I've noticed what appears to be a wrist bone protruding on the back of my right hand. It's on the thumb side and closest to my forearm bones. I've been playing a lot of golf lately, and someone told me it was a "golf nodule." If so, what are golf nodules? Is this dangerous (it doesn't hurt right now), and do I need to do anything about it?
-Hacking in Ohio

Alice once heard your golf nodule called a Bible bump-- because in the "olden days", people used to take a heavy book like a Bible and pound it on the bump so that it would go away. This is still a viable treatment for your bump-- albeit an aesthetic treatment only.

Nodules are a small lump of tissue, usually more than 1/4 inch in diameter. A nodule may protrude from the skin's surface or it may form deep under the skin. They may be either hard or soft. Nodules do not cause any pain, nor are they any health hazard. You don't need to do anything about it, or worry about it.

Your bump may also be a ganglion-- a cystic swelling associated with the sheath of a tendon. It is a common condition occurring on the wrist, and can vary from the size of a small pea to the size of a golf ball. The cyst contains thick fluid derived from the synovial fluid that lubricates tendons and joints. A ganglion may disappear spontaneously; if it doesn't, treatment is only necessary if it is painful or unsightly. Whether you've got a nodule or a ganglion, it's nothing to worry about, and nothing you could prevent for the future.