Overview

A ganglion is a small sac, or cyst, filled with a clear fluid that is like jelly. A ganglion may look like a bump on the hand or wrist. It also can appear on your feet, ankles, knees, or shoulders. It is not cancer. A ganglion can grow out of the protective area, or capsule, around a joint. It also can grow on a tendon sheath, which covers the rope-like tendons that connect muscle to bone. A ganglion may hurt or cause numbness if it presses on a nerve.

Many ganglions do not need treatment, and they often go away on their own. But if a ganglion hurts, becomes larger, causes numbness, or limits your activity, your doctor may want to drain it with a needle and syringe or remove it with minor surgery.

How can you care for yourself at home?

• Use a wrist or finger splint for several weeks. This may be all that is needed for the ganglion to shrink and disappear on its own. Make sure that the splint isn't too tight. Numbness, tingling, pain, or coolness in your hand are signs that you need to loosen the splint.
• Do not smash a ganglion with a book or other heavy object. You may break a bone or otherwise injure your wrist by trying this folk remedy, and the ganglion may return anyway.
• Do not try to drain the fluid by poking the ganglion with a pin or any other sharp object. You could cause an infection.
• If the ganglion breaks open on its own and the skin is broken:
  • Cover the wound with a thin layer of petroleum jelly, such as Vaseline, and a non-stick bandage.
  • Apply more petroleum jelly and replace the bandage as needed.