I've had a small (2mm or so) pinkish bump on my forearm for at least a month. It is not painful or itchy. It looked like a pimple of sorts and I didn't think anything of it. But when it was still there a few weeks later I became concerned.
Eventually I gave in to the urge (unwise, I know) to remove it myself. I picked and pinched at until most of the bump had come off. There was very little blood but I noticed the surrounding skin was now shiny with skin oil. At this point I was surprised to find that there seemed to be a more substantial lump UNDER the skin! In a bit of a panic I held my arm under the sink faucet and try to drain it by pinching. I probably missed the bulk of what came out but only saw a small amount of blood and maybe some pinkish pus which had no noticeable odor.
The now open wound quickly scabbed over. The lump underneath seems to be completely gone. However a tiny pink bump remains on top. The scab fell off and the area looks less irritated because it's turned a lighter pink and something closer to my skin tone. It's also no longer tender to the touch.
My online research shows that whatever this is seems to have a lot (but not everything) in common with both a malignant condition like basal cell carcinoma but also benign conditions such as dermatofibroma. For example, when I the Fitzpatrick test (pinching the skin on each side) the bump does seem to dimple, which is apparently an indication of dermatofibroma. However, I don't know whether both that and BCC would drain like a cyst...
As I currently don't have health insurance, I'm putting aside some money for a visit to a dermatologist. In the meantime, I'm hoping I can get a better sense of what this likely is. Thank you.