How to help heal open area on scalp?
Is there anything anyone can recommend to cover an open area on the scalp? Normal bandages/wound coverings won't stay because of all the hair in the way.
I recently started picking a raised bump on my scalp that had been there for a couple years at least (*see end of post for unpleasant detail). I picked the spot enough that at first the skin opened and created a small scab. But then I picked the scab and the skin around it more and the open wound kept getting bigger. It's now about the size of a dime. I have been doing my best to keep it clean and dry and have done okay with not touching it now because it is quite tender.
Should I put an occlusive ointment on it? I don't love the idea of having that stuff in my hair but it's better than continuing to pick and causing an infection or cellulitis. I just worry about trapping any bacteria in the wound and not allowing it to dry out by being exposed to the air. But if it's exposed, my fingers will find it whether I want them to or not.
*TW: graphic description of wound/cyst
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This evening after my shower I felt something kind of protruding from the edge of the wound, which at first just felt like a raised flap of skin or other tissue. I poked and prodded it and eventually lightly picked at it, and out came what I can only assume was an enclosed cyst sac? It must have been whatever little "rock" I had been feeling under the skin for so long. It was white and firm but kind of rubbery feeling, and when I cut it open it was solid and the same texture all the way through. I was kind of expecting it to be full of pus or whatever it is that accumulates in a big pimple. I'm satisfied that I actually removed whatever the sac was from my head, but I also feel ashamed that I feel satisfied by it. I'm hoping that now that it's out, my brain and fingers will be able to ignore the wound more easily, but it's certainly not a guarantee that I'll be able to leave it alone.