Pimple inside the nose: causes and warning signs

A painful bump just inside the nostril can be an infection of a hair root in the skin there. Doctors call it nasal vestibulitis, or nasal vestibular furunculosis when it forms a boil. Two studies reported it clearing within 7 days, and a 2022 review says complications appear to be infrequent. Some infections spread into the skin of the face, and in rare cases toward the eye, so this is one spot to leave alone and show to a doctor. This guide covers what causes it, why squeezing it is risky, how doctors treat it, and the warning signs that need care the same day. It is part of Skinli's guide to acne by face area.

Skinli gives general education and is not a doctor. This page names no medicine and no product, because the treatment for an infection inside the nose comes from a doctor. Spots on the outside of the nose are covered in pimple on the nose.

What a pimple inside the nose is

The front part of the inside of your nose is lined with skin and has hairs. Doctors call this area the nasal vestibule. A 2022 systematic review describes two infections of this area: "Nasal vestibulitis (NV) and nasal vestibular furunculosis (NVF) are two infectious processes of the nasal vestibule". It says they share causes, treatment and the same risk of complications, and that both are reported to be common.

A furuncle is a boil. A 2022 review of nasal boils defines one as "an acute localized infection of the hair follicle in the skin lining of the nasal vestibule." In plain words, it is a sudden infection of one hair root just inside the nostril.

So the bump people call a pimple inside the nose is, in these sources, a small infection of a hair root, and doctors treat it as an infection.

What it looks and feels like

A 2018 case report in The Permanente Journal describes the usual signs: "Patients usually present with painful swelling in the vestibule. The skin over the nose becomes tense and red, and a boil may be visible in the nostril." A 2022 review of 7 studies found that the most common signs were redness, swelling and tenderness at the tip of the nose.

The pain can be strong for a small spot. MedlinePlus, the US National Library of Medicine's health site, says boils in the nose or ear canal can be painful, and that a boil hurts more as it fills with pus and less once it drains. The NHS describes a boil as "a hard and painful lump that fills with pus."

What causes it

Bacteria. The 2018 case report says nasal boils are "usually caused by the bacteria S aureus." That is Staphylococcus aureus, often called staph. The NHS explains that bacteria can get into the skin "through a cut or along a hair follicle." In a 2017 study of 118 patients, staph was the most common germ found in the samples taken.

Habits and health conditions. The 2017 study looked back at 118 people admitted to one hospital with nasal vestibulitis between 2008 and 2015. It counted these risk factors:

Risk factor	Patients out of 118
Plucking nose hairs	15
Blowing the nose	10
Picking the nose	9
A nose piercing	5
Diabetes	12
A weakened immune system	3

The 2018 case report names a long-lasting runny nose, colds and other upper airway infections, and nose picking as causes.

Piercings. The NHS says lumps can form around a nose cartilage piercing, and lists signs of an infected piercing: the area around it is swollen, painful, hot, and red or dark, depending on your skin color. It advises leaving the jewelry in unless a doctor tells you to take it out.

How long it lasts

Symptoms are short in the reports. The 2022 review of nasal boils found that 3 of 4 studies that reported it gave 3 to 4 days of symptoms, and that "NVF was reported to clear within 7 days by 2 studies." The same review found no randomized studies of how to treat it, so these numbers come from small reports.

MedlinePlus advises contacting a doctor for a boil that has not healed after a week of home care. The NHS advises an urgent appointment for any boil on the face, so you do not need to wait a week to be seen.

Why you should not squeeze it

Every source read for this guide says the same thing about boils. The American Academy of Dermatology (AAD) says: "Never squeeze or pierce a boil or stye yourself, as this can spread the infection." The NHS says "do not pick, squeeze or pierce a boil". MedlinePlus says not to squeeze a boil or cut into it yourself.

The middle of the face has one more risk. MedlinePlus advises seeing a doctor for a boil in the middle of the face. A 2025 case report says cavernous sinus thrombosis, a blood clot at the base of the brain explained below, is "a rare but life-threatening complication of facial infections, typically arising from the midface". Midface means the middle of the face. The section on emergencies below explains that risk and its signs.

How doctors treat it

Doctors diagnose it by looking at it. The 2022 systematic review says: "The diagnosis is clinical". It says antibiotic creams or ointments put on the skin are the main treatment. The 2018 case report lists what a doctor may do: cleaning the crust from inside the nostril, cool compresses, and an antibiotic ointment. When the infection has spread, patients may need a hospital stay, drainage of the boil, and antibiotics through a vein.

A doctor chooses the medicine, and this page names none. The 2022 review of nasal boils found "no randomised studies exploring NVF or NVF management", so treatment rests on doctors' experience and case reports. Do not put creams or objects inside your nose to treat it at home unless a doctor tells you to.

The outlook is good. The 2018 case report says "The prognosis is good, and most children resolve without any complications." In the 2017 study of 118 hospital patients, most had cellulitis, a skin infection, spreading into the middle of the face, and none had a complication. The authors concluded that even in cases sick enough to need a hospital, the risk of major complications is low.

When a nose infection is an emergency

Rarely, an infection inside the nose spreads. The 2018 case report warns: "If not treated properly, the patient can develop complications like facial cellulitis and cavernous sinus thrombosis". It describes a 5-year-old girl whose nose boil spread to the skin of her face and the eyelid of her right eye. She was treated in hospital and recovered.

Cavernous sinus thrombosis means a blood clot forms in a space at the base of the brain. MedlinePlus says this space holds the nerves for sight and for moving the eyes. It says the usual cause is bacteria spreading from a nearby infection, such as one in the sinuses, the teeth, the ears, the eyes, the nose or the skin of the face, and that the condition can kill if it is not treated. The American Academy of Ophthalmology says an infection that begins in the sinuses can move into the eyelid or the eye socket, which doctors call the orbit, and it describes an infection of the eye socket as serious.

Get urgent medical help the same day if a nose infection comes with any of these. In the UK, the NHS says to ask for an urgent GP appointment or contact NHS 111.

• a bulging eye, or an eye you cannot move in every direction (MedlinePlus)
• a drooping eyelid, eye pain, or vision loss or blurring (MedlinePlus, NHS)
• swelling, redness or pain around the eye or on the eyelid (American Academy of Ophthalmology, NHS)
• a headache with a fever (2018 case report, MedlinePlus)
• a high temperature, or feeling hot, cold or shivery (NHS)
• redness or swelling spreading away from the lump (NHS)

The NHS also says to ask for an urgent GP appointment for any boil on your face, for skin around a boil that "feels hot, painful and swollen", and for any boil if you have a weakened immune system, for example from steroid medicines or diabetes.

Bumps around the nose that are not inside it

Some rashes sit on the outer edge of the nostrils and can be confused with a bump inside. The NHS says impetigo sores "commonly affect the face (around the nose and mouth) and hands" and leave crusty, golden-brown patches. The AAD says seborrheic dermatitis "can appear on the ears, eyebrows, beard, or skin around the nostrils." The AAD also describes a rash of small bumps only around the nose, which it calls perinasal dermatitis, a form of perioral dermatitis.

Spots on the outer skin of the nose are covered in pimple on the nose. Deep spots elsewhere on the face are covered in blind pimple and should you pop a pimple.