Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsBoils vs. CystsSymptomsCausesDiagnosisTreatmentWhen to Seek CarePrevention
Table of ContentsView All
View All
Table of Contents
Boils vs. Cysts
Symptoms
Causes
Diagnosis
Treatment
When to Seek Care
Prevention
Cysts and boils can be easily confused with each other. With a boil, the bump will be red, warm, tender, and swollen, while a cyst will usually be painless without redness or swelling. However, if a cyst ruptures and becomes infected, it can look and feel very much like a boil.
This article describes how a boil and a cyst differ in their symptoms, causes, and treatment.
What Are Boils and Cysts?
Boils and cysts may be similar in their presentation but are entirely different in why they occur.
Aboil, also known as afuruncle, is a superficial pocket ofpusthat develops when bacteria get into a hair follicle. Pus is the aftermath of the body’s immune defense, comprised of dead white blood cells, dead tissues, and dead bacteria. Acarbuncleis a cluster of boils that extend into deeper tissues which can lead to the formation of anabscess.
Acystis an encased sac of fluid or semi-solid materials that form in different tissues of the body. Those similar to boils are calledcutaneouscysts, but cysts can also form in bones and muscles, in the reproductive tract, on organs, or in the central nervous system. Those affecting the skin can develop spontaneously, after an injury, or due to inflammatory or autoimmune diseases.
How to Tell the Difference Between Boil vs. Cyst
While both types of bumps can appear anywhere on your body, symptoms of a boil can vary from symptoms of a cyst. Knowing how each type of skin bump looks, feels, and affects your skin provides valuable clues when trying to identify a new bump on your skin.
Boils
A boil appears as a red to purple swollen skin lump, similar to a pimple. It usually has one or more whiteheads, calledpustules, that form in the center. Pustules contain a white-yellow, pus-like fluid that may ooze from the boil.
Zay Nyi Nyi / Getty Images
The size of a boil varies. It can range from the size of a cherry stone to the size of a walnut, and some grow even larger. The size of a boil may increase quickly as the pus increases within the boil. As the amount of pus increases, pain may become more intense.
A boil may feel tender to the touch or hurt constantly. You may notice itching at the site of the boil before it forms. Depending on the extent of the infection, you may also develop a fever and/or fatigue.
A boil usually appears in one of the following areas:
Cutaneous Cysts
A cyst is a closed, saclike tissue pocket that forms under the skin. It usually containskeratin. There are many different types of cysts that can affect the skin or the underlyingsubcutaneous layer.
These cysts appear as smooth lumps that are whitish-yellow or the color of your skin. They can range in size from 1/2 inch to several inches across. A cyst is usually painless and may not require treatment.
This photo contains content that some people may find graphic or disturbing.See PhotoReproduced with permission from © DermNet New Zealandwww.dermnetnz.org2023.
This photo contains content that some people may find graphic or disturbing.See Photo
This photo contains content that some people may find graphic or disturbing.
Reproduced with permission from © DermNet New Zealandwww.dermnetnz.org2023.
A cyst is usually benign (noncancerous). It is painless and doesn’t cause other symptoms unless it affects the normal function of the body system. Skin cysts usually appear in one of the following areas:
BoilSwollen, fast-growing red skin bumpFilled with whitest-yellow colored pusPainful to the touch and/or constantly soreWhite or yellow head filled with pusPossible fatigue and/or feverCutaneous CystRound, slow-growing skin bumpFilled with a yellow, foul-smelling keratinSwollen, warm to the touch, painlessWhite or yellow color with a blackheadNo related fever or fatigue
BoilSwollen, fast-growing red skin bumpFilled with whitest-yellow colored pusPainful to the touch and/or constantly soreWhite or yellow head filled with pusPossible fatigue and/or fever
Swollen, fast-growing red skin bump
Filled with whitest-yellow colored pus
Painful to the touch and/or constantly sore
White or yellow head filled with pus
Possible fatigue and/or fever
Cutaneous CystRound, slow-growing skin bumpFilled with a yellow, foul-smelling keratinSwollen, warm to the touch, painlessWhite or yellow color with a blackheadNo related fever or fatigue
Round, slow-growing skin bump
Filled with a yellow, foul-smelling keratin
Swollen, warm to the touch, painless
White or yellow color with a blackhead
No related fever or fatigue
When Should I Worry About a Lump Under the Skin?
Causes of Boils vs. Cysts
Most people haveS. aureusbacteria on their skin and in areas like the lining of their noses without boils recurring. Boils are more likely to develop in people with the following characteristics:
A boil is contagious when a break in the skin and person-to-person contact with pus drainage and skin bacteria occurs. It may also spread from contact with contaminated surfaces and objects.
The outermost layer of your skin, called theepidermis, slowly sheds skin cells to make way for new ones emerging from the lower layer of skin, called thedermis.
Cutaneous cysts form when skin cells are not shed as they should be and instead fold into themselves. This forms an encased sac filled with dead skin cells and fluid. When the cyst reaches a certain size, it usually stops growing.
There are different types of cutaneous cysts, including:
Is It Possibly a Pimple?A pimple occurs when dead skin cells, excess oil, and bacteria get trapped inside a pore. As the bacteria multiply, they cause inflammation, and a pimple forms on the skin’s surface.A pimple is typically painless and smaller than either a boil or a cyst. It usually grows no larger than the size of a dime and does not increase much in size after it erupts.While a pimple often occurs in clusters, a cyst or boil usually appears as a single lump. Unlike a cyst or boil, a pimple may be a sign of acne, a chronic condition that recurs despite treatment.
Is It Possibly a Pimple?
A pimple occurs when dead skin cells, excess oil, and bacteria get trapped inside a pore. As the bacteria multiply, they cause inflammation, and a pimple forms on the skin’s surface.A pimple is typically painless and smaller than either a boil or a cyst. It usually grows no larger than the size of a dime and does not increase much in size after it erupts.While a pimple often occurs in clusters, a cyst or boil usually appears as a single lump. Unlike a cyst or boil, a pimple may be a sign of acne, a chronic condition that recurs despite treatment.
A pimple occurs when dead skin cells, excess oil, and bacteria get trapped inside a pore. As the bacteria multiply, they cause inflammation, and a pimple forms on the skin’s surface.
A pimple is typically painless and smaller than either a boil or a cyst. It usually grows no larger than the size of a dime and does not increase much in size after it erupts.
While a pimple often occurs in clusters, a cyst or boil usually appears as a single lump. Unlike a cyst or boil, a pimple may be a sign of acne, a chronic condition that recurs despite treatment.
Diagnosing Boils vs. Cysts
Only a healthcare provider can make an accurate diagnosis of your skin bump. Your healthcare provider may be able to recognize a boil or cyst based on the appearance of the bump and a description of your symptoms.
Factors such as when you first noticed the bump, how quickly it grew, whether it has changed in size, and if it is painful can help make a diagnosis.
Depending on the symptoms of your skin bump, your healthcare provider may perform the following laboratory tests. These tests may be performed if you often get boils, have several boils at the same time, or have a high risk of complications from a boil or cyst:
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How Do You Treat Boils vs. Cysts?
A boil or cyst can sometimes heal on its own without treatment or be managed at home with simple, self-care remedies. However, if the lump is causing excessive pain or discomfort, you may need to seek care from a skin specialist known as adermatologist.
The one thing you shouldneverdo to do is squeeze a boil or cyst. The American Academy of Dermatology (AAD) warns that squeezing a boil can force pus into deep tissues, increasing the risk of an abscess or a deeper infection known ascellulitis.
Similarly, squeezing a cyst can rupture tissues and make way for a potentially severesecondary bacterial skin infection.
If you have a boil, there are several steps you can take to ease pain and encourage the drainage of pus from the skin:
Do not pick at the skin to loosen any scabs or share towels or other personal items that may have pus on them.
If a boil fails to respond to home treatment after two weeks, you should seek care from a dermatologist. The dermatologist can lance (cut open) the boil under sterile conditions to allow pus drainage.Antibioticsmay be prescribed if the boil is large, recurrent, or in parts of the body where bacteria accumulate (such as the groin, breasts, armpits, or around the nostrils).
Strictly speaking, cutaneous cysts are not treated at home. Unless the cyst is infected, treatment with warm compresses will do little, if anything, to resolve the condition. If a cyst causes pain and inflammation, Advil and/orice applicationfor 10 to 15 minutes is more likely to provide relief.
There is some evidence that certain natural tinctures can reduce epidermoid cysts. A 2020 study inIntegrative Medicinereported thata topical tincture comprised ofCalendula officinalis(pot marigold),Echinacea,Hydrastis canadensis(goldenseal), andCentella asiatica(gotu kola) was able to reduce a cyst in a patient after two months of daily treatment.
When to See a Healthcare Provider
You should seek medical care if a boil or cyst causes pain or is getting bigger. A larger concern is when a cyst becomes infected or a boil suddenly starts affecting deeper tissues.
With this in mind, contact your health provider if you develop the following signs or symptoms:
Preventing Boils vs. Cysts
There is no known technique for preventing skin cysts. However, you can prevent potential infection and scarring of a cyst if you avoid squeezing, popping, lancing, or trying to drain the cyst yourself. Doing this increases the risk of inflammation or infection.
Summary
Boils and cysts are two common types of skin bumps. They can look alike even though their causes differ.
While both skin lumps may heal without treatment, home care or surgery to remove the boil or cyst may be needed. Treatment for a boil can involve using antibiotics to treat the infection. A cyst usually doesn’t need treatment unless it causes pain or prevents you from doing normal tasks.
Proper handwashing is one way to reduce the risk of boils and the spread of infection that occurs with them. There is no known way to prevent a cyst. Removing the cyst prevents it from recurring.
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Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
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