Found Large Lump on Scalp!!!!

[hot_pepper96]

So my sister's friend relaxed my hair yesterday and after I rinsed the conditioner out and I was combing my hair I discovered a large lump on my scalp sort of at the center of my head. It does not hurt but I am alarmed. It is exactly in the spot where my hairpin goes when I where my hair in a bun (which is almost every day). I am going to book an appointment with the dermatologist. Has anyone else found any weird lumps on their scalp?

 

[nikolite]

I've had sore spots before but never a lump. I think you should go to a doctor ASAP. Could the bobby pin have pierced your skin there?

 

[hot_pepper96]

It is definitely possible my pins could have stuck my scalp. My scalp does feel sort of sore/tender in that area sometimes.

 

[cia_garces]

Oooh, girl. I am so glad I saw this thread. I JUST!!! went through this!!! What you have is called a pilar cyst. I had THREE of them in my head about 2 weeks ago. I did tons of research and then settled on this remedy: I got some tea tree oil put some on a q-tip then dipped it in some cold-pressed castor oil and applied it twice a day til the bump went away. And you know what the crazy thing was? The other two bumps went away on their own. The third one was going away on its own but once I put that tea tree oil and castor oil on, I swear it knocked it right out!!!

I also wanted to add that the reason why I didn't go to a doctor is b/c I just recently started a new job and my medical doesn't kick in until Feb. so I was kind of forced to go the natural route. I'd been meaning to do an informative/testamonial thread about this, but I've been doin' other stuff. Now I see it is a MUST that I do this 'cause I searched all through LHCF to find someone else who'd gone through this and I got no good info.

Just try to breathe, don't stop taking care of your hair, and it will be alright. Also, don't let whatever pictures you see online scare you, 'cause Lord knows they scared the crap out of me!!!!

 

[justicefighter1913]

I agree with the above, but I still think that you need to go to the Dr.'s office. It is better to be safe than sorry. I'm sorry that you are experiencing this, but try to not work yourself up until you know anything for sure.

 

[arosieworld]

My mother has sarcoidosis and this is a symptom PLEASE have it checked out and make sure your doctor checks for sarcoidosis most do not... It is important.

 

[Mystic]

I have had a small bump on my scalp for a while now. At first I was very alarmed and went to my doctor and she told me its nothing. Explained that it's from accumulation of the sebum (oils) from the sebaceous glands in my scalp. Told me I could operate on it and that I would be bald in the area for a while but she said operation was more cosmetic than medical and she didn't think it was necessary. The lump has not gotten smaller or larger, but I am going to massage some of the castor and tea oil in the area and see if it goes away. Thanks for the info.

 

[cia_garces]

Like the ladies said (and what I forgot to emphasize above) was DEFINITELY go to a doctor and get it checked out. That would have been the FIRST thing I did the next day, but like I said, I won't have the luxury of not spending a small fortune to go see a doctor until February.

 

[arosieworld]

Seriously!! All you ladies with bumps on your scalp do not accept you doctors saying it is noting!! Get a second or third opinion! Sarcoidosis only really effects us and there is little research on it (probably due to it mostly affecting just us)... It is often misdiagnosed or ignored and it is a big deal......It CAN cause death (exp:bernie mac) Please take these things seriously and even if your doctor is amazing remember so was bernie's and he was misdiagnosed for years before they figured it out. It took them years to find my mothers and she had to lose part of her lung because of that.....

 

[cia_garces]

I agree with the above, but I still think that you need to go to the Dr.'s office. It is better to be safe than sorry. I'm sorry that you are experiencing this, but try to not work yourself up until you know anything for sure.

Great advice! I started freakin' out and then starting grieving like 2 days into my whole ordeal. I swear anytime something crazy happens to my hair that I've never experienced, I just assume either my hair is gonna fall out or that so much of it has been damaged that I'll have to get it all shaved off. Oh, the life of a newbie...

I have had a small bump on my scalp for a while now. At first I was very alarmed and went to my doctor and she told me its nothing. Explained that it's from accumulation of the sebum (oils) from the sebaceous glands in my scalp. Told me I could operate on it and that I would be bald in the area for a while but she said operation was more cosmetic than medical and she didn't think it was necessary. The lump has not gotten smaller or larger, but I am going to massage some of the castor and tea oil in the area and see if it goes away. Thanks for the info.

And it was at that point that I began to grieve.

I was also gonna add that hot compresses help, too. When I went to my local health food store, the lady there told me she had a product that people with boils, cysts, warts and tumors use with great success, but I looked at the label (that looked like it was printed up and taped on) and realized that it was a salve that some lady in a neighboring city located in the middle of nowhere cooked up. I have NO doubt in my mind that Grandma Phyllis's salve would have worked instantly, but even in the midst of my situation, I was still thinking of you guys on here. Whatever I got to treat my bumps with, I wanted to make sure you all had access to it too.

 

[curlicarib]

Had the same thing last month, but mine was really painful. My doctor said it was a clogged pore. He gave me the option of lancing it. Said NO WAY when I found he would have to shave the area (the copious amounts of blood didn't bother me). It went away after a few weeks.

 

[cia_garces]

Seriously!! All you ladies with bumps on your scalp do not accept you doctors saying it is noting!! Get a second or third opinion! Sarcoidosis only really effects us and there is little research on it (probably due to it mostly affecting just us)... It is often misdiagnosed or ignored and it is a big deal......It CAN cause death (exp:bernie mac) Please take these things seriously and even if your doctor is amazing remember so was bernie's and he was misdiagnosed for years before they figured it out. It took them years to find my mothers and she had to lose part of her lung because of that.....

I'm very sorry to hear about your mom. What other symptoms did she had that we should look for?

 

[shandaw]

Wow, I've never heard of that before. Glad I read this thread. That is scary, I would have been running to a doctor!!

 

[cia_garces]

Had the same thing last month, but mine was really painful. My doctor said it was a clogged pore. He gave me the option of lancing it. Said NO WAY when I found he would have to shave the area (the copious amounts of blood didn't bother me). It went away after a few weeks.

Yep!!! I had three. One along the hairline on the back of my neck, one on the back of my head, and one on the top of my head. The one on the top of my head was the really painful one.

 

[arosieworld]

I'm very sorry to hear about your mom. What other symptoms did she had that we should look for?

You can go for years with just the lumps in random odd places.... She had them in her arm and her scalp for years and the doctors said it was nothing, even removed a few.... Then one night she woke up and couldn't breathe... there were growths in her lungs.....It was awful because she found out that it was preventable... There is medicine that can help slow or stop the growth if it is caught in time.... Like with Bernie Mac they put her on steroid that made her balloon up and slowed the growth enough to remove what they could.. She is doing a lot better but unfortunately as you know Bernie Mac's illness was not caught in time..... Without medicine the rate of growth is anyone's guess lumps can form overnight but they can also take years..

 

[hot_pepper96]

Thanks for the advice ladies. I do know that I don't wash my hair as much as I should. It is bra strap length now. At this point, I don't care about losing the hair. I just want to be okay. My mom's health has been up and down and I am her primary caregiver. I need to be okay for her. I have an appt. tomorrow. I will try to be calm until then.

 

[motherpopcorn562]

aroiseworld Thank you so much for that info. There is not much information/research on disease that affect only us, we have to be viligant as far as our health.

 

[reeko43]

@arosieworld, I am so glad you mentioned this. My pledge mom, a very beautiful person, inside and out, passed away from this disease about 9 years ago now. I had never heard of it. After the funeral, at least 5 sorors, all the same age, all Black, pledged on the same line informed that they had been diagnosed with Sarcoidosis within a few years of each other. Since then, I have have been made aware of at least ten other Black women that I know with the disease. All were initially misdiagnosed. Shortly after that a local Black sports anchor, Darrian Chapman, passed from the disease. Five years later, Bernie Mac. I was very concerned and got tested. It seemed that this disease was affecting quite a few people in the Chicago area, where I recently moved from. I got tested and thankfully I don't have the disease. However, it was hard to even get a doctor with enough knowledge of the disease to complete the test.

I have since learned that this disease affects Black American women more than any other group in America. We are more likely to have skin problems as a symtom and have symptoms that are very severe overall.

Thanks for sharing your information. If it helps even one person it is a true blessing. It just goes to show that nothing is too minor to get checked out.

 

[PretteePlease]

I agree get it checked by a dr. I had lumps on my scalp as a lil girl they thought I had lukemia. Turns out after a medivac from 1 state to another and a biopsy they found out it was a subdermal fungal infection from 1 of my moms daycare kids playing in my combs/brushes. Her rachet mom knew she had it and that it was catching and didn't tell my mom My hair came out in large patches and was smooth like an old bald man. Check it out and soon.

 

[ART11]

I had a lump on my scalp when I was a child. It was painless and it eventually went away. What it left behind was a bright white mark where it had been. You could see this bright white mark when I parted my hair. It did not hurt but it freaked hairdressers out. One day 8 years later my scalp was sore. It hurt all day and by the time I was ready to leave work, it hurt even when I tilted my head to the side a little. When I got home I parted my hair to see what was up and just running the comb over the spot made me sit on the bathroom floor seeing stars. So it had turned into a great big pimple over night and it ran for about 15 minutes and when it was finished it had a big white pebble in it. I took the pebble out and it healed in a few days and all the hair grew back in no time. I had no insurance and no money for a doc - I was in college at the time. I never had any trouble with it again. All in all, it was there about 11 years.

If you can afford to see a doc, you should definitely do so. Problems like this can be nothing (like mine) but even if so, who wants to be bothered with it as long as I was? Until then, don't get yourself upset. BTW, scalp infections usually cause swelling in the lymph nodes behind your ears so check that out as well.

Good luck and keep us posted!

 

[DrC]

This is a VERY informative thread. We need more threads like this.....

 

[lettieg27]

Thanks for the information ladies, I have definitely been informed.

 

[hot_pepper96]

So I just had my derm appt. and she gave ne an ointment to rub on the lump. Apparently it may have been caused by blocked follicles and/or injury to the scalp. I will still make an appt with the primary care doctor. I am overdue for a full check up anyway.

 

[MsSonya]

Hot Pepper 96 I want to apologize I do not want to hijack your thread. But I have included pictures, since I have this pimple and after reading this thread. I have always called this a 'pimple'. I have had this for forever even as a little child. So I never thought much of it. I have asked doctors about it, but they said as long as it doesnt hurt, dont worry about it. Ok, I should have found out more, but I was happy with that at the time. I know you all cant tell me much by looking at the photo but anything would help and maybe lead me in the right direction. Oh, and sorry this so graphic, I know its not pretty. But I am a little worried.
TIA!

 

[kaykaybobay]

My aunt has sarcoidosis - I recall Kennedy from MTV has it as well she was an early MTV VJ - in the United States it mostly African Americans but anyone can can have it just the others less in numbers- in Europe mostly Swedish and Icelandic folks have the disease along with some Northern European countries.

 

[cia_garces]

Hot Pepper 96 I want to apologize I do not want to hijack your thread. But I have included pictures, since I have this pimple and after reading this thread. I have always called this a 'pimple'. I have had this for forever even as a little child. So I never thought much of it. I have asked doctors about it, but they said as long as it doesnt hurt, dont worry about it. Ok, I should have found out more, but I was happy with that at the time. I know you all cant tell me much by looking at the photo but anything would help and maybe lead me in the right direction. Oh, and sorry this so graphic, I know its not pretty. But I am a little worried.
TIA!

Is this the only one you have on your head or on your body? Does it hurt? What did your doctor prescribe for it? Have you tried anything yourself for it? Have you ever *gulp* popped it? I don't recommend it. Just wondering. Oh... And did your doctor ever give you a specific name of what it was?

 

[lilpooky]

This is very informative. It was not too long ago that I actually had a sore lump or two on my scalp at the top of my head where I was mainly placing bobby pins, hair barettes, and accessories at. I was also co-wash/rinsing my hair along with oil. When I felt the lump, I figured it could have been either abrasion from using too many hair pins in that area, or a pimple caused from oils stuck in my sebaceous glands. When I read this thread however, I immediately thought back to the lumps I had for a long time and began to touch my scalp, feeling for any. I don't feel anything, but I am glad that you decided to make a thread about this, because like the other poster have said, no one has ever really mentioned it, and it needs to be dealt with before it's too late.

 

[MsSonya]

Is this the only one you have on your head or on your body? Does it hurt? What did your doctor prescribe for it? Have you tried anything yourself for it? Have you ever *gulp* popped it? I don't recommend it. Just wondering. Oh... And did your doctor ever give you a specific name of what it was?

Yes, it is the only one I have. It doesnt hurt. Which is why I have forgotten about it all these years. I think I have had this since kindergarten.
I asked the gynecologist, I was in my 20's then. Wrong doctor now I know. When she told me not to worry about it, I didnt. Until now, (39) anyway. My hair stylist calls it a pimple. No, name.

 

[hot_pepper96]

I still have the weird lump but now I have a small pimple like bump. The small pimple like bump sometimes itches like crazy but lately argan oil helps to soothe it and the area has stopped itching. Going back to the derm and going to my primary care doctor.