Hey All,

As I was sitting here working, I tocuhed my lower shin and felt a tiny
lil bump or something - very small, the size of a grain of rice or
something but round (perfectly round it felt), and you can not see it
but you can feel it. It is under the skin.

it moves very fludily as if my leg was filled with water, and I can
move it around - its really freaking me out, and I am a bit nearvous
about it.

I can not afford to go to the doctors, as I do not believe in
insurance, and I would otherwise be broke if I were to spend it all,
is this common, or what? or what should I / can I do?

Thanks =)

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Request for Question Clarification by tutuzdad-ga on 24 May 2005 06:38 PDT

I DO NOT recommend you follow the advice of the commenter.
Self-surgery is never a good idea. We cannot provide you with medical
advice in this forum and there is always a possiblity that the
condition you have is more serious, but I suspect what you are
experiencing is a ganglion cyst. If this is indeed the case, a
ganglion is not a health threat (i.e., not a cancerous tumor) and you
have nothing whatsoever to worry about. Normally it is not necessary
to remove them surgically. If it doesn't bother you then it isn't a
real problem. Having said that, it is always best to seek medical
advice rather than rely on the internet for self-diagnosis.

Please let me know if this has answered your question.

CANADIAN CENTER FOR OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY
http://www.ccohs.ca/oshanswers/diseases/ganglion.html


tutuzdad-ga

Sounds like one of three things that I've experienced
- but it could be something else

a) A sheep's tick - a sort of maggot
b) A follicle gone bad, typically an ingrowing hair
c) A miscellaneous cyst

What I am going to suggest is not responsible, but since you do not
want to visit a doctor, you might as well attack the problem
efficiently.

Stanley knife blades make good scalpels
However you need to degrease it and sterilize it in surgical spirits
- preferably a nice long soak in a glass of surgical spirits
Iodine is very good at zapping surface infections

Both surgical spirits and iodine are cheap and can be purchased from a drugstore.

Something I learnt from animal vets, is you need to get the thing wide
open in order to drain it.

This advice is not responsible, but given that you do not wish to get
a medic to do it, you might as well be careful.