I mean, assuming we still try to keep it sterile with alcohol the way they do.
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They make sure their hands and tools are clean and sterile, they sterilize the location to remove any bacteria in the area, and they do so in a way to minimize likelihood of bacteria getting into the open wound created.
When you pop a pimple, you apply pressure across a broad area from the sides, pushing damaging tissue on each side of the pimple, as well as pushing the pus into the damaged area (potentially increasing the infected area).
When they do it, they use small tools that affect less of the surrounding tissue and doesn’t push the infection anywhere but out.
Because when we do it, we usually just apply brute force until it pops. Sometimes, that brute force is damaging to the location where the pimple is. Dermatologists have the proper tools and training to do the same thing much more effectively and with minimal damage
I think it’s because most people do it too roughly on themselves whereas a dermatologist will use tools and lighting and be as precise as possible.
But it’s basically still squeezing shit out
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Think about when you pop a balloon. You just squeeze and squeeze until part of it fails. It usually tears the balloon apart and sometimes it is in several pieces afterwards.
Now try this, or look it up on Youtube: if you put a few layers of tape on the balloon, then carefully poke a hole through the tape with a sharp needle, the hole will not spread and the balloon will slowly, gently deflate. It’ll stay in one piece.
That’s the difference between popping a pimple and a doctor using surgical tools to drain it. They use sterile, sharp tools to do as little damage as possible. Your fingers and fingernails are the surgical equivalent of a broken glass bottle and a hammer.
I’m an emergency medicine resident, not a dermatologist, so my experience is in abscesses more so than pimples. The big three things that make a difference between me draining the abscess and you are:
1. Making a sharp cut so the pus has only one way out. When you squeeze, some of the infection can go downward causing a worse/spread infection.
2. Breaking up all the tiny pockets of pus (often it’s not one “balloon”, it’s several small grape-like balloons) so that as much of it gets out as possible. I do this with a thin, blunt instrument of some kind. I’ll also thoroughly rinse the inside of the abscess with a jet of water.
3. Using clean tools. I wear gloves but it’s not a truly sterile procedure – we’re already dealing with infected tissue. But by being clean I can reduce the chance of other nasty stuff from getting in the wound – stuff like you’d find under your nails or on the sharp things you have around the home.
The combination of these things minimizes the chance for reinfection/worsening infection.
Trust me the difference between the sterile for us non-doctors/medical practitioners and the sterile for them is VAST. They wear gloves, masks, eye wear etc.
Plus they’ve studied and trained to do these type of medical procedures for years. Something we know very little about.
Just some second hand info that was passed to me from a cosmetologist (different from dermatologist) from my younger days. In the end, it comes down to:
-Keeping things clean, use sterile tools and disposable lancets instead of a comparatively blunt needle. Wash your face afterwards to make sure you didn’t just spread bacteria to a bunch of other pores.
-Using the correct tools to apply pressure correctly without damaging the surrounding tissue and to effectively drain the pus as well as that little hard ball that blocked your gland in the first place. Using that right stick with the correctly sized wire loop or spoon with a hole in it.
-Your pain tolerance might not allow you to apply the needed pressure. Now you just popped the zit and opened up another door for dirt and bacteria to get in.
-Correct timing. Some zits zits aren’t ready to be popped and you’ll have to apply too much pressure to drain it. Some are too far along and you might as well let it dry out on its own.
TIL that most people actually pop pimples by just squeezing them, rather than poking them with a pin and then squeezing them.
I guess that’s why I didn’t end up with acne scars despite having horrific acne that I wouldn’t leave alone.
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