves burns and welts on my skin.
I'm so done with this...I can't even express how much.
Hi, I live in Texas and I started a large garden in my backyard last spring, tilled the ground, worked it daily by hand. Once I started watering, I noticed what looked like bites on my ankles and hands. Fast forward to today and multiple dr's visits later. I am now covered with sores, face, ears, mouth, lips, everywhere, from head to toe, inside my mouth, inside my nose. I have the same white plugs you guys are talking about, it's not a dang hair follicle as several Dr's have suggested. These white little rice looking alien things have a tail that is attached to the skin. I have pulled them out and taken pictures of them using a microscope app on my smart phone. Deep in the sore which looks like a crater with a raised edge will be a tiny black thing. No matter how many of them I pull out, more moves in. They secrete a liquid that forms a barrier when topical meds are applied, they especially hate Peroxide! I have pictures of the black things as well. Of course the picking made it worse, got a secondary infection. Now almost a year later I think what ever this is has mutated into something else. I now have little brownish/black flat tick-like looking things that seem to blend into my skin, have pictures of those as well. Nobody believes me. I have had punch biopsy's which showed mold but no parasites. The last time I went to the Dr, I went equipped with my large magnifying mirror, an new hand held 30x magnifying glass, tweezers, and much to the protest of my dr, I did rip a scab off to show her what I was seeing. Oh and I forgot to mention the constant biting and stinging, it feels like they are eating me from the inside out. I'm at a loss as to what this is and why I cant get rid of it. I'm not crazy!
I just started using an anti fungal cream called Nystatin on my face and arms. It is giving me some relief. I don’t know why it is helping but I’ll try anything and it is definitely made it more tolerable in the past two days. I’m going to see if they heal. I always used bandaids and they don’t help and I’ve bought so many.
I have the same problem! It's been 10 years of hell dealing with it. It takes months and months for them to heal and they leave ugly scars. They clear up once in a while for a few months but then come back. Mine are mostly on my face. Glycolic acid seems to help. Also scrubbing with baking soda seemed to help exfoliate well. It's so frustrating! I also get people telling to quit picking. I can't make them understand that you have to pick or it'll never go away. Stress seems to make it flare up. I use peppermint oil and water that I spray on my face especially after I pick to kill any bacteria and it really seems to help a lot. Keeping your skin exfoliated seems to be the main thing. Unfortunately I have to pile on makeup and that seems to exacerbate it. I'm so glad I'm not alone in this.
Discoid lupus / Carpet tack
Cancer
Syphilis
Were the options that my doctor gave me the other day. Have to return for biopsy.
My gut feel is that a lot of ailments are bacteria, parasitic or fungi related and we continue to have problems because the root issue is not sorted.
It's so easy to be infected by these pests and not know it.
Hi all.
I've been plug/sore free since September 2020, for the first time in 5+ years.
After many appointments, with many different doctors, and many different diagnosis and/or accusations.
I was told its just a cold sore on the chin (with possible secondary infection).
Long story short, I've been on an antiviral and have had no more issues. It's absolutely worth asking a doctor about.
Same problem here for three year. Recently had some other, I thought unrelated, symptoms ( lower extremity swelling, anemia) and went through extensive testing for lupus. I still need a biopsy to confirm but most likely cutaneous lupus. The good news is it is treatable! You may have to demand a biopsy but worth it for the diagnosis.
Skin cancer? Please someone look up Basal Cell Carcinoma and tell me if you can relate to any of the symptoms.
Or Squamous Cell Carcinoma/ Actinic Keratosis....
An open sore that does not heal, and may bleed, ooze or crust. The sore might persist for weeks, or appear to heal and then come back.
A reddish patch or irritated area, on the face, chest, shoulder, arm or leg that may crust, itch, hurt or cause no discomfort.
A shiny bump or nodule that is pearly or clear, pink, red or white. The bump can also be tan, black or brown, especially in dark-skinned people, and can be mistaken for a normal mole.
A small pink growth with a slightly raised, rolled edge and a crusted indentation in the center that may develop tiny surface blood vessels over time.
A scar-like area that is flat white, yellow or waxy in color. The skin appears shiny and taut, often with poorly defined borders. This warning sign may indicate an invasive BCC.
https://www.skincancer.org/skin-cancer-information/basal-cell-carcinoma/bcc-warning-signs-images/
i had this problem as well. last week i had a pimple with no head and i decided to treat it with salicylic acid. see i am aware that salicylic acid may burn the skin and in my case it did since my pimple did not have a head. as a result, the skin came off and i saw white plugs. i tried putting ointments and oils and petroleum jelly but i just kept having the urge to squeeze every white plug or use tweezers to get them out but to no avail, it did not want to get out. so i researched on it and alot said they were keratin plugs and are there because its your body’s response (initial healing) theyre there for a reason so dont try to get them out. before i knew this the open wound would just scab and fall off over and over again and usually the scab was yellow so i thought it was infected. so i tried covering it with a cutout bandaid with a little ointment and after a few days it healed.
What about Fungal? Is it itchy? Apparently, fungus produces a hard covering. (Like an exoskeleton) to protect itself. Perhaps those are the hard white plugs? I have used Ketoconazole BUT my rash is all over and so bad that Ketoconazole helped with 50% of the rash. My face is disfigured from it at this point. I have not had a dermatologist give me the time of day DGS me definitively yet. They just think I have a "picking problem". The fact is I would not be picking if I did not have hard itchy bumps on my body. Worse on my face, shoulders, back and abdomen but I get it in my ears, eyelids..everywhere. I have lost faith in MD's honestly. Hope this helps.
8+ years of this and mine is resolved. Please reply if you are taking Propecia or Finiseride. Long story and similar to many - odd twist for me when I ran out of my Finisaride and doc would not renew my Rx until I saw him. 2 weeks without Finisaride and the horrid reproducing plugs are gone - seriously thought I was going crazy - reply if anyone is on either med and we can discuss further. I’ve had a persistent and horrible spot that is mending fast.
I have been suffering with this condition for about a year . I have these wounds that open very easily and my scalp feels like silly putty. I also have these gooky white plugs in my pores. And when I get a cut on my head it is like a few centimeters deep and feels like there’s slimy eggs underneath the scab. I have seen these yellow egg like things come to the top of the scab. I have tried to grab them with tweezers but they sound like they crunch. And the wounds on my scalp don’t heal. Pls help me!!!!