A non cancerous lump- lipoma

Soft fatty benign lumps formed from fat cells under the fatty tissue under the skin are known as lipomas. These lumps can be pea sized to several centimeters in size and can appear anywhere on the body. The most common areas where these lipomas appear are shoulders, chest, and back.

These can develop anywhere else too. Lipomas appear more frequently in middle-aged women than in men and for no definite reason.

Lipomas have been attributed to a faulty gene but research is still being conducted on what makes some people more prone to lipomas.

These even form internally and because you will not spot them you will not even realize you have them. Anybody can develop at lipoma at any time in their life span. Some get many while some may just get few. Commonly, people get one or two lipomas. Lipomas can also appear in domesticated animals like dogs and cats.

There is also genetic condition where one lipoma can cause familiar multiple lipomas. Multiple lipomas are apparently more common in men than women. Sometimes if they are topical and large, they can get unsightly. Very rarely, a lipoma presses against another organ, causing further complications like pressing against a nerve and causing pain, or developing in the intestine and blocking the intestine, again leading up to pain. Usually lipomas do not hurt but there is one particular kind called angiolipoma. This lipoma is scattered through the blood and is usually painful.

Usually doctors can spot the lipoma and diagnose it by touch. As there is no definite treatment, doctors usually advise you to just ignore the lipomas. Sometimes a doctor might advise a scan or in a worst case scenario, a biopsy. The biopsy is to rule out cancer but lipomas are rarely cancerous. From time to time, lipomas change shape and form and it becomes important to keep track of these changes and mention them to your doctor.

There is no definite treatment for lipoma especially because it is not cancerous. But often it is removed for cosmetic reasons. Removal for cosmetic reasons is done through small surgical procedures. Occasionally the lipoma can become painful or tender, get infected, discharge a foul smelling liquid or rapidly increase in size. In such cases, surgery becomes the only option. But this will not guarantee that lipomas will not return as there is not much insight into why lipomas occur in the first place. Sometimes liposuction or the removal of fat is used to reduce the appearance of lipomas. There are times when doctor can also inject the lump with steroids. That can reduce the size of the bump. Laser treatments have also been known to help lipomas.

There are also some home remedies that can benefit lipomas. Application of castor oil or a turmeric paste with olive oil has been known to help reduce the size of lipomas. Ingesting flax seed oil or any product high in omega 3 fatty acids could help dissolve lipomas. Chickweed tincture and applications have been known to help lipomas. Bitter food has also been known to help reduce the size of lipomas. Bitter foods you could ingest include citrus peel, olives and unsweetened chocolate.

The use of lemon juice has also been known to help lipomas. Its toxin-removing properties help in diminishing the size of the lipomas. Cedarwood ointment has also been known to help. But like most herbal remedies, you should cease using it if there is any irritation. As a lipoma is a collection of fat cells, a better diet has helped some people reduce the size of the lumps. Include more raw fruits and vegetables in your diet while reducing your intake of processed foods.