Nodules are firm, tender, and domed. Nodules are 1cm to 3cm in diameter. Larger nodules soften in the center and become painful. When pressed, they feel like an overfilled inner tube. Nodules open and drain pus spontaneously.
Nodules leave scars.
Severity of the disorder varies from a few lesions per year to a constant succession of lesions that form as old ones heal. Lesions frequently recur at the same site. Secretions in these glands enlarge the gland. The outlets become blocked, probably by heat, sweat, or incomplete gland development. The secretions that are dammed in the glands force sweat and bacteria into surrounding tissue, which becomes infected.