What causes a 37-year-old woman to suddenly develop many hard lumps behind the ear?
In general, the sudden appearance of multiple hard lumps behind the ear in a 37-year-old woman may be caused by factors such as swollen lymph nodes, sebaceous cysts, or boils. A detailed analysis is as follows:
1. Swollen Lymph Nodes
Swollen lymph nodes are usually associated with bacterial infections, emotional fluctuations, lack of sleep, and other factors, leading to enlarged lymph nodes. This may be accompanied by local pain and redness of the skin. Women can take medications such as amoxicillin capsules or roxithromycin capsules orally as directed by a physician.
2. Sebaceous Cysts
Sebaceous cysts occur when the opening of a hair follicle's sebaceous gland becomes blocked, obstructing sebum drainage and causing sebum accumulation, resulting in retention cysts. They mainly present as skin cysts. If there are no obvious symptoms, special treatment is generally not required.
3. Boils (Furuncles)
Boils are localized inflammations caused by bacterial infection deep within hair follicles, primarily manifesting as small, painful, red, and swollen nodules that gradually enlarge and form cone-shaped protrusions. Women can apply topical medications such as mupirocin ointment or erythromycin ointment as directed by a physician.
In addition, this symptom could also be caused by conditions such as lipomas or folliculitis. It is recommended to seek timely medical evaluation at a hospital.