Ice it in 5-minute on/off cycles for the first hour to drop the swelling, then apply a microdart patch — ZitSticka Killa or Rael Microcrystal — which uses dissolving cones to deliver 2% salicylic acid through the closed skin into the forming clog. Press 30 seconds, leave on six to eight hours overnight. A pea-sized dot of 1% hydrocortisone cream once cuts redness fast (not daily — it thins skin). Flat hydrocolloid patches like Hero Mighty Patch do nothing here because there's no surface fluid to absorb. For a painful, swollen cyst that won't surface in 48 hours, a dermatologist cortisone injection flattens it in a day.