It’s time for Bloomington to get ready for Halloween! After getting in the mood with the Festival of Ghost Stories Oct. 30, you can go out with your little ones on Oct. 31 to bring home a candy haul. If you’ve developed a bump on your foot that isn’t part of your costume, however, it very well might be a ganglion cyst. You probably want to shrink it down, but what can you do?
Unfortunately, there isn’t a whole lot that can be done at home to treat a ganglion cyst. There’s an old “home remedy” that involves striking the bump with a heavy object, such as a thick book. Don’t do this! One, it will likely hurt like the dickens, and two, you could end up adding a foot injury on top of that bump! “Popping” the cyst with a needle is also a poor idea, as it often doesn’t work and may raise your risk of infection.
The best treatment for a cyst comes through professional means. If a cyst needs treatment, we might recommend aspiration, which is just a matter of drawing the jelly-like fluid from the bump using a needle. The cyst might just return after this, so sometimes a steroid is injected to try and prevent that from happening.
Other options for treatment include immobilizing the area with a splint or brace to keep the cyst from growing or relieve pain, should it be causing any. If other forms of treatment aren’t effective, surgical removal may also become an option.
In many cases, however, no treatment needs to be performed at all. Instead, it might be best just to wait for the cyst to disappear on its own. Whatever the route, we’ll be happy to discuss the full range of options with you to find comfort and relief. Schedule an appointment with Bloomington podiatrist Dr. Kevin Powers by calling (812) 333-4422 or use our online form and stop worrying about any bumps in the night.
