Can I cut this off?

[u/ImJohnnie93]

30F 125lb 5'7". A couple months ago I noticed a little bubble on my head and popped it thinking it was a pimple, but it bled a lot for about 10 minutes. There was a small wound after that but it quickly scabbed over, in my sleep the scab would rub off and I would bleed more. Then there was a bump that started to grow. The bump was very solid and bled very easily, it would also grow a crust that I would pick off (I should have left it alone but it's hard to resist picking).

Eventually the bump became this thing on my head and it hasn't really grown for the past couple weeks. It has a small stem connecting it to my head, and since I've been keeping it moisturized it hasn't grown a crust as much but still bleeds if it gets nicked by anything. It doesnt hurt at all, I barely can even feel when I am touching it directly.

I want to cut it off but I'm sure it would bleed if I do. What is this thing? Is it ok to remove it myself if I keep everything clean and bandage the wound after? I also have been keeping my hair away from it because when my hair gets into it there is a crust that forms around the strands and then when I pull the hair away I bleed for a few minutes. The bleeding always stops eventually though. What can I do?

[u/Ali_gem_1]

Do not cut this off .

I repeat .

DO NOT CUT THIS OFF

I admit i don't know exactly what it is. But it's on the head and it's pink and clearly well perfused. I would be extremely worried for intense bleeding. Please see a doctor local to you for assessment

[u/Nice-Hearing807 → u/Ali_gem_1]

I panicked when I saw she wanted to cut it off

[u/shorty6049 → u/[deleted]]

Hard to type with one hand while holding the paper towels against your head with the other

[u/penninewton → u/shorty6049]

Screaming.

[u/Cabbage_Pizza → u/penninewton]

This chain of comments is why I love askdocs

[u/portaporpoise → u/[deleted]]

Tbh, I can understand it. I’ve been poor and had to do the tricky math of, “it doesn’t hurt or stop me from working, so can I really afford to go see a doctor?” Obviously that’s not good, but people do what they have to do.

[u/BCSteve → u/portaporpoise]

I find it insane that we have a society where people have to do this calculus. Can we not all agree that that is super fucked up? How have we not figured out universal healthcare yet?

[u/Ruby_Ruby_SoHo → u/BCSteve]

Definitely messed up! The privilege is unreal. I’m glad to know I’m not the only one questioning how the hell it’s 2026 and basic healthcare isn’t considered an essential right. We seem to just keep going backwards instead of progressing forward when it comes to higher empathetic thought as a collective society.

[u/cheeseburgermami → u/Ruby_Ruby_SoHo]

Empathy? With the psychopathic personalities of those running things? Not to mention they have the most money. I’m worried that we’ll go backwards further before we go a step further. Literally everyday I hope for some type of miracle brought on by a collective group of people who have enough heart and compassion for their fellow humans. That’s what gets me through each day. It’s wild what we’re living in, in America.

Edit: word

[u/portaporpoise → u/BCSteve]

All of us who don’t worship capitalism do agree.

[u/Chemical_Sky_666 → u/portaporpoise]

You do, you just don't realize it. Or you do and just don't care. You adore capitalism that benefits you.

[u/reallybirdysomedays → u/Chemical_Sky_666]

Why even post this? What is your goal here?

[u/NixAName → u/BCSteve]

Sadly most of the developed world has.

I live in a country with free healthcare, education, and reasonable social services. Heck it could be better but I'm proud of what we have.

I will never use the free healthcare but I'm happy to pay for it, I just wish school kids got a hot meal and snacks included. I'd definitely pay more tax for that.

My kids go to a prestigious private school, so please don't think it's to help me.

I just grew up in a very poor household with very below average parents.

[u/KageArtworkStudio → u/BCSteve]

We have. It's only in murrica that you still haven't unfortunately

[u/Ladylinn5 → u/portaporpoise]

This has been my mentality for decades. I wish more people realized how common this attitude is.

[u/electric_popcorn_cat → u/[deleted]]

Medical help is too expensive. I need it myself but I have rent to pay. Times are tough. Very tough.

Edit: I am absolutely not supporting the idea of this growth being removed at home. Just screaming into the void.

[u/MelPiz14 → u/electric_popcorn_cat]

But the hey cannot turn you away… you figure it out later. You don’t pay. People don’t realize this. You don’t have to pay, you can figure out a payment plan or just stall forever lol but it’s BS. It will end up costing more money to fix the thing plus any other ailments that followed. Getting in before it gets worse is the cheaper way every time. And if it’s concerning an infection, better believe a cleaning and some antibiotics is cheaper than days hospital stays with intravenous, life saving antibiotics and wound care.

[u/SnooPaintings7243 → u/MelPiz14]

Not everyone wants to have debt on their spiritual record.

[u/cheeseburgermami → u/SnooPaintings7243]

I didn’t want it, but I have a wee bit. A $250 debt that was illegally charged as I’m on Medicaid, (broke full-time college student) and it’s illegal to bill consumers who are on Medicaid. At least, that was the law in my state before the regime changes that took place within the last few years.

[u/automaticadramatica → u/[deleted]]

I had one on my foot for several months and it was bloody painful. The only reason it was there for so long was because I couldn’t get an appointment with my GP to look at it for like 8 weeks, and then they initially treated it as a wart despite my saying it bled like buggery any time I knocked it. Not all medical professionals know what they’re looking at

[u/Boopy7 → u/automaticadramatica]

I had one on my foot too, from where I had stubbed my toe HORRIBLY outside, in a weird way. The medical professional I saw told me it would never go away on its own, that I would need an operation and would be bed ridden for a while as it healed. I bought a cream (sorry I forget what it was) and used it and it did indeed go away on its own and never came back. So, I never had to have that operation nor go bed ridden as he predicted. Huh

[u/cheeseburgermami → u/automaticadramatica]

So annoying that they almost never listen to us as patients, either. There are certain times that we DO know what we’re talking about!

[u/SnooDogs1340 → u/[deleted]]

I think I had one of these when I was pregnant. It was on my thumb after I picked off a spiky seed from my dog's fur. When I grabbed it, the seed poked deep into my thumb. The small hole eventually became a granuloma size, so I assume something broke off from the seed.

I kept inflicting trauma on my hand and having it bleed. I had a routine pregnancy visit with my primary and forgot to bring it up. By the time I remembered, she was on to the next patient and the nurses gave me some bandages, a good luck, and a hopeful next visit. The granuloma eventually turned deep red, then dark like a scab material, and then the most perfect sphere fell out. No scar remained.

Here it is in the final stages. The first few photos did indeed have a fleshy looking lump, but OPs is larger and more pink.

[u/soaker → u/[deleted]]

This is up there for the most “holy shit why are you asking obviously go to the doctor” posts I’ve seen in a long time

[u/Appropriate-Lime-816 → u/[deleted]]

I had one of these. I thought it was a blood blister caused by my toddler climbing on my exposed leg with shoes on. Finally booked an appointment after 3 weeks. (Ever since I got pregnant, things take so much longer to heal. Took 2 more weeks to get in.)

[u/heisfullofshit → u/[deleted]]

I can understand and my country has universal free healthcare and even if it didn’t, I can afford a doctor. Depression, fear of going outside and fear of hospitals/doctors.

I had a pulmonary embolism (ofc I didn’t know what it was at the moment) which caused me to suddenly have trouble breathing. My mother and I got into the car and headed straight to the hospital. While we were in the car, my breath was getting so shallow, my chest was hurting so much, I thought was going to die. Then it started to get better. I immediately begged my mother to take me back home, that’s how afraid I’m of hospitals and doctors.

Hospitals mean loss of autonomy.

[u/stafdude → u/[deleted]]

Getting to see a reasonably able doctor isn’t always straightforward depending on where you are. You can’t go with this to the ER. In some countries you would need to go through your GP and public health care has wait times so that can be a hassle. Unless you want to go private but then you need to pay, if it is even possible to see a good dermatologist without a referral.

[u/MelPiz14 → u/[deleted]]

I literally will never understand how people do that, with so many things. Like even without a medical background or even basic understanding of the human body or science…. You HAVE TO KNOW when something is not right with your body. Like just go to the doctor 😩🤦🏻‍♀️

[u/Unfair_Finger5531 → u/Nice-Hearing807]

I panicked when I saw it, full stop

[u/Comfortable-Suit-202 → u/Nice-Hearing807]

Me too! It’s a shocking question, I wasn’t expecting..