The liquid from a pimple is usually pus, a milky, yellowish fluid made of dead white blood cells, trapped oil (sebum), dead skin cells, bacteria, and debris, representing your body's immune response to a clogged pore. If you see clear, watery fluid, it's serous fluid, part of the early healing, while a pinkish tint means blood (serosanguinous) mixed in from squeezing.
Signs You Should Stop Popping
Once you start to notice blood or a clear liquid oozing out, step away and let the pimple heal. “That clear liquid is just the normal water that's in your tissue. If you see that, you're not getting anything,” says Dr. Howe.
Serous drainage is clear or slightly yellowish. It is thin and watery, often occurring in the early stages of healing. This type of drainage can indicate that the body is responding to the healing process by fighting off infection and repairing tissue.
That fluid that comes out, that's what we call pimple discharge. It's a mix of oil, dead skin, bacteria, pus, and sometimes even blood.
Pimples refill after popping because you often don't remove all the pus and debris, pushing some deeper, while the inflammation continues, and the pore wall itself can be damaged, allowing oil (sebum) and dead cells to collect again, leading to recurrence in the same spot. Popping also creates an opening for bacteria, causing more inflammation and new pimples nearby.
² They can often emit a somewhat unpleasant, rotten-egg-like aroma. ³ So, when bacteria in your acne breakouts produce these sulfur compounds, it can result in your pimples having a distinct and often less-than-pleasant odor.
Many people believe popping a pimple helps it heal faster, but the opposite is true. Pressing on a blemish can push bacteria, oil, and debris deeper into the skin, leading to more inflammation, swelling, and an increased risk of scarring.
What are the symptoms of an infected pimple?
Over time, the inflammation subsides, and the pimple either comes to a head and drains on its own or is reabsorbed by the body. This process might take a few days or even weeks, depending on the severity of the pimple.
The other half of the pus gets sucked inside since you're putting pressure when you release. It just stays there. You can't get it out anymore because it's inflamed and irritated. That's why pimples come back on the same spot, sometimes bigger than the one before it.”
The Life Cycle of a Blemish: How to Spot-Treat a Pimple At Every...
It's normal for your wound to leak small amounts of this clear fluid. However, if you notice your wound drains a lot of fluid, or if the fluid draining is thick like pus, contact a healthcare provider. A lot of serous fluid or pus leaking from the wound can indicate the presence of a bacterial infection.
The trauma caused by the squeezing can also cause blood vessels underneath to burst, causing the pimple to fill with blood. Regular pimples occur when the skin's pores become clogged with bacteria, sweat, or dirt. More severe acne can be due to hormonal changes in adolescents and adult women.
It's better to leave most acne alone, as popping can worsen inflammation, push bacteria deeper, cause infection, and significantly increase the risk of scarring and discoloration. The body's natural healing process is usually best, but for whiteheads or blackheads, gentle at-home treatments (like spot treatments or warm compresses) or a dermatologist's sterile extraction are safer alternatives to picking.
Hormonal acne and bacterial acne look similar, but there are some key differences that can help determine which type of acne is present: Location: Bacterial acne is more frequently found on oily skin regions like the forehead, nose, and chin, while hormonal acne is typically found on the lower face and jawline.
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.
When a pimple pops, keeping the affected area clean and dry. Avoid picking or squeezing the popped breakout to let your skin heal naturally. If you notice any signs of potential infection like redness, increased pain, pus, or inflammation surrounding the blemish, contact a healthcare professional immediately.
This encourages the production of sebum and thus can cause a breakout. High-glycemic index foods that break down quickly in the body, such as white bread, processed breakfast cereals, white rice, pretzels, potato chips, cookies and cakes can increase the severity of an acne outbreak[2].
While the disorder has become extremely uncommon with the development of antibiotics, it still carries a very small chance to develop a high risk of death, and needs to be treated aggressively with antibiotics and blood thinners.
The scarring occurs primarily when the body's natural healing response is disrupted—i.e. a pimple is popped—leading to abnormal collagen production and tissue repair that results in pitted or raised scarring, long-lasting redness (also known as post-inflammatory erythema or PIE), or dark spots (also known as post- ...
The odor results from the interaction between sweat and skin bacteria, particularly when sweat contains high levels of lipids and proteins. The smell of bromhidrosis can vary depending on factors like diet, hygiene, and the bacteria present on the skin.
This blockage causes abscesses to form, filling with pus — a mixture of dead white blood cells, skin cells, and bacteria or fungi. If these lesions burst, pus can drain from the open wound and cause an odor.