Circular bumps on your skin may or may not cause discomfort and irritation. These bumps may grow or remain the same size. Circular red bumps may indicate an infection if it they continue to grow or become painful. These bumps may not require treatment if they are benign or result from minor infections. Visit your doctor any time unexplained circular bumps appear on your skin that continue to grow or get worse.
Types
Warts are small circular or oval-shaped bumps that are painless and have a rough surface. Warts may be light dark or black. Dermatofibromas may appear as a single, small, firm, circular red or brown bump on your leg. Cherry angiomas are small, noncancerous circular bumps that may appear anywhere on your body. Boils usually start as red, tender, circular bumps that may occur where you grow hair or sweat more.
Symptoms
Warts are usually painless unless they occur where there is friction or pressure such as the soles of your feet. They may also develop on your hands and around your fingers and toe nails. Warts have a rough surface and may be flat if they develop on the soles of your feet. Dermatofibromas may not produce any symptoms. A dermatofibroma may be painful or itch occasionally. Cherry angiomas are smooth, bright red circular bumps that may be as small as a pin-head or as large as a ¼ inch in diameter. Boils are painful, red, circular bumps that may start out around the size of a pea. Boils continue to grow as they fill with puss and may develop a yellow or white tip that eventually ruptures and allows pus to drain out.
Causes
Warts are caused by the human papillomavirus. Dermafibromas result from the accumulation of collagen in soft tissues under your skin but the precise cause is unknown. According to the National Institutes of Health, cherry angiomas have an unknown cause but they are most common in people older than 30. Boils form when hair follicles on your skin get infected with staph bacteria that may enter through a break in your skin such as a cut or scratch.
Treatment
You can treat warts with over-the-counter wart removal patches and creams. Your health care provider may remove warts surgically or by freezing them off. A doctor may not treat a dermatofibroma unless it causes problems or continues growing. Your doctor can remove dermatofibromas with a scalpel. Cherry angiomas may not require treatment but your doctor can remove them by burning or freezing them off. A physician can perform laser or surgical removal for cherry angiomas. You may be able to treat a single boil at home by apply a warm wash cloth or compress to the affected area on your skin. Do not squeeze or pick boils.
Prevention
You can prevent warts by avoiding contact with other people's skin that has a wart, and wash your hand or any other objects that come into contact with any warts you already have. Prevent boils by washing your hands regularly. Keeping your wounds clean and covered can also help prevent boils. You may not be able to prevent dermatofibromas and cherry angiomas, because these circular bumps result from unknown causes.
