Your pimple hurts when touched because of inflammation, where your immune system sends cells and fluid to fight bacteria/oil in a clogged pore, causing swelling, redness, heat, and pressure that pushes on sensitive nerve endings, especially in deep pimples like nodules or cysts. This tenderness signals an active, often infected, blemish deep under the skin that needs gentle care, not squeezing, to prevent worsening.
Pimples and Infection
These painful pimples under the skin are often filled with pus, forming a tender bump that can be extremely uncomfortable. If you've ever wondered, “Why does my pimple hurt when I touch it?”, it's likely due to infection and swelling caused by the bacteria trapped in the pore.
Cystic acne is a type of inflammatory acne that causes painful, pus-filled pimples to form deep under the skin. Acne occurs when oil and dead skin cells clog skin pores. With cystic acne, bacteria also gets into the pores, causing swelling or inflammation. Cystic acne is the most severe type of acne.
On the other hand, bumps caused by STDs, like herpes sores or genital warts, are often accompanied by pain, itching, or changes in appearance, and they tend to appear near the vulva, vagina, and anus.
Hormonal acne is when breakouts form in adulthood that could range from blackheads and whiteheads to painful cysts. Hormonal acne is linked to the overproduction of sebum (an oily substance in skin glands), which clogs pores, leading to pimples.
When a pimple is not properly extracted, the underlying infection may remain, leading to the pimple refilling with pus. It is crucial to refrain from squeezing or popping pimples forcefully, as this can worsen the infection and increase the risk of scarring.
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].
Acne with PCOS can look like papules, pustules, nodules, and cysts. Whiteheads and blackheads can also be present. Basically, it looks like normal acne! As PCOS results in a hormonal imbalance, acne from PCOS may show up in a hormonal pattern.
Some pimples will calm and disappear in a few days, others will take a week or more. If you have large clusters of breakouts, it may take several weeks or even months to get all of your pimples to clear. Let's take a closer look at the different types of pimples and their treatment options below.
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.
Inadequate sleep can lead to acne through hormonal imbalances, increased inflammation, and impaired skin repair. A dedicated skincare routine, both in the morning and evening, is vital for addressing acne caused by irregular sleep.
Hands off — do not try to pop a deep, painful pimple.
Although it might be tempting to try, picking at or squeezing an acne nodule or cyst can make it more noticeable and increase your risk of infection, discoloration, and scarring — especially if you have darker skin.
You Can Try These Quick Fixes:
It's this immune response that produces pimples that are swollen, red, painful and often filled with pus — the white gooey stuff. For the most part, pus is made of: Dead skin. Sebum.
Slideshow: Acne Visual Dictionary
In addition to acne control medications and cleansers, you can also use several natural ingredients found around your home to restore your skin health including:
Acne can begin in childhood — especially around age 7–9, when hormones like androgens start increasing. A simple skincare routine with gentle cleansers and acne-fighting ingredients like salicylic acid or benzoyl peroxide can help. Severe or early-onset acne should be evaluated by a doctor.
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 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.”
No, they do not leave behind holes. Although, after an extraction, you might notice that pore looks more noticeable, resembling a hole, but it isn't one. The pore was merely dilated due to congestion. By regularly using a pore-minimising toner, it should go back to its original form.
Location: Hormonal acne often targets the lower face, jawline and chin, forming the “U-zone,” while regular acne tends to appear in the T-zone (forehead, nose and upper cheeks). Timing: Hormonal acne is cyclical, flaring up around hormone shifts, such as your menstrual cycle.
Especially for women, acne might be triggered by hormonal changes. As we get older, our estrogen levels often decline. At the same time, male hormones, like testosterone and dihydrotestosterone, which we all have, increase.
With PCOS, you're more likely to develop deep pimples, papules, or cysts thanks to the inflammation happening far inside the follicles next to your oil glands. These bumps will feel tender or painful to the touch and look highly irritated.