A Water Bump on My Toe – Squeezing a Ganglion Cyst

1. Discovering the Ganglion Cyst

A strange water-filled bump appeared on my foot.

This is already the third time I’m squeezing it out, and it keeps coming back, so I decided to record how many times I have to squeeze it before it disappears.

After searching online, it seems that the one on my foot is what they call a ganglion cyst.

 When you first poke it with a medical needle from the pharmacy, it hurts a bit, but if you go in a little deeper, there’s a spot where you don’t feel any pain.

Once you get to that spot, you can squeeze out the ganglion cyst.

Mildly graphic content warning

If you grab both sides of the ganglion cyst on your toe and press hard, a transparent jelly-like substance comes out from inside.

This substance is called synovial fluid. Ganglion cysts are said to be the most common type of tumor that forms in our bodies, often appearing on the hands or feet.

Since they’re benign tumors, they’re supposedly not a big problem as long as they don’t interfere with daily life.

Looking online, I found someone who completely got rid of a ganglion cyst by repeatedly bursting it.

A modern-day Guan Yu, perhaps...

To summarize, it’s a post about how they kept bursting the ganglion cyst for almost seven years and eventually it disappeared.

Now I’m worried I might also have to crush it with a book next time.

2. 2023.08.17. Record

I decided to try bursting the ganglion cyst.

I waited a few weeks for the cyst on my foot to fill up, and when I felt the time had come, I went for it. 

 I put my foot up on Na-eun’s chair armrest, pressed down with a very thick book, and hit it hard.

 I repeated this for several days, but the ganglion cyst was so tough that it didn’t show any sign of bursting at all.

So in the end, I ended up puncturing it with a needle again. I’ll have to wait again until next time.

3. 2023.09.04. Record

Since the previous entry, I squeezed out the ganglion cyst about two more times.

But it feels like the cyst is getting bigger and bigger...

Yesterday, even when I poked it with a needle and tried to squeeze it, no synovial fluid came out—only blood.

I’m starting to think that maybe going to the hospital is the only answer now.

I decided to wait until it swells up a bit more.

4. 2023.09.10.

The ganglion cyst has really swollen up now.

When I walk, I feel something pulling, and there’s a prickling sensation, so I felt like it was time to burst it.

I positioned my foot firmly on the floor and pressed down hard with a book, but instead of bursting the cyst, it only left a bruise.

Looking closely, it seemed like there was internal bleeding. In the end, I decided to squeeze it.

I gently inserted a sterilized medical needle and squeezed while tensing my toe. Blood came out along with the fluid, and it was a bit gross.

Even after squeezing it out thoroughly, the ganglion cyst didn’t go down much.

I can’t burst it properly, and it feels like it’s slowly getting bigger over time.

According to what I’ve found online, if a ganglion cyst keeps growing like this, the only option is to have it removed at a hospital.

5. 2023.11.08. Record

Around Chuseok (2023.10.01.), while I stayed off alcohol for about a month, I burst the ganglion cyst one more time.

I poked around, and blood that had pooled inside came out; after that, the cyst hasn’t swelled up again.

It’s been over a month since then, and as of today (2023.11.08.), it’s still fine.

It seems that if you keep bursting a ganglion cyst repeatedly, at some point it stops filling back up.

If hitting it doesn’t burst the cyst, then repeatedly puncture it with something like a medical needle. 

With this post, I hope to wrap up my five-month-long journey of living together with this ganglion cyst. 

6. 2024.05.08. Record

In the end, I decided to have surgery on my toe. The cycle of it hurting when I pressed the ganglion cyst, then not hurting after squeezing out the synovial fluid, repeated several times.

That kind of discomfort became too hard to endure, so I finally decided to go through with surgery.

Brothers...

I’ll go on ahead.

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