pilonidial cyst

LegacyUser · 31-10-2008 1:52am #1

Has anyone ever got one of these? I think I have one. Im so embarrassed about going to the doctor though. Any advice would be helpfull

trout · 31-10-2008 7:27am

I played rugby with a chap who had this condition.

His was quite painful and eventually required surgery.
From what I remember, he said most cases responded to other treatments and that surgery was only required for some.

Don't be embarrassed about this - it's a condition that can affect anyone.

Don't be in pain for the sake of feeling sheepish for a few minutes

Please, go to your doctor, get diagnosed properly and treated.

phelixoflaherty · 31-10-2008 8:11am

Get yourself to the Doc. Was in same situation. Towards the end could not sit, had to lie down. Doc. prescribed antibiotics and it was gone after course was completed.
Its a lot more common than you think. The cure is simple.

g'em · 31-10-2008 9:39am

I didn't know what a pilonidial cyst was so I had a search. From the Pilonidal Support Alliance:

A Pilonidal (Abscess, Cyst, Sinus, Dimple) is an abscess in the natal cleft (more commonly referred to as your butt crack) that tends to become infected and cause intense pain and drainage. Sometimes a Pilonidal contains hair and sometimes they don't.

Ouch. OP please don't be embarrassed to see a Dr. - they've seen everything under the sun and then some. Even if this isn't what it is, they'll set you straight and start you on some treatments

smashey · 31-10-2008 9:50am

I have this and it can be very painful but luckily I haven't been bothered for some time now. As trout said, see your doctor as they will at least give you some medication and if that fails, surgery will be the only option.

I went to my doctor the last time it flared up and I was having difficulty sitting down

. I got some anti-biotics and some pain killers and, pardon the grossness here - but a couple of days later, the anti-biotics did the trick and cleared it out. I was told that surgery may be a possibility down the line but if the anti-biotics work then it won't be necessary.

One thing I would like to add to this and to this forum as a whole is...

MEN - DON'T BE AFRAID OF OR EMBARASSED TO SEE YOUR DOCTORS. BELIEVE ME, THEY HAVE SEEN ANY AILMENT/PROBLEM YOU MAY HAVE ON NUMEROUS OCASSIONS.

LegacyUser · 31-10-2008 1:05pm

Thanks Guys.

The pain isn't excruciatingly bad but I can only go see a doctor next week and I will go whether it has partly cleared up or not. I have done a lot of reading up on it. Some of the tips I have read is to shave the area, use antibacterial soap and exfoliate round there. One problem is linen from the boxers it says to try and keep this away but how do you do this??

Once again thanks!

smashey · 31-10-2008 4:39pm

Worried Guy wrote: »

Thanks Guys.

The pain isn't excruciatingly bad but I can only go see a doctor next week and I will go whether it has partly cleared up or not. I have done a lot of reading up on it. Some of the tips I have read is to shave the area, use antibacterial soap and exfoliate round there. One problem is linen from the boxers it says to try and keep this away but how do you do this??

Once again thanks!

Shaving might be grand and all that but if yours is one with the ingrown hair, it won't matter.

europerson · 01-11-2008 2:04am

You should really see your doctor so that the severity can be identified. I had quite a serious one, which required some fairly complex surgery, but I was a one of those one-in-a-thousand cases rather than the norm. The majority are simply treated, although in a significant number of cases surgery is the most effective treatment, as antibiotic treatment won't solve the essential root of the problem.

LegacyUser · 01-11-2008 5:15pm

Turns out my sister had it before. She had to get surgery. I really hope I dont. Is the surgery painful. I am going to the doc as soon as possible!!

slicus ricus · 02-11-2008 9:30pm

I had this about 2-3 years ago, it was described to me as a pilonidal abcess rather than a cyst. Turns out this is a very common thing among men and certainly nothing to be embarassed about.

It got to the stage where it was quite uncomfortable to sit down so i had to do something about it. When I first noticed it, I actually thought at the time that I might have landed on my tail bone and broken it or something but it quickly became clear that it was something else. I went to my doctor who identified the lump as a pilonidal abcess and immediately sent me to A&E to have it looked at... as if showing it to one doctor wasn't bad enough! When I got to A&E, the doctor and surgeon there decided it would be best to have the abcess lanced.

Essentially I was given 2 options - Have it done there and then under local anesthaetic and freezing agents or have the same thing done under full anaesthetic. The advice I was given by the surgeon is that if i thought i could stand the pain, it would be much better to get it sorted there and then. I decided to go with his advice and have it sorted there and then. The procedure lasted little over 2 mins but I must say it was very painful (i will say no more than that!). Still much better than getting a full anaesthetic though.

After that little ordeal, i was sent home and given antibiotics to take for a week and was fine after that, able to resume normal activity the next day. It has never bothered me since, so i guess the treatment was a success!

LegacyUser · 03-11-2008 1:11pm

Pain got so bad yesterday that I went to the on call doctor and he gave me antibiotics and just said it was an abscess. After one tablet, the lump started to turn blue and after another even more blue. I then had a bath and mid bath got up to go to the toilet. It burst while I was standing there and a disgusting smelling bloody discharge came out. So this went on for ages. Had a shower and bandaged up the fecker. Going to have another bath today. Hopefully, it is gone for good. Im not too optimistic after what I have heard here.

And the previous poster, at first I also thought that I had just hurt my tailbone playing football and that it was just a sort of brusing until it got all red and a big lump.

Thanks for your help lads!!

daftdave · 04-11-2008 7:00pm

ive had this procedure done twice , apparently it is not uncommon for it to return again after your first surgery, the surgery is ok, its just the 2 weeks afterwards are a pain in the arse (pardon the pun) !!

if you have stitches in that area it can be very uncomfortable to do simple things like sit at the dinner table or sit into a car seat, you are lying on your side the whole time until the stitches get taken out.

dont be afraid of the doctor , they are well used to looking at peoples hairy arses !

LegacyUser · 07-11-2008 4:19pm

Right well it did burst, now 3 days later its still a red lump with a big hole in it. Anybody have any idea how long it takes till it goes away and does the lump just disappear?

LegacyUser · 14-11-2008 4:47pm

How long does it take for it to go away after it has burst? It has been a week and a half now since it burst. But it is still slightly red and a wee bit of like a hard lump still there and a hole. I do think that it is going away but can anybody give me an idea of how long more? Its not painful or anything. Just dont like having to look at it.

Thanks lads!

pilonidial cyst

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