I am 29, female. How to treat a raised bump on my arm?

Question

Hello doctor,

I am a female, and I am 29 years old. I have recently had a bump on my arm that has appeared and is growing. It is about the size of a sesame seed, and it showed up one month ago. It is light brown in color, soft and maybe a little rough, but mostly soft.

What is it?

Please advise.

Answer 1

Hello,

Welcome to icliniq.com.

I understand it can be concerning to notice a new raised bump, especially when it appears suddenly.

Based on the image (attachments removed to protect the patient’s identity) and your history of a small, sesame-sized, soft, light-brown, slightly rough but mostly smooth bump that appeared about a month ago without itching, pain, or clear growth, this lesion most closely resembles a benign superficial growth rather than anything dangerous.

From its appearance and texture, the most likely possibilities include dermatosis papulosa nigra (DPN), a small intradermal nevus (raised mole), or an early seborrheic keratosis. These are all benign skin growths caused by localized proliferation of epidermal or melanocytic cells.

Dermatosis papulosa nigra commonly appears as small, soft, light- to dark-brown raised papules with a smooth or slightly rough surface and often develops gradually in adulthood. Intradermal nevi are also soft, dome-shaped, and skin-colored to light brown and are completely harmless. Seborrheic keratosis can begin as small, slightly rough, pigmented papules and slowly thicken over time.

For you, reassuring features include small size, soft consistency, uniform color, absence of symptoms like itching, bleeding, crusting or rapid enlargement, and well-defined borders. These are typical of benign lesions.

For treatment, I would suggest you go for sticks and protection at least SPF (sun protecting factor) 50, especially if working outdoors. If you find it cosmetically non-appealing, the treatment options include electrocoat or cryotherapy.

In electrocautery, we use a heating probe to gently remove the lesion under local lignocaine anaesthesia. The procedure has no downtime and is very comfortable. Another method, if you do not want to go for even local anaesthesia, then you can choose cryosurgery by your local dermatologist, in which they use liquid nitrogen gas to spray on the lesion or with the help of a needle, but without causing pain and transfer the gas, which causes the shedding of the lesion in a few days.

There is nothing to be worried about. There are no signs of cancer or melanoma for sure, as per the picture and description.

I hope this helps clarify your concerns.

Thank you.