Last updated on August 14, 2020
Question:
A few years ago, I went to the doctor to have him check out a lump underneath my armpit. He told me it was a clogged sweat pore. At that time I had the option to have him remove it, but he said if it wasn’t painful don’t worry about it, but if it gets bigger then have it re-checked. The lump didn’t give me any problems until this past week. It became bigger and I now feel pain in that area. A couple of months before it got to this point I noticed that when I rubbed my finger over the lump it has an odor to it. I do workout regularly and sweat a lot and I’m wondering if you can tell me what you think is wrong. Obviously the lump isn’t going anywhere. What do I do and what’s causing the strange odor?
Answer:
Some people are predisposed to having their sweat glands become clogged, especially people who have tight, curly hair.
It sounds like an infection settled into your clogged pore, which often happens. You need to see your doctor for treatment. Most likely he will lance it to drain it and then give you antibiotics to clear up the infection. He might suggest having the gland removed so that it will not become reinfected.
Keep in mind that people who have this condition often have other glands becoming clogged. In other words, even if this gland is removed, you have a number of other glands which also could become clogged and eventually infected. Ignoring the problem doesn’t help. Any infection tends to cause neighboring glands to become clogged and the condition spreads. As the skin eventually breaks from the swelling, you end up with significant scar tissue under your arm. It is best to have it treated as it appears.